Nexus : Space Opera # 2 of 4 (#100)

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Nexus : Space Opera # 2 of 4 (#100)
By Hervé St-Louis
April 21, 2008 - 09:16

Rude Dude Productions
Writer(s): Mike Baron
Penciller(s): Steve Rude
Inker(s): Steve Rude, Gary Martin, Al Migrom
Cover Artist(s): Steve Rude

Now that Nexus’ son, Harry Hellpop is born, the refugees of Ylum, the moon where Nexus has given asylum to people from all over the universe, is coping with a brewing civil war by the Elvonics. Nexus would like to expel them from his refuge, but the semi autonomous government of Ylum might be too late as the Elvonics are planning a large scale infiltration of Ylum. Can Nexus bring order back to the refuge?

Much like the previous issue, this one is packed with information. But whereas the previous story set the stage for the various political opponents and their confrontation with Nexus, this issue was focused only on political machinations and talking heads, which is ill at home with this series. It’s not that the issues are not interesting but how they are presented in the book makes it boring. It felt like watching a series of legal proceedings at the United Nations. Had Baron changed how he presented all of this information or made the story move forward faster it would have been different. But here, the story wasn’t going anywhere until he brought the obligatory cliff-hanger.

What I did find interesting about this story was the publication history of Nexus and background information on Capital Comics and First Comics.

Rude’s artwork is as packed and intricate as Baron’s script which is not a compliment. Maybe I’m suffering from attention deficit, but reading through this comic book and looking at the artwork which is not bad, but packed with information, tired me. If a book doesn’t make one feel like reading, although the art is good, there’s a problem. Technically, Rude is a good artist, but the storytelling which he once mastered is now too much information intensive. I believe a little diet is in order.

I really want to enjoy Nexus. This is a series I have followed for a long time and have always enjoyed the stories. But Baron and Rude are not adapting the story to modern audiences, taking a cue from the best storytellers have to offers these days.