Comics Portal: Nexus Returns to Comics!

Thank you, Alien Books, for bringing back to the stands one of my all-time favorite comics, Nexus, which is written by Mike Baron!

‘NEXUS: SCOURGE’

As reported here on MajorSpoilers.com, Nexus is back! He’s returning to comics in a two-part series, with the first part due out on December 18 of this year. It’s called Nexus: Scourge, and the story of this book mixes science fiction with superheroics, and it pits Nexus against an unknown foe who seems to be destroying the universe by making planets disappear one at a time.

Both volumes will cost $4.99 each, and the initial issue will have a cover by series artist Kelsey Shannon and variants from Canaan White and Peter Orchard.

“Nexus found its success in big part thanks to the support of comic shop retailers,” Baron said in a statement released that accompanied the announcement.  “We knew that we wanted Nexus: Scourge to return to the direct market to continue that proud tradition of being available in comic shops, so it was all about finding the right publishing partner to help us do that.  When we connected with Matias [Timarchi] at Alien Books and heard his enthusiasm and passion for the character, we knew right away it was a good fit.”

This tale actually started out as a crowdfunding project, and it garnered $26,840 from a total of 564 backers on Kickstarter.

MY ‘DESERT ISLAND’ EXPERIENCE

If you want to learn more about Horatio Hellpop, be sure to check out this MajorSpoilers.com Hero History on Nexus.

Fans often pose the question, if you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one comic book series to read, what would you choose? Even though I’m a BIG Batman fan and have enjoyed many books about other comics characters, the book I would choose would have to be Nexus. It went on for several years, and the twists and turns always surprised me. Mike Baron just knew how to keep my attention! Not only that, but artist Steve Rude’s work advanced by leaps and bounds, and it matched Baron’s scripts. Wow!

As often happened in my comics experience, it was my twin brother Randy who introduced me to Nexus as he had done with Elfquest and many other great comics.

I believe it was the sixth color issue of Nexus that I first read about the character. If memory serves, Horatio had a dream about a woman tyrant who was going to face her judgement from Nexus. Instead, she ends her life in a very unexpected (at least, by me) way that riveted me to the comic.

I went back and picked up the previous offerings, and that included three black-and-white volumes, one of which contained a disc that a reader could play while reading that third issue. I don’t think anyone else has done that kind of thing even though some creators release playlists to listen to while diving into their stories.

The first thing that surprised me was when Nexus was going to kill quite the nasty guy, so he shot an energy beam at him. Someone decided they didn’t want him dead, so they jumped in the beam’s path. I was intrigued when the beam actually jutted around the person and hit its original target.

I knew then that literally anything was possible when it came to Nexus.

Mike Baron has proven to be one of my all-time favorite authors, and he pitched a great many curveballs at those of us reading the book. I would turn the pages anxiously, not knowing what in the world I would see next.

Another early moment that got me was when Horatio’s friend Judah the Hammer decided to go after a different menace, someone who collected people’s heads to use them as energy sources. It was almost immediately that Judah’s ship returned to Ylum, but the big surprise was that Judah’s body, minus his head, walked out of the ship. THAT stunned me. Nexus had to go and right this wrong, but it was still quite the struggle even with the level of power Horatio had.

SO MUCH POWER, BUT NOT THE SALES NEEDED

And things just got more and more interesting after that. However, I always am left wondering just why Nexus’ comic doesn’t sell more than it does. Is it that the book is TOO cerebral and unexpected for readers?

I’m always exasperated when people complain about storytelling, saying, “We want something new and different!” Then, when someone comes up with something that meets that criteria, the response is, “That’s TOO different!”

I just don’t get that!

Both Rude and Baron have developed other characters that have always grabbed my attention and kept me guessing, including the Badger, the Moth, and many others. None of them have stuck. And this was even after Baron’s groundbreaking run on The Flash and Rude’s excellent art on World’s Finest, among others.

Recently Rude announced that he has not been able to support himself while making comics, so he has had to turn to other artistic means to do that. I’m still heartbroken over that! Thankfully, Baron has continued to make new comics, such as Nexus: Scourge. He’s also been making a terrific series called Florida Man, which kills me because I see how grounded in reality that book is since I live in Central Florida. Highly recommended, by the way!

NOW WHAT?

The truth is, Nexus: Scourge is following the path many comics have turned to more and more in recent years—crowdfunding followed by them hopefully released to the comics market.

Yes, it’s terribly tough to make a living making comics. I have seen many throw up their hands in frustration when they produce excellent content that doesn’t sell enough to pay their bills.

All we can do as fans is support those creators we appreciate as much as we can while encouraging them to keep at it so we can enjoy their works.

Today, people make comics because that storytelling bug has bitten them, and they just love seeing readers react to their tales. It’s hard to give up once you’ve had that experience. But reality gets in the way of comics sometimes, and real life comes knocking on your door, demanding bills be paid!

Let’s do what we can to keep Nexus alive as well as the high-octane works of other creators!

What do you think? Is the way for comics to survive to follow the crowdfunding model first, then see if there is market interest? Are some comics just too smart for their own good? What else can we do to support the best books that we love? Whatever your opinions, be sure to share them in the space below!

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