Customer Reviews

Nexus Archives Volume 4 (v. 4)

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Flawless episodes of Nexus and one of the more interesting runs in the Space saga.
Baron and Rude at their best.
Do not miss it.

Back in the early '80s Mike Baron and Steve Rude created some fantastic comic book stuff with NEXUS. This series, set in the far-flung future, combines superhero elements with space opera that is reminiscent of those classic sci-fi of the '50s. For those not in the know, Nexus is Horatio Hellpop, who dwells in the distant moon Ylum and whose crippling headaches and nightmares force him into acts of assassinations. His saving grace is that his targets are also mass murderers. Nexus wields fusion casting powers, the source of which is a giant alien being called the Merk, who is also the sender of Nexus's dreams and headaches. In issue #19 (the first issue in this collection) Horatio comes face to face with the Merk for the first time. It's not a congenial meeting.

There is simply no down time for Nexus. Thousands of refugee spacecrafts circle Ylum persistently, in hopes of sanctuary. But Ylum is limited in its ability to sustain life and so can only house a small community; so the waiting list is interminable. The space pirate Steve (I snicker at the name!) and his marauders are quick to take advantage, preying on these desperate immigrants in orbit. Things get even more dicey when the Sov Empire deploys a war fleet and places Ylum under siege. Mostly relying on Nexus for protection, the populace of Ylum suddenly finds itself near defenseless as Nexus is shockingly stripped of his fusion casting powers. It seems that the Merk has cut Nexus off, deeming that Horatio hasn't lived up to his assassinating obligations. To regain his powers, Horatio, now a mere mortal, must perform two assassinations. But will he be in time to save Ylum?

(And, just to echo an old adage - "The pencil is mightier than the sword." - we are introduced to the imposing Black Pencil. What is it?! What tremendous power does it house?! Will civilization ever be the same?! (There's a chance I may have overhyped the Black Pencil:).)

Part of the reason I dig NEXUS is because it boasts an interesting and huge friggin' cast. From the wise, fatherly Fred to Judah (the Hammer of God) to the lovely Sundra Peale, and on to many, many other characters. From the simian Thunes to the cyclopic, four armed Quatros to the floating psionic Heads to the Merk. Writer Mike Baron, when not focusing on Horatio's doings, throws in a story arc involving the Quatros, Kreed and Sinclair, trapped in an enemy spaceship. We also catch up a bit with Sundra, who at this stage had broken up with Horatio.

Character development isn't ignored. Horatio continues to suffer existential angst as he seeks meaning and justification in his life to balance his role of ruthless galactic assassin. It doesn't help him that, every now and then, his victim isn't a remorseless, despicable, out-and-out villain. His latest target, for example, is General Loomis, who is in charge of the Gravity Well, a project in space which threatens to suck in the sun. One planet and its five hundred thousand inhabitants have already succumbed to this project, sparking Nexus's attention. General Loomis comes off as more than just a one-dimensional person, and he certainly dotes on his daughters. When Nexus eliminates him, he does it with a measure of respect. Can you blame Nexus for being such a tortured soul?

When talking about Steve "the Dude" Rude's clean, sleek artwork and dynamic compositions, you could raise comparisons to Wally Wood, Jack Kirby, and Alex Toth. You can even say that his style is reminiscent of those poster ads in the 1950s, and of illustrator Andrew Loomis's work (General Loomis is named after him). But I think we should just label the Dude's artwork as timeless, and leave it at that. NEXUS blossomed from the ideal pairing of Rude and Mike Baron, with the Dude bringing Baron's quirky, tongue-in-cheek writing to amazing visual life. The themes introduced by Baron are still relevant, although one geopolitical subtext which falls flat nowadays is the Sov Empire as a prominent foil for Nexus and his buddies. NEXUS, in these contemporary times, still reads as fresh and exciting, while hearkening back to those nostalgic pulp sci-fi tales.

NEXUS ARCHIVES Vol. 4 collects issues #19-25 of the NEXUS series. Note that "False Prophets" (issue #23) is a flashback story, chronicling an amusing untold adventure undertaken by Nexus, Judah, and the Badger while trapped in the Bowl Shaped World (NEXUS #6, Nexus Archives Volume 1 (Nexus Archives)). This issue also has Keith Giffen as the guest penciller, and while he's no Steve Rude, he's not so shabby. And, if you want to waste your time, this archive collection also reprints those incredibly lame Tales from the Clonezone back-up features.

NEXUS was one of the more successful products published by an independent comic book company. I mean, how many independent titles actually reach 100 issues? Not that many. Props to Dark Horse for publishing these Nexus Archives, because there's no way I was gonna break out my original, minty Nexus comics just to re-read them. For me, a comic book nut, the 1980s is kind of like a magical era, what with all these great or near-great independent comics which broke out around this time. I miss these titles so much: Justice Machine, the Elementals, the DNAgents and its spinoff Crossfire, GrimJack, Cerebus the Aardvark, Concrete, Mage, Zot!, American Flagg, Jon Sable, Next Men, Chuck Dixon's Air Boy, the Rocketeer, and Alan Moore's very, very awesome Miracleman. A few of these have been collected in trade. Most of them languish in unfair oblivion. Someone should fix this.

This volume is a hardcover compilation of the Nexus Comic Book published by Frist Comics in the 1980's. Nexus is a costumed "hero" who's purpose is to hunt down murderes and execute them. Although the hero does this dilligently he is forced to comfront a growing moral dillema as he sees himself becoming like the killers he hunts down. To make things more problematic Nexus is building a nation on his home base planet and many disenfrenchised beings travel there looking for sancturary. Something the planet and the society are not capable of providing.
The plot and humor are often deeply seeded in the cold war mentality of the 80's but it is not heavy handed. The politics are handled in a humorous way. The art is fabulous. Steve "the dude" Rude (who also paints the covers) has a clean, streamlined style reminicent of 1950's comic art which is perfect for the story. At the same time everyone from the heroes in tights to the weirdest of aliens have a very down to earth humanity to them that allows the reader to empathise with them.

I recommend this and all nexus archives.