Catch up on original Nexus before hiatus
Comic book artist Steve Rude will put his acclaimed comic-book series “Nexus,” which he creates with writer Mike Baron, on hiatus following the conclusion of the “Space Opera” storyline.
As announced in an e-mail from Rude Dude Productions, Rude will focus on gallery paintings and continue to put out books in trade paperback format every few years. Though readers may be at the end of new “Nexus” for now, it’s easier than ever to catch up on the original series.
Rude Dude recently reprinted “Nexus: Origin,” the Eisner Award-winning origin of Nexus, a man in the year 2814, plagued by nightmares of mass-murderers. Nexus, given powers by a mysterious force, is compelled to find these killers and execute them. The original adventures of “Nexus” will be released in an affordable black-and-white format this month. “Nexus: As It Happened” Vol. 1 reprints seven issues of “Nexus”: Vol. 1, 1-3, and Vol. 2, 1-4.
Eight hardcover volumes of “Nexus” have been released by Dark Horse Comics, with the ninth scheduled for August.
The “Space Opera” storyline is set to conclude in the double issue “Nexus” 101-102, also planned for August release.
Baron, who also wrote Marvel’s “Punisher” and DC’s “Batman” and “Flash,” described “Nexus” in a 2008 interview with The Oklahoman.
“All they really need to know is that Nexus is a guy who dreams of mass-murderers, and he has to go out 
and kill them,” Baron said. “The concept is … going to draw people in immediately, and then they’re going to find the characters interesting.”
Baron said “Nexus” is a blend of his and Rude’s world views but compared the writing to two disparate influences.
“Writing-wise, I only claim a couple of antecedents,” he said. “I’ve been greatly inspired by the science-fiction work of Philip Jose Farmer. And the way a story is constructed by Carl Barks. Though you might not see that in there.”
Rude claims Jack Kirby, co-creator of “The Fantastic Four” and “Captain America,” as his inspiration. “(My comics will) have all the sock ‘em, rock ‘em action that all great fiction has – and I’m thinking of, like, Kirby books from the 1960s and 1970s – he dealt with the greatest issues that mankind has ever had to look in the face at – but they were always inspirational,” Rude said in a 2007 interview with The Oklahoman.
“And when things got bad, there always came a hero, which is the essence of comics, to try and do what’s right. And that’s what I love about comic books.”
By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Fallout from raised minimum orders at Diamond Comic Distributors
The two definite cancellations — by the publisher or creator, not imposed by Diamond — that I’ve seen as a result of the new, higher Diamond minimums required by the distributor are both things that I was personally looking forward to reading.
Kevin Huizenga, whose “Or Else” was on my list of “best comics of 2008″ has announced he’s ending the one-person anthology series. He told the Comics Reporter: “Obviously the Diamond thing plays into it, but it wasn’t central… yet it kind of is. We could probably meet the minimum if we tried? But Love and Rockets becoming a book felt like, this is it, if there ever was any doubt. The comic book is a weird holdover, like a coelacanth. I guess if I do this right now I can always feel like it was my decision.”
Meanwhile, AdHouse Books is pulling the plug on Superior Showcase #4. From the AdHouse blog:
“The first casualty that I claim is SUPERIOR SHOWCASE #4. I was working on bringing a new issue out this summer that would have been filled with new talents that I’ve met over the last year. People whose voice may or may not have been heard before. But, I’m going to kill that issue now. Why? Well, at $2.95 there’s no way I’d get orders to put it anywhere near the new threshold. Numbers for #3 were not that great, and I can’t imagine #4 would improve.”
My conversations with other retailers indicate nobody thinks the raised minimums will be a huge financial hit to any particular store. But these examples seem to at least indicate there’s some interesting work we’ll no longer see in comic-book format. Most of it will no doubt migrate to graphic novels. But as a long time fan of the stapled, periodical comic book, I hope we aren’t losing something important in the process.
I do want to say that I don’t blame Diamond in the situation: Certainly in tough economic times, saying you can no longer do something that’s basically unprofitable makes a lot of sense.
– Matt Price
Report: Layoffs at DC Comics, Diamond
The Beat reports on layoffs at DC Comics and Diamond Comics, apparently due to the continuing economic crisis. The most high-profile among them is Bob Schreck, who co-founded Oni Press, edited “Sin City” at Dark Horse, and edited “The Dark Knight Strikes Again” and “All-Star Batman and Robin” for DC. DC is part of Time Warner, which recently announced cuts across all departments. Mad Magazine, also under the Time Warner umbrella, announced it was going to quarterly publication, according to Blog @ Newsarama. It’s also ceasing publication of Mad Kids and Mad Classics.
Diamond Comics is the largest comic-book distributor in the United States, and is in the process of moving its main shipping hub. The Beat reported 13 layoffs.
– Matt Price
