Nexus (comics)

Last updated

Nexus
Nexuscomic.jpg
Nexus – Nightmare in Blue #4 (October 1997)
Publication information
Publisher Capital Comics
First Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Rude Dude Productions
Format Mini-series
Ongoing series
Genre Science fiction
Superhero
Publication dateJanuary 1981 – October 1982
May 1983 – May 1991
1992 – 1997
No. of issues100+
Creative team
Written by Mike Baron
Penciller(s) Steve Rude
Collected editions
Volume 1 ISBN   1-59307-398-4

Nexus is an American comic book series created by writer Mike Baron and penciler Steve Rude in 1981. The series is a combination of the superhero and science fiction genres, set 500 years in the future. [1]

Contents

Publication history

The series debuted as a three-issue black-and-white limited series (the third of which featured a 33 RPM flexi disc with music and dialogue from the issue), followed by an ongoing full-color series which lasted 80 issues. The black-and-white issues and the first six color issues were published by Capital Comics; after Capital's demise, First Comics took over publication.

On the creation of the series, Baron noted that they had originally pitched a series called Encyclopaedias to Capital Comics, but the company rejected this, saying they were looking for a superhero title. Over a drink at a restaurant, Baron outlined his ideas for Nexus to Rude: [2]

Nexus was entirely Baron's idea. He even came up with the lightning bolt for the costume. All that we needed then was a name... a few weeks passed. Baron calls, and, without preamble, just says "Nexus". We finally had our name. [2]

In addition to the ongoing series, First reprinted the original miniseries as a graphic novel and later reprinted the first two years of the ongoing title in the Nexus Legends series. The ongoing series was also supplemented by The Next Nexus, a four-issue miniseries that followed Nexus #52. Following the conclusion of the ongoing series with #80 (May 1991), seven miniseries and two one-shot comics were published by Dark Horse Comics. The last of these miniseries was printed in black and white as a cost-cutting measure; low sales led to the series being discontinued. Although each miniseries had its own issue numbering, Baron and Rude added a sequential number to each, as explained in the back of the first issue of Nexus: Executioner's Song:

The current issue number was figured by continuing First Publishing's numbering, which ended at volume 2, #80. Adding Nexus: The Origin, Nexus: Alien Justice #1–3, and Nexus: The Wages of Sin #1–4 brings it up to 88 — making "Dark Side of the Moon" #89.

The sequential numbering system excluded Nexus the Liberator (which neither Rude nor Baron worked on), and crossover specials with Magnus: Robot Fighter and Madman .

Baron and Rude discussed plans to either revive the series or release a movie, possibly in animated form (a brief animated test clip was shown at comics conventions). [3] From July 2007 through July 2009 they published the miniseries Space Opera, which culminated in a double-size issue #101/102.

The creators' canonical publication list includes 105 issues:

The series returned to publication in 2012 within the pages of Dark Horse Presents . [4]

In 2019, Dark Horse announced The Coming of Gourmando, a collection of Nexus "newspaper strips". [5] The volume would finally see publication in 2021. [6]

As of April 2022, Baron and Rude had parted ways and were working on separate Nexus projects. The first for Rude is 100 page Nexus story "Battle for Thuneworld", originally intended to be completed in the fall of 2022. [7]

Mike Baron has produced Nexus: Nefarious, [8] one issue of proposed miniseries Nexus: Triplets, Nexus: A Novel, [9] and the upcoming Nexus: Scourge [10]

Horatio Hellpop

The lead character, Horatio Valdemar Hellpop, received his Nexus powers from an alien entity called the Merk. As payment, the Merk required Nexus to seek out and kill a certain quantity of human mass murderers per "cycle". When the Merk selected a target, Nexus would receive strong headaches and maddeningly anguishing dreams (whose extremely intense episodes caused physical injuries to Hellpop's body that emulated the dream violence) of his target's victims until he did his duty. Horatio was reluctant to act as the Merk's tool, but continued seeking out mass murderers to maintain his power and his sanity so that he could defend his homeworld, a lunar refuge named Ylum (a shortening of the word "asylum", thus pronounced "eye-lum").

Stylistic influence

Both Baron and Rude paid homage to Space Ghost in their work on Nexus, including use of the battle cry "This calls for hyperspeed!" and including Space Ghost characters Jan, Jayce, and Blip in several uncredited background cameos. Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters from Jonny Quest , The Herculoids and Magnus Robot Fighter along with his girlfriend Leeja Clane are frequently spotted in Nexus comics along with the occasional appearance of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock from Star Trek . Rude was later hired to create a Space Ghost comic for Comico with writer Mark Evanier.

Steve Rude cited a number of influences on his clean, distinctive style, including Space Ghost character designs and other work by Alex Toth, Doug Wildey, Jack Kirby and commercial illustrators of the 1940s and 1950s, particularly Andrew Loomis. Rude occasionally does covers in the style of American illustrator Norman Rockwell.

Baron's Nexus stories responded to the world he was writing in, with competing merchants overwhelming media channels (and telepathy) with advertising. A great computerized library controlled the universe's memory of history. Some of his early 1980s references have become outdated, such as the menacing Sov Empire.

Collected editions

Dark Horse Comics hardcover archive editions include:

Rude Dude Productions:

Dark Horse Comics Softcover omnibus editions:

Reception

Martin A. Stever reviewed Nexus in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 83. [11] Stever commented that "the success of the book is due, in part, to its greatly detailed setting. Together Baron and Rude have fleshed out an entire future universe that is as rich and original as anything that I've seen in any medium". [11]

Awards

The series won a total of six Eisner Awards.[ citation needed ] In 1988, the series won an award for Best Artist/Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team.[ citation needed ] 1992's Nexus: Origin won awards for Best Single Issue/Single Story, Best Writer/Artist, and Best Artist/Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team.[ citation needed ] In 1997, Nexus: Executioner's Song won Best Artist/Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team.[ citation needed ] In 2008, Todd Klein won Best Letterer/Lettering for his work on Nexus.[ citation needed ]

Crossovers

The Nexus series produced several crossover issues, featuring characters from several other First series, including American Flagg! , Grimjack , Jon Sable: Freelance , Badger , Whisper and Dreadstar . An example of Nexus crossover issues is the series Crossroads, published in 1988. Following the switch in publishers from First to Dark Horse, Nexus crossed over with Madman (Nexus Meets Madman) and Magnus Robot Fighter (Magnus Robot Fighter/Nexus).

Adaptations

On January 1, 2000, it was revealed that producer Jeff Kline was awaiting a pick-up order from the Fox Kids Network for a cel-animated Nexus series. While the production had gotten as far as scripting (with significant input from the comic's creators), the show was ultimately never produced. [12] It has never been publicly confirmed why the network passed on the series, but the underperformance of Kline's previous production, Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot , may have been a contributing factor.

A 2-minute promo for a Nexus animated series was produced in 2004. [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Markstein, Don. "Nexus". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Baker, Bill ( w ). The History of Nexus,vol. 1,no. 100(January 2008).Rude Dude Productions.
  3. ↑ Steve Rude Executes Animated Nexus
  4. ↑ BARON AND RUDE RETURN TO "NEXUS" IN "DARK HORSE PRESENTS"
  5. ↑ "Mike Baron and Steve Rude's Nexus Returns in February", Bleeding Cool
  6. ↑ Nexus: The Newspaper Strips #1 - The Coming of Gourmando, Grand Comics Database
  7. ↑ Steve Rude's Blog
  8. ↑ "Dark Horse To Publish Mike Baron's Nefarious Version of Nexus", Bleeding Cool
  9. ↑ "Mike Baron Writes a New Nexus Comic With Richard Meyer, and a Novel", Bleeding Cool
  10. ↑ "Mike Baron Returns to Nexus With New Graphic Novel", ComicBook.com
  11. 1 2 Stever, Martin A. (October–November 1988). "The Ruler". Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer (83). World Wide Wargames: 29–30.
  12. ↑ Jo Anne Kenny (January 1, 2000). "SPFE's Jeff Kline is looking at a monkey, Jackie Chan and the Universe from around the world". kidscreen.
  13. ↑ Nexus: The Animated Series Promo (Video 2004) – IMDb

Related Research Articles

<i>Little Lulu</i> 1935–1944 American comic strip

Little Lulu is a comic strip created in 1935 by American author Marjorie Henderson Buell. The character, Lulu Moppet, debuted in The Saturday Evening Post on February 23, 1935, in a single panel, appearing as a flower girl at a wedding and mischievously strewing the aisle with banana peels. Little Lulu replaced Carl Anderson's Henry, which had been picked up for distribution by King Features Syndicate. The Little Lulu panel continued to run weekly in The Saturday Evening Post until December 30, 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turok</span> Fictional character

Turok is a fictional character who first appeared in American comic books published by Western Publishing through licensee Dell Comics. He first appeared in Four Color Comics #596. After a second Four Color appearance, the character graduated to his own title – Turok, Son of Stone – published by both Dell and then Gold Key Comics from 1956 to 1982. Subsequently, he appeared in titles published by Valiant Comics, Dark Horse Comics and Dynamite Comics.

