Writer: Mike Baron
Artist: Steve Rude
Publisher: RudeDude Productions
Price: $2.99
Release Date: 11th July
Back to Ylum (finally)
Thanks to my friend Pat, I’ve been a big fan of Nexus for nearly 20 years. I lent Pat my Dreadstar collection and I got his Nexus in exchange.
As fate would have it, I was just getting back into the genre in 1989-90 and really didn’t know where to find the golden books. I had a subscription to Dreadstar, but I generally stopped reading comics in 1986. Nexus first hit the shelves in 1981 and I totally missed it’s existence up until Dreadstar left Epic Comics for First Comics, and once there adverts for Nexus and other First Comics books allowed Nexus to finally enter my Sphere of Awareness(tm). Thanks to Pat, I was able to try without buying (I was in college at the time and had little money anyway).
It should be noted at this point I’ve probably bought these stories 3 times in different formats. Such is the life of a fan.
Who or what is Nexus?
He’s Horatio Hellpop, he dreams about mass murderers who live throughout the galaxy and he executes them. It’s that simple, and not that simple. Nexus says he acts in self-defense and may seem less then sane at times. Who wouldn’t be under the circumstances? He gained his powers known as “fusionkasting” from a creature called “The Merk”. The Merk is also responsible for Nexus’ terrible dreams. Fusionkasting allows Nexus to draw energy from nearby stars and use the energy in a variety of different applications. It’s isn’t just energy blasts.
The cast includes: Sundra Peale, Dave of Thune, Dave’s son Judah Maccabee, and many, many more.
More on the characters with some lovely art can be found here: Nexus Character Summaries
Nexus was born and lives on Ylum (pronounced “eye-lum”), which is far outside the normal corridors of space travel. Ylum is a developing nation/planet. The citizens of Ylum are all refugees who have run from persecution by the thousands from all over the galaxy. They come to Ylum to build a new life, but as you might expect they don’t all get along. The current semblance of a government is very small and not up to the constant influx of refugees. Tensions tend to run high while Ylum’s populace sorts itself out.
Where is Earth in all of this?
This is the future, the year is 2841 and Earth is the center of “the Web” a federation of member planets. Nexus and his girlfriend Sundra (who is from Mars) are human, but for the most part the cast is not. Like any good science fiction the aliens of Nexus’ universe represents humans in exaggeration, meaning to say bizarre looking aliens will be immediately identifiable. Sometimes for comedy and sometimes for drama.
How did we get to #99 when the last issue of the series was numbered #80?
The numbering might not make a lot of sense to you as a new or even an old reader. I did the digging just so you don’t have to. I’m nice that way.
Nexus #1 through 80 was published at first by Capital Comics then by First Comics, issue 80 being the last issue of the series at First. The publication rights are then picked up by Darkhorse a few years later. Darkhorse turns the format into limited series even though the main storyline is continued from issue 80. Here’s where the numbering gets us to #99:
Nexus: The Origin (#1) (is series number 81)
Nexus: Alien Justice (#1-3) (is series number 82-84)
Nexus: Wages Of Sin (#1-4) (is series number 85-88)
Nexus: Executioner’s Song (#1-4) (89-92)
Nexus: God Con (#1-2) (93-94)
Nexus: Nightmare In Blue (#1-4) (95-98)
Nightmare In Blue was published in 1997. So when you wait for those issues of Ultimates or whatever Batman story Frank Miller is working on, your wait is nothing to us Nexus fans. I mean that in the most flattering of ways.
NEXUS #99
When we last left Nexus and company (issue 4 of Nightmare In Blue), Sundra had just given up the chance to be President of Ylum so she can devote more time to her coming child, Nexus had the populace of Ylum vote on who he should execute next. That’s the short version.
In Nexus #99, Ylum’s religious factions (the Alvinites and the Elvonics) are fighting while the head of government tries to get Nexus to intervene, Horatio plays the expectant father, too distracted to help sort out the fighting and he really doesn’t like getting involved in politics in the first place. Sundra plays the submerged-in-alien-liquid expectant mother. Nexus’ enemies are plotting to kill his unborn child.
For the returning reader
This is what you’ve been expecting, you might imagine that after 10 years the style (writing and art) of character would take on a more modern concept - a revamp of some sort - but that hasn’t happened. I’ve been reading the archive editions up to the latest volume 5 lately, before I heard Baron and Rude were returning to the book, and what amazes me is how well those old issues read. This isn’t like reading, say, Iron Man number whatever in 1985 and reading the same issue now. Baron’s dialog is quite natural then and now.
After reading and re-reading Nexus for nearly 20 years even I have trouble keeping track of all the characters, plots and sub-plots. I should probably have taken notes while reading. Not remembering every detail of the last group of issues doesn’t stop me from enjoying issue 99 even if I don’t remember all of the plot/character connections.
One of the most brilliant things about Nexus is that the status quo changes without disturbing the nature of the book. Life progresses from Nexus issue 1 to issue 99, but in many ways the characters are very much the same people we’ve always known. That’s extremely difficult to pull off, and Baron and Rude make it look easy.
Darkhorse are still printing the Archive Editions of Nexus, but has returned the rights to Baron and Rude. Steve Rude has made this bold move to bring Nexus back on his own dime.
For the new reader
The plot pacing may seem hectic and overwhelming with the number of coinciding events for 23 pages. If you’re used to the expanded storytelling of most contemporary mainstream comics you’re going to be forced to slow down if you want to get what’s going on. Nexus #99 has a beginning (although an “in progress” story), a middle, and an end, as well as a cliffhanger. That’s right, a whole story as well as an arc suitable for trade format. Imagine that! Hopefully this is a great tease for new readers to want to explore more about Nexus. The Archive Editions volumes 1-5 are available with volume 6 on the way. Or if you’re generous enough to have a friend with the issues like I was, borrow them today. I can’t imagine anyone not being totally sold on this series after reading “The Bowl-Shaped World” arc. This is what convinced me of Baron and Rude’s brilliance.
Coda
Steve Rude is what has always sold me completely on Nexus’ stories. His art has a fluid nature of action, movement and character anatomy in perfect combination that isn’t realistic, but feels more real. For example, Nexus and Sundra are athletic but not unrealistic in proportion to their size. Something that is too common with most comic characters. Maybe it’s because I’ve done many hours of life model drawing I can appreciate the seeming ease at which Rude conveys the “normal” human, alongside the fantastic world. Mike Baron is good with other artists, but with Rude he is at his the top of his game.
Now if someone can get me a copy of the Nexus/Dreadstar cross-over, It wasn’t done by Baron and Rude, for that matter Jim Starlin either. I’m simply curious.
Thanks again, Pat. Hope you’re doing well in these tough days.
Nexus #99 is out July 11, 2007, pick it up.
Further information can be found at these sites:
www.steverude.com
www.rudedudeproductions.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_(comics)
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Michael Tegler is the Director of Technology for an advertising/marketing in Chicago, IL. He installed and maintains the company's entire electronic infrastructure, including corporate communications systems (voice, data, and e-mail) and internal client/server applications and hardware.
Michael holds a BFA in General Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute, College of Art.