Marvel Max is a brand of comic books from Marvel Comics. The first Marvel Max comic was published in November 2001.
This label was born out of Marvel's conflict with the guidelines of the Comics Code Authority. Marvel felt that the rules from the CCA were outdated, so in 2001 they dropped the CCA seal from their comics in favor of their new Marvel Comics Code (everyone was probably too busy cussing, drinking, and getting high to notice). The Max line is the equivalent of an R-rated movie.
The first series (and the only unlimited series) on the Max label was Alias, a detective comic in a darker style. As of this writing, the series is on issue #20 and is scheduled to continue.
The mainstay of Marvel Max is in its limited series. One of the first was US War Machine, a 12-part series by Chuck Austen set in an alternate universe. Fury (as in Nick Fury) ran for 6 issues, written by Garth Ennis.
Other series included:
Cage
Howard the Duck
Blade
Black Widow: Pale Little Spider
The Hood
Apache Skies
Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu
Rawhide Kid
US War Machine Vol. 2 and Eternal are slated to begin in June 2003. There are rumors of the upcoming Born miniseries (retelling the origin of The Punisher) being featured on the Max label. There are also rumors that the current Punisher series will move to Marvel Max as its second unlimited series.