Guy Davis is an American creature designer, concept artist, illustrator and storyboard artist who has worked on film, television, comic book and video game projects. He is known for his collaborations with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, including the television series The Strain (2014–17) and the films Pacific Rim (2013), Crimson Peak (2015) and The Shape of Water (2017). Beforehand, Davis was the regular artist for the Hellboy spinoff comic B.P.R.D. (2003–2010), as well as the artist behind his own creator-owned comic The Marquis (2009).

<i>Aliens vs. Predator</i> (comics) Comic book series started in 1989

Aliens vs. Predator is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics between 1989 and 2020 on an intermittent basis, written and drawn by various artists. Dark Horse also publishes the Aliens and Predator lines of comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost (Dark Horse Comics)</span> Comic book character

Ghost is the fictional superhero of an eponymous comic book published by American company Dark Horse Comics. The character appeared in specials and monthly titles detailing the afterlife of Elisa Cameron and her search for the truth surrounding her (apparent) death.

<i>Alien Legion</i> Science fiction comic book series

Alien Legion is an American science fiction comic-book series, with several associated titles, created by Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, and Frank Cirocco for Marvel Comics's Epic Comics imprint in 1983. It features a military unit, Force Nomad, similar to the French Foreign Legion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Rude</span> American comics artist

Steve Rude is an American comics artist. He is best known as the co-creator of Nexus.

Ian Edginton is a British comic book writer, known for his work on such titles as X-Force, Scarlet Traces, H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds and Leviathan.

Andrew Watson is a British cartoonist and illustrator best known for the graphic novels Breakfast After Noon, Slow News Day and his series Skeleton Key and Love Fights, published by Oni Press and Slave Labor Graphics.

<i>Aliens</i> (Dark Horse Comics line) Comic book line

Aliens is a line of several comic books set in the fictional universe of the Alien films published by Dark Horse Comics from 1988 forward. The stories often feature the company Weyland-Yutani and the United States Colonial Marines. Originally intended as a sequel to James Cameron's 1986 film Aliens, the first mini-series features the characters of Rebecca "Newt" Jorden and Corporal Dwayne Hicks. Later series also included the further adventures of Ellen Ripley, with other stories being unique to the Alien universe and are often used to explore other aspects of the species, such as their sociology and biology, and also tying into Dark Horse Comics' Predator and Aliens vs. Predator lines. The novels by Titan Books also crossed over with the comics leading to some shared continuity.

<i>Star Wars: Legacy</i> American comic book series

Star Wars: Legacy is an American comic book series set in the Star Wars universe. The series, published by Dark Horse Comics, is written by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, and illustrated by Duursema and others, with inks by Dan Parsons and color by Brad Anderson. Issue #0, which cost 25¢ and introduced the setting and major characters, was released on June 7, 2006.

<i>John Carter, Warlord of Mars</i> Marvel Comics series

John Carter, Warlord of Mars is a comics series published from 1977 by American company Marvel Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman (writer) and Gil Kane (penciller), it was based on the Barsoom series of Edgar Rice Burroughs and featured the eponymous character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Powell (comics)</span> American comic book writer/artist (born 1975)

Eric Powell is an American comic book writer/artist, best known as the creator of The Goon.

<i>Indiana Jones</i> (comics) Comic book series

The Indiana Jones franchise has appeared in many comic books. Marvel Comics initially held the comic book licensing rights before they were acquired by Dark Horse Comics in 1990. Marvel published adaptations of the films Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, while Dark Horse adapted the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis video game, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarzan in comics</span>

Tarzan, a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in 23 sequels. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, including comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Richardson (publisher)</span> American publisher, writer, and producer

Mike Richardson is an American publisher, writer, and producer. In 1986, he founded Dark Horse Comics, an international publishing house located in Milwaukie, Oregon. Richardson is also the founder and President of the Things From Another World retail chain and president of Dark Horse Entertainment, which has developed and produced numerous projects for film and television based on Dark Horse properties or licensed properties.

Arvid Nelson is an American comic book writer, best known for Rex Mundi.

The Fillbach Brothers are comic book artists, known for penciling the Dark Horse Comics Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures series.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.