Written by guest contributor Kevin Blanton

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a promotional copy of the first Nexus comic strip package, funded by Kickstarter. The package includes a Nexus sticker, a blank Christmas card with a picture of Santa on front done by Steve, and the main attraction: Nexus, The Comic Strip, #1. The strip is divided into four parts, each part taking up and entire newspaper page. The effect is absolutely powerful.

The origin of Nexus is recounted in the four parts. The first part concerns Nexus’ father Horatio fleeing with his family into a black hole. When Nexus’ family passes through a vision of Nexus and into the black hole, the reader will know why this story couldn’t be told in a normal comic book.

In the second part of the story, I was still entranced by the art. But I began to wonder if, in this form of storytelling, the art overshadows the writing. Mike Baron is a great writer, but all I was interested in was the spaceship flying between the two suns and landing on a Flash Gordon-like planet.

In part three, Mike’s writing was more apparent, perhaps because there were more panels. The death of Nexus’ father was especially well-done.

The final page is simply Nexus putting on his suit and becoming the character we all know. And, in the end, the Nexus comic strips are for the people who both know and don’t know Nexus. In this age of digital comic books, it’s a delightful throwback to the Golden Age of Comics.

Score: 4/5

Nexus: The Comic Strip #1 Writer/Artist: Steve Rude