M-Maybe

M-Maybe depicts an attractive girl, which is typical of Lichtenstein's romance comics adaptations. As is a common theme among these works, she awaits a man in a vague but urban setting. The text and her expression jointly capture her continuing worry and anticipation. Lichtenstein invites much speculation with the work, including the identities of the present and absent subjects of the work as well as the "nature of the situation". I.e, what might be holding up his arrival. Lichtenstein had a desire that his paintings look as mechanical as possible although he was a painter. Rather than selecting subject matter from photographs by an individual, he selected teen and action comics, such as the obvious source for this work, as subjects since they were illustrated by teams that produced source material that was devoid of "personal elements of style".