NEXUS: AS IT HAPPENED (Rude Dude Publications) ($9.99)
By Adam Prosser

Modern superhero fans have a bit of a prejudice against black-and-white indie books. The consensus among certain types of fandom is that they’re all mopey, poorly-drawn autobiographical comics about the boring everyday lives of a bunch of whiny hipsters. And yeah…it’s not hard to see how that stereotype came about. Just as it’s not hard to see how people got the idea that superhero comics are a bunch of emotionally arrested continuity wank, or that manga is bizarre, repetitive and perverted. Sometimes the stereotypes are true.
 
And sometimes they aren’t. A lot of indie books are written and drawn by people with mainstream tastes, who simply want to make a go of it on their own. The subject matter of these books can be just as accessible as mainstream stuff - heck, even more so, given how niche-y most mainstream stuff is these days. Jeff Smith comes to mind, as does Jaime Hernandez. And then there’s Mike Baron and Steve Rude, the creators of Nexus.
 
Nexus launched in 1981. It was a SF superhero epic starring a costumed hero (who bore more than a passing resemblance to Space Ghost) charged with the task of hunting down and executing dictators and political oppressors, both current and retired. Nexus (real name: Horatio Hellpop) had come to the remote moon of Ylum as a child, only to gain strange powers from a long-forgotten civilization and to make the horrifiying discovery that his father was a Communist dictator (yes, apparently they still have Communist dictators in the far future) who had gone on the run after destroying his own planet in order to save it. He became Nexus’s first victim.
 
Since then, Nexus has executed hundreds of oppressors and liberated their planets, resettling their refugees on Ylum and building up a Doc Savage-style army of companions. He has a somewhat odd code of honour—he kills, but only at the behest of a series of mysterious dreams from an unknown source, something that doesn’t always sit well with his more bloodthirsty companions, or even his own pacifistic major-domo, an apelike alien named Dave. As the story starts, Nexus is reluctantly granting access to Ylum from a snoopy reporter named Sundra Peale, who may have a few surprises up her sleeve. Meanwhile, unrest among the refugees seems to be reaching critical mass.
 
Only the most trivial of details distinguish this comic from the stuff Marvel or (even more so) DC were putting out at the time. It didn’t even stay black and white for very long—after a three-issue Volume One, the series switched to colour. This proved a handsome compliment to Rude’s fantastic artwork, which is sleek and kinetic, with a 60s vibe that would have been retro even at the time, and some stunning compositions.
 
This new reprint of Volume One and the first four issues of Volume Two drops the colour and shrinks the art to Manga format, all the better to make it accessible to new readers (and necessary, since up until now this material has only been available in ludicrously expensive full-colour hardcovers from Dark Horse). Despite the no-frills approach, Rude’s artwork still dazzles, and makes this a well-worthwhile purchase. Baron’s scripting is less original, but it’s still fun, a relic of an age when superheroes could pull off a certain weight and thoughtfulness while still staying light on their feet. And, it goes without saying, the world of the story is fresh, without years of continuity and multiple authors to gum up the work.
 
I don’t personally see anything keeping comics fans consigned to one particular niche or another, but if you need a “gateway drug” to lure some poor superhero fan into entertaining other avenues of enjoyment, you couldn’t ask for anything better than Nexus.


FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS



[Raided] Batman #687 (DC Comics)($3.99)
by Graig Kent

"I'm not quite on solid ground yet. Damian can't see me second-guess myself. There'll be times when I'll need to go it alone"

Dick Grayson utters these words to Alfred late in this, the first issue of his tenure as the Batman. It's a rather blatant patch of conversation for returning Batman writer Judd Winick to differentiate his book from the more noteworthy Batman and Robin, but as effective a mission statement for this book as necessary. After the exceptionally bland non-event that was "The Battle For The Cowl", this issue provides a nice transition (allowing readers to effectively bypass "Battle..." without feeling like they missed anything) and shows the former Robin's process getting comfortable with the idea of putting on his mentor's uniform, and taking his own Robin under his wing. Winick writes some meaty moments here as Dick and Alfred commiserate, and Superman and Wonder Woman stop by to share in their grief.  It may sound trite, but it does have sincerity and are the better parts of the book.  What works less is the token, extraneous action sequences which, in a regular-sized issue, would have been severely trimmed, but are allowed too much time to breathe, sucking some of the life out of the issue's pacing. Ex-Justice League of America artist Ed Benes takes on the penciling chores, with Rob Hunter on inks, and they do a passable, inoffensive job, but no one's going to be deeming him a quintessential Batman artist amidst the Adams and Aparos any time soon.


THREE AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS



Red Robin #1 (DC Comics)($2.99)
by Graig Kent

It is straight forward, really. So they've given the mantle of the Batman to the first Robin, the former Nightwing, Dick Grayson, and they've made a new Robin for him out of Bruce Wayne's illegitimate son, Damian Wayne, so what do they do with the last Robin, Tim Wayne, nee Drake, Bruce's adopted son? I mean, there's a new Nightwing (referencing the old, pre-Crisis Kryptonian Nightwing) over in Action Comics, so where else can he go?  Who else can he be?  Well, for the past few years, DC has been making great pains to incorporate the near-apocalyptic Kingdom Come series into continuity... all of those great Alex Ross designs shouldn't be left to go to waste after all. That's where Red Robin comes in. Unnerstand? It's really quite nonsensical, and don't even bother asking how the costume emerged into continuity (it involves the maligned Countdown series and second Robin, Jason Todd), just know that Tim Drake/Wayne now has a whole new persona.

The costume is basically Dr. Mid-Night meets Hawkman and hardly Batman or Robin-inspired, but that's neither here nor there. Tim Drake/Wayne, feeling rejected after Dick chooses Damian to be his Robin, goes traveling around the world, fighting crime in random locales, his heart heavy with grief, and his fists raging with anger. Although he was never quite the happy-go-lucky Robin Dick was, Tim was never the grim avenger either, and Chris Yost is writing him darker and even a little crazier than anyone before. Does it work? Too early to say. My wife's the big Robin fan, and she's okay with it ("it's reminiscent of his first adventures", she noted), but it's already far too generic for my liking, and Ra's Al Ghul pops up, yet again, his over-exposure post-Batman Begins still carrying on. Ramon Bachs art is serviceable, but I find too dark, and even the great coloris Guy Major has dimmed his palette to something bleak and unexciting.


TWO AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS



[Raided] The Unknown #2 (of 4)(BOOM! Studios)($3.99)

Cat Allingham is the world's greatest private detective. It would seem there's not a single mystery she can't solve, from Stonehenge to the Black Dahlia, she's uncovered the clues and conquered the impossible. Though now suffering from a terminal brain tumor, she can't stop working, and her latest case has a dual purpose.  At a high-tech research facility, sibling scientists were conducting an experiment to measure the weight of a soul, in efforts to prove its existence. In the process, their experiment backfired, their lab destroyed and their high tech weight-chamber missing. Cat's tumor is giving her hallucinations, so she's enlisted the burly, keen-eyed Doyle as her protege, and perhaps as a little protection as well. This issue, In their process of uncovering the truth behind one of the two mysteries, they encounter an unbelievable creature that would provide them another mystery if they weren't running for their lives.  Writer Mark Waid presents The Unknown as a full-on adventure story, with the requisite cheeky dialogue and eccentric characters. He's joined by Dutch artist Minck Oosterveer, providing a great visual flair for the books more fantastical elements, while grounding the characters with distinctive, emotive faces.  His figure work has a slightly cartoonish feel, giving the comic a sense of detachment from reality, but he counters that with some great set and background detail.  His heavy shading is masterful, reminiscent of Eduardo Rizzo's and Fellipe Martins fills in the blanks with some phenomenal color work.  The second issue takes a far more adventurous turn than the first issue prepares the reader for, so it's surprising, however, even more delightful to read.


THREE AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS



[Raided] Chew #1 (of 5)(Image Comics)($2.99)
by Graig Kent

Tony Chu is "cibopathic", when he eats things he picks up knowledge from them... where they've been, who's touched them, and other sorts of things. Chu is a cop, a straight-laced detective who's fairly good at his job, but when he's commiserating over the loss of his latest collar with his partner at a speakeasy (only with illegal chicken instead of booze) he learns the chef of his meal is a serial killer and in making the arrest his partner gets killed and he's kicked off the force. But not to worry, for there's a government administration waiting in the wings to pick up Chu and use his talents. Writer John Layman has crafted a deviously irreverent, undeniably clever idea for a police/fed comedy-drama, with a bizarre surreal societal contingent where, post-Avian flu, poultry is prohibited, off-limits for human consumption (I imagine in a sequel, Swine flu will find pork off-limits too). Layman's script is punchy, a bit off-the wall, playing into conventions of characterization and storytelling to exacerbate the more unusual components of his story. He's joined by Rob Guillory who handles all the art duties here with utter delight. As a reader there's an honest sense of fulfillment that comes through in Guillory's work, his characters are designed as cartoons, with a wild range of emotional expression, physically and facially (and even in Layman's own lettering). There's an absolutely stunning two-page spread where Guillory illustrates what Chu's cibopathy is like for him that defies description. This book is pure entertainment, with a grimly humorous undercurrent CHUD readers would definitely appreciate.


FOUR OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS


[Raided] The Amazing Spider-Man: The Short Halloween (one-shot)(Marvel Comics)($3.99)
by Graig Kent

The timing may be a little odd, dropping a Halloween themed comic at the end of Spring, but I don't think there's ever a bad time for a good story, regardless of when it's set. "The Short Halloween" is the brainchild of two veteran Saturday Night Live writer/performers, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers, and though it is funny as hell, it's not just a sketch or a bunch of jokes, but a brilliantly crafted and even more brilliantly executed comedy based around the classic premise of mistaken identity. Without revealing too much, as it's so much fun to discover, the mistaken identity is doubled as Spider-man squares off against a new super-villain hoping to make his mark, while drunken reveler Ronnie, dressed as Spider-man, picks a bar fight with two guys dressed as Doc Oc and the Green Goblin. Along the way the two figures manage to cross paths, as Ronnie passes out and Spider-man's knocked unconscious. The hilarity ensues.  Hader and Meyers' dialogue is richly funny, and their set up leads to bigger and bigger payoffs as more and more players come into the mix. A key component to the story is the necessity of expertly timed slapstick, and you can't get much better than Kevin Maguire for that. You almost hate to pigeonhole the guy into the "funny superhero" genre but Maguire's comedic timing with his facial and body expressions is second-to-none in comics. He's the Jim Carrey/Will Ferrell/Paul Rudd/Simon Pegg of comics, a superstar. It's always a fine line to walk when doing superhero comedy, and the trio of Hader, Meyers and Maguire negotiate it like old pros. It in no way insults the Spider-Man legacy, there's no demeaning of the character and it tells a story that could happen at almost any time, the perfect stand-alone story.  Even if you're not a Spider-Man fan, this one's worth owning.


FIVE OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS




[Raided] Unthinkable #2 (of 5)(BOOM! Studios)($3.99)
by Graig Kent

This is what you call "high-concept". Alan Ripley is a best-selling novelist in the 1990's known for his stories about terrorism foiled by his he-man protagonist, is post-9-11 asked by a government representative to join a think-tank with a few other pundit-types, speculators of terrorist strategies. Years after the group is disbanded, suddenly Ripley's predictions start coming true.  The first issue expertly spanned a 10-year period of Ripley's life, brilliantly paced, up to the point where Ripley takes his knowledge to the feds, only to find they're not interested, or so they say.This second issue leads then to "what does he do?"  Does he wait for another attack to be proven right?  Or does he reassemble the think-tank and try to figure out a way to prevent what might happen next.  This leads to some highly improbably situations for Ripley and company, where he winds up destroying an oil tanker and getting arrested, all the while a dizzying array of conspiracy theories are bandied about and the crosses, double-crosses, and who's really who are revealed at a manic pace.  What's really going on? I have no idea. Writer Mark Sable goes from doling out gobs of information with expert pacing in the first issue to near nonsensicalness in issue two.  So much happens in this second issue, so much is revealed and so many ideas are presented, it's rather audacious, and almost impressive if it weren't so confounding. Julian Totino Tedesco must be given an exceptional amount of credit for even venturing to try and illustrate all the madcap shenanigans, and if it weren't for his incredible visual presentation, I'd have given up. It should be said, though, that Unthinkable is a scary-as-hell book, and it's evident that Sable understands how his crackpot theories, even when taken only mildly seriously, as they are here in this kitchen-sink action-adventure-espionage-horror-drama, can stimulate the imagination in absolutely crazy ways. It's by no means a dumb book, it's perhaps just a tad overachieving. But even still, I'm more than ready to tune in for more. 


THREE OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS


JSA vs. Kobra #1 (of 6)(DC Comics)($2.99)
by Graig Kent

There was a time where comic-book terrorists were an easily disposed of threat, ones which didn't so much as inspire fear as instead present themselves as nuisances with their grand schemes of utterly impossible world domination.  They were laughable, sometimes bumblingly comedic. Cobra. Hydra. Kobra. These days, however, with the divide between rich and poor extending beyond local neighbourhoods into global reaches, terrorists use religion and money, exacerbating the truth behind various governments/religions involvement in their social climate, to recruit followers and divide humanity against themselves. Why? They state for religious reasons, but even still it invariably it all comes back to the leadership, who want little more than power and control. How these organizations operate, how they recruit and execute, fund, proliferate, succeed and fail is frightening and fascinating, and for comics to represent their terrorist organizations in anything but a serious light these days makes for unrealistic and unapproachable reading. Through our stories we should try to find understanding. To dismiss them would be a failure. 

A few months back, in Faces of Evil: Kobra, writer Ivan Brandon presented a new, far scarier Kobra than ever before, one with a growing legion of Kali Yuga fanatics, better organized, more cunning and tactical ready to move forward with their plan. With Checkmate already established as the DCU's global protection agency, it would have been the appropriate storyline to carry over into its own series, if it hadn't already been cancelled. Instead, Eric Trautmann (Greg Rucka's co-writer on later issues of Checkmate) has taken up the story in JSA vs. Kobra, a rather uninspiring title, but don't let that fool you.

Trautmann picks up where FOE:Kobra left off, and also picks up some post-Final Crisis and post-Checkmate pieces, centering the story over Mr. Terrific, who has senior ties in both JSA and Checkmate. The "third-smartest man in the world" and his super-team are made deadly aware of Kobra's existence as a suicide bomber sets himself off in front of their headquarters. The JSA convene to look into the threat they're facing, only the overt attacks Kobra is perpetrating are ruses, pawn sacrifices in a larger, more tactical plan. It's immediately evident that the JSA, for all their power is out of their depth. They're used to handling overt, physical threats, but that's not what they're facing.  With Mr. Terrific's espionage career colliding with his superheroic one, he has to wonder if his teammates' ethics may get in the way of effectively sussing out and neutralizing their opponent. 

Story wise, the first issue is all set-up, and it's as great as superheroes vs. terrorists can get without getting all cartoony about it. Trautmann handles the JSA team dynamics with ease, and he most definitely gets the intensity level of the chess match which has just begun. Don Kramer is a workhorse artist, he powers through any script he's delivered and does so consistently. I've often found his figures and faces to be stiff and they are at times again here, but inter Michael Babinski loosens them up somewhat and cleans up completely the details while also managing some terrific shadow work.

This will be an under-the-radar series for some, amidst the hype of a new Batman, the Black Lanterns and the returns of Barry Allen and Superboy, but it's absolutely worth paying attention to if you're keen on something a bit more subtle and meatier in your superheroes. 


FOUR OUT OF FIVE VIKINGS