Nexus Omnibus Volume 8

Nexus Omnibus #8

by Mike Baron, Mike Allred, Steve Rude (Illustrations)

Nexus ponders gods, stands with kings, and faces the ghosts of his past in the incredible adventures that introduced Nexus to a new generation!

Created by Mike Baron and Steve Rude, Nexus is a superhero/science-fiction masterpiece! This value-priced omnibus collects Nexus: The Wages of Sin #1-4, Nexus: Executioner's Song #1-4, Nexus: God Con #1-2, Nexus: Nightmare in Blue #1-4, and Nexus meets MadMan!

"The greatest superhero comic of all time."-Newsarama

Genres: Comics, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels

390 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2016

Reviews

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wages of Sin (#85-88). Following the end of the long-running Nexus series, this miniseries is continuity light. Instead, it's just the story of three murderous cases for Horatio (and one dull domestic dispute between Judah and Gladys). Despite the lack of strong continuity, the Hellpop issues are all quite strong, featuring great looks at Horatio's character, interesting expansions of his universe, and perhaps just a teeny bit of continuity. So in short, these are fun, and a good continuation of the Nexus story. (The Judah story, meanwhile, isn't really worth reading, not that I've ever loved his spotlights without Horatio.) [4/5].

Executioner's Song (#89-92). After "Wages of Sin", it's great to get an arc with stronger continuity. Oh, these are all one-offs, but the first issue is about Michana, the second about Horatio's father, the third about another alternative Nexus, and the last about Sheena and Scarlett. They're all well-written, ranging from good to great (with the last issue being the great one), and there's not only nice characterization of these varying peoples, but also some slow expansion of Nexus' soap-opera plots [4+/5].

God Con (#93-94). The Gods come to Ylum! Even though this is a short two-parter, it truly feels like a Nexus story, with Gods running rampant and craziness and Horatio facing a moral dilemma. It's a great short bit [5/5].

Nightmare in Blue (#95-98). Wow, what an absolutely packed arc. Nexus without his powers. A vote for a new killing. A presidential run on Ylum. A snoopy reporter. And more. This is a wonderful, dense, packed story that feels like the original run. Unfortunately, not all of its subplots were closed, and this was the end of the traditional Nexus storyline [5/5].

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latter part of Nexus - even going back to the last few issues of the First Comics run - aren't as heavy or as thoughtful in their efforts to get readers to consider the morality of the universe and the human species. I do miss that Nexus comic, but the latter part is still a very entertaining world-building, sci-fi epic. As with Omnibus 7, Steve Rude is back to draw Nexus full-time, but Omnibus 7 was chock full of spin-off projects. Omnibus 8 is all Rude, all Nexus.

Wages of Sin and Executioner's Song are both four-part miniseries, each issue (chapter) largely focused on a main story with some continuing subplots connecting them together. It's all very solid. The Judah-Gladys domestic battle was among the less endearing, but for longtime readers, it's also amazing to see the very-true teenagers Scarlet and Sheena have turned into. Sundra thwarting Ursula's espionage was great as well. (Aside: Executioner's Song #1 was actually the first Nexus comic I ever read. I was very late to the series, but still had a complete Capitol and First run before Nightmare in Blue concluded.)

The two-part God Con is a lark - don't expect a super-deep theology dive (it's only two issues) - but it's among the most positive portrayals of religion in a series that has devoted much time to religious extremists (are there any other kind? ;) ). And Nightmare in Blue, the final four-parter, is a curiosity. Sales were low and the series was printed in black & white (nice way to experience Rude's art), so they had a "fan vote" to determine who Horatio should kill (and, assumedly, goose sales interest). It was a fun series, although I'm not sure Horatio vs. giant molecules was necessarily a sales-getting move! The ending - I've always wondered if the final ballot shown actually reflected the fan vote, because poetically, the story wouldn't work at all with any other outcome. But boy, Baron cooked up a great send-off for four of the killers and the final page was a great one. (In full disclosure, way back when, I voted for Clayburn. Can't have someone getting away from justice!)

There's also a Nexus Meets Madman one-shot, guest-starring Mike Allred's Frank Einstein, which is a goof-off and should be enjoyed in that spirit.

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Rude returns full time for this final volume in the Nexus Omnibus series (though not the last we'll see of Horatio Hellpop) and it is glorious. Not to denigrate the other artists who've worked on the character but "The Dude" is co-creator of this world and his art is always superb. Story-wise Mike Baron takes the characters on some interesting and occasionally VERY weird journeys. Enjoyable work.

[Chris Fluit · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very uneven book. This volume collects 4 mini-series and 1 special. The first 2 mini-series (Wages of Sin and Executioner's Song) were outstanding and would have earned 5 stars on their own. But the latter half of the book (God Con, Nightmare in Blue and the Madman crossover) were disappointingly subpar. I split the difference and gave it 3 stars. I liked it- but not all of it.