Matt Seneca is one of the hosts of the podcast, Comic Books Are Burning in Hell and has written for The Comics Journal. Unfortunately, The American Mainstream appears to be sold out, but perhaps Seenca will print some more.I have written in the past about Jack Kirby, but not about Wally Wood or Elex Toth.
Showing posts with label Alex Toth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alex Toth. Show all posts
Sunday, November 1, 2020
Robert Boyd's Book Report: The American Mainstream
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
New Acquisition: A "Nexus" Page by Steve Rude
A few weeks ago, I read in the Comics Reporter