Nexus Archives Volume 1 (v. 1) [Hardcover]

Mike Baron (Author), Steve Rude (Author)

Book Description

Series: Nexus Archives | Publication Date: December 27, 2005

On the distant moon of Ylum, an enigmatic man is plagued by nightmares. He is forced to dream of the past. He dreams of real-life butchers and tyrants, and what they have done. And then he finds them, and kills them. The year is 2841, and this man is Nexus, a godlike figure who acts as judge, jury, and executioner for the vile criminals who appear in his dreams. He claims to kill in self-defense, but why? Where do the visions come from, and where did he get his powers? Though a hero to many, does he have any real moral code? These are but some of the questions that reporter Sundra Peale hopes to have answered.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Nexus is Horatio Hellpop, a young man who grew up in isolation after his parents fled to a planet filled with mysterious technology. As he matures, he begins to have unbearable nightmares that drive him to kill mass murderers—of whom this galaxy has an endless supply. A flashback reveals how Nexus's first dream compelled him to kill his own father, and this larger-than-life tale takes off from there. In the present day, reporter/spy Sundra Peale comes to write a story about Nexus, now a godlike but mysterious celebrity, and ends up helping him liberate thousands of decapitated, telepathic heads, collected by the slaver Clausius to power his plans of domination. Space opera at its finest, the initial story line spins off into a dozen other plot threads, fueling this book's original 100-issue run in the '80s and '90s. Baron's sweeping yet quirky stories recall Alfred Bester, Heinlein and Sturgeon. Rude, one of the most accomplished comics artists of his era, captures nuances of tragedy, comedy and everything in between. Although these earliest issues have rocky moments, like those other writer/artist duos Lee/Kirby and Morrison/Quitely, the Baron/Rude team surpasses anything they have done separately, and Nexus is a masterwork deserving the archive treatment. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Sf-based superhero Nexus was one of the initial successes of the early-1980s independent comics movement. Raised on a distant a moon, Nexus is haunted by dreams of intergalactic mass murderers that become so unbearable that he is compelled to use his godlike powers to seek out and kill the culprits. The first stories of the reluctant vigilante, reprinted here, show how he acquired his dreadful curse and his abilities, and introduce his supporting cast: girlfriend Sundra Peale, trusted friend Dave, and Dave's son, Judah Maccabee. These early efforts by Nexus' then-young creators are a bit rough. Baron's dialogue can be unironically melodramatic, and Rude's style, an amalgam of classic magazine illustration and superheroic dynamism, has yet to acquire its appealing sleekness. But their powerful concept, which propelled the series for two decades, is firmly in place. Despite a loyal cult following, Nexus was never a huge popular favorite. Perhaps this lavish showcase of the character's earliest exploits sets the stage for a revival. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (December 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593073984
• ISBN-13: 978-1593073985
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #916,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ylum's Favorite Son, January 5, 2006

By 

Joel R. Bryan (Athens, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nexus Archives Volume 1 (v. 1) (Hardcover)

Horatio Hellpop, the man known as Nexus, comes to life in this deluxe hardcover volume collecting the first 7 issues of... well, "Nexus" by Mike Baron and Steve "The Dude" Rude.

The first issues (first published starting in 1981!) are in b&w, the way they were originally printed, but you do get the nice color covers (some are by Paul Gulacy) and then the four-color series kicks in. Along the way Baron's erudite writing style starts to flow and the Dude's art coalesces into something resembling his gorgeous mature work. These are two creators in their formative days coming together to tell the thrilling, philosophical and sometimes hilarious stories of Nexus as he wrestles with his destiny as a man doomed forever to kill mass murderers.

You'll meet Nexus himself, then watch as he pursues killer freaks like Zeiffer Meird and the decapitation-obsessed Clausius. As the story progresses, Nexus encounters the reporter Sundra Peale, who will become his lover, and then the nefarious and compelling Ursula X.X. Imada (plus he learns what the X's stand for). It's a sci-fi superhero tale that quotes William Blake and visually references everything from Dr. Seuss to "Star Trek." All those influences (Baron lists a few in his intro), and yet it's like nothing else.

"Nexus" was one of the indie greats of the 80s, and some of these stories were later retold more fluently by Baron and Rude, but it's worth it to have them in their original, somewhat rougher, form. Wonderful work that only improves along the way.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, March 4, 2006

By 

Chaoschimp "Chaoschimp" (Missoula, MT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nexus Archives Volume 1 (v. 1) (Hardcover)

For anyone interested in amazing art and well-written storylines, go no further. Nexus is a joy to read, and very easy on the eyes. I originally read these quite a few years back, and I am hoping that I am not speaking through nostalgia, but i think that the stories hold up quite well. I am sorta amazed that these books are not hallowed amongst some of the best stuff that came out in the 80's. Perhaps that it was not a Marvel or DC title, i don't know. I would put Nexus, specifically the Steve Rude issues, in my top 20 comics of all time. Anyhow, I would be quite surprised to find a comic reader who would not enjoy these stories. Take a chance, you will most likely be very pleased.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nexus has not aged well, October 16, 2011

By 

Jonathan Ellis (Provo, UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nexus Archives Volume 1 (v. 1) (Hardcover)

I came to Nexus with fresh eyes, un-blurred by nostalgia, and I have bad news: Nexus may eventually hit its stride, with tight plotlines and deep characters, but after this I'm not going to keep reading to find out how long it takes to get there; here in Volume 1 it's just not even close.

Surely of all media, authors in this one would be well served by the classic advice to "show, not tell." Nexus's demons would be more effective if we saw their effect on him secondhand instead of having a second-rate melodrama inflicted on us as backstory far too early. Never mind how ridiculous it is for Nexus to pour out his soul to the first hot blonde who asks twice. Or how said blonde immediately abandons all former loyalties for Nexus without a second thought.

The straw that broke the camel's back is that this entire volume comes up with exactly one foil for Nexus: telepathic heads that can channel power from stars to their masters. After the third (or was it the fourth?) Bad Guy powered by heads, it got old.