Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities The Return of NEXUS

article at comicbook resources:
Nexus inteview

And here's one at Newsarama:
Steve Rude interview

It's about time.

Vootie!

Did anyone else pick this up?

It's numbered as issue 99, picking up the numbering from 10 years ago.

Fun read.

I did. Here's a review.

Mild SPOILERS
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“Peace! War! Monkey Chow!”

Thus spake the Heads in Nexus # 24 more than two decades ago.

Now, in the pages Nexus # 99, we get to revisit all our old friends, enemies, and political alliances as writer Mike Baron and artist Steve Rude re-launch their beloved creation after a ten-year hiatus.

Nexus # 99 begins as four mysterious beings meet deep in the bowels of Ylum, the artificial moon where Nexus, the assassin/world champion, and two million refuges from various worlds live. These four beings hatch a plot to kill the soon-to-be-born child of Nexus and his wife, Sundra Peale.

Meanwhile, as Nexus (a.k.a. Horatio Hellpop) loses sleep over his impending fatherhood, his watch over Sundra is interrupted by Tyrone, president of the two million other residents. Tyrone calls upon Nexus to deal with the Elvonics, a religious fanatic group that wants to destroy another religious group called Alvinites. Nexus temporarily silences Brother Wenceles, the Elvonics’ chief hatemonger, then returns to Sundra’s side. Inevitably, Nexus’ enemies make two attempts on the life his unborn child, only to be thwarted, first by two unlikely midwives and then by Nexus himself. Later, when Tyrone comes calling a second time to petition Nexus’ help in stopping a murderous march by the Elvonics, Nexus curtly tells the president to “take care of it.” Tyrone does – in a manner that is sure to create further complications for Nexus and Ylum.

Nexus is one of those rare comics that has it all: It is both intelligent and silly; thought-provoking and full of action; beautifully drawn and worth reading. And, just to give you more for your three bucks, Rude (who also functions as publisher this time) brings back the time-honored tradition of the letters page.

At its best, Nexus tackles serious subject matter such as religious hatred and media bias, but neither preaches nor makes light of such issues. Rather, it functions as brilliant satire of parallels found in our own world. The fanatical desire of the Elvonics to wipe out “disbelievers” has always struck an honest chord, but never more so than in these post 9/11 times. Likewise, the heavily doctored news reports from Nipsy Conniption (love that name!) should make us pause to consider just how “fair and balanced” our news sources truly are.

The silly side of Nexus, which includes character designs and names, as well a sometimes irreverent attitude (see the quote above), serves also as subtle commentary on the way things operate here on planet earth. The traditions and beliefs of others may seem strange, but there’s a lot more going on, if one digs a little deeper. In many ways, Ylum seems to represent both the idea and reality of the United States: the idea of welcoming others from all over, the reality of how disparate groups don’t always abandon their previous mindsets and sometimes re-create the very oppression they sought to escape. Nexus, the unofficial and reluctant world leader, strikes an odd parallel with George W. Bush: He has the power to intervene in domestic affairs, but is distracted by his own concerns (the birth of his son, as opposed to the War in Iraq); the result is a recipe for chaos.

But Nexus isn’t merely political, psychological, and social satire. It is also an outstanding action/adventure story that moves along at a crisp pace and contains enough plot in this issue for two issues. Rather than waiting until the final installment of this mini-series-within-a-series for the birth of Horatio and Sundra’s child (as other creators might do), Baron and Rude deliver the tyke in this issue – as if to say, “Okay, you wanted the baby? Here it is. Now we’ll get on with the rest of the story.” The result is an issue that feels densely packed, even if it is only the first of a four-issue story arc.

Rude’s artwork remains as fluid as ever, and expertly conveys both the surrealism and realism (in faces, particularly) of Nexus’ world. Rude’s settings and layouts are imaginative but never get in the way of clarity and action. Consider, for example, the sequence of panels where Nexus stops the “hyposiles” (hypodermic missiles – clever!) from reaching Sundra on Page 15. With brilliant use of motion lines, panel arrangements, and color (courtesy of Glenn Whitmore), Rude shows us everything we need to see yet keeps the story moving forward. Many comics artists today should take note of this technique.

Speaking of color, Nexus is a series that virtually demands to be printed in color (the absence of which was the biggest strike against the series’ previous incarnation). Whitmore’s bright colors are as appealing as they are dynamic, and convey a variety of moods in different locales: the shadowy underground, the bright lighting of the “outside” of Ylum, and the more subdued textures of the birthing room.

Most comics revamps and relaunches never live up to the hype and expectations that precede them. But Nexus is off to an excellent start by continuing right where it left off, instead of starting over from scratch. It’s good to have Baron, Rude, and Horatio back.

Combined threads.

good catch, Scott.

Let's try to keep an eye out for existing threads on the same topic, folks - especially when the other one is only a few threads down the list.

You can thank Drake. He pointed me to the original one.

Cobie can have two birthday threads, but Nexus gets only one thread? Where's the justice in that?!

Seriously, I apologize for not posting to the previous thread.

That's okay Greg. We're going to blame Vee anyway since he's the one who started the new one.

BOT, I need to pick this up. I wonder what the chances are of it being collected.

Ooops! Sorry, my eyesight ain't what it use to be!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Well, to be fair, the original thread hadn't been posted on since May 20, so it was easy to overlook or forget.

But, hey, Vee, since you read the story, too, why not post your own review?

So, what's the relationship to Nexus: Space Opera #1 ? Is it the same issue? The review seems to act like this is a #1 issue, not #99.

The indicia reads Nexus No. 99 (Nexus: Space Opera #1 of 4)

Yes, it employs the double system of numbering that's been in vogue since John Byrne's Next Men, if not before.

Useless numbering trivia:
In the mid-80s, Crossfire (Eclipse) did it for the Crossfire and Rainbow miniseries (#1 on the cover, "1(19)" or (a similar number) continuing the previous Crossfire numbering on the inside), but later ignored those numbers when the ongoing Crossfire series resumed (at 19 or therabouts) in black and white.

that was a great but overlooked series - especial the B&W era. Evanier's writing was less constrained by the superheroish motif, and Dan Speigel's artwork just sang.

It's great to see Nexus again, but it's interesting how to me a book that seemed "edgy and independent" ten years ago (and when I was ten years younger) seems "nostalgic and old-fashioned" now. Not necessarily a bad thing, but that's the vibe I get.

I'm glad to see the baby born already. I was afraid Sundra would be stuck in the bottle for the majority of the series.

People are enthusiastic about Nexus and my CBS guy gave me a complimentary copy of #1 to get me hooked - but I didn't get the glow. Maybe the back issues had more bite, so I'll try some of them.

In the forward to the Legion Archives vol. 3, Harry Broertjes writes "Is there any reason Nexus couldn't be part of the Legion's past?"

Well, we haven't seen any Thunes in the 30th/31st centuries.

Glad you gave Nexus a shot, Cramer, even though it may not have been your cup of tea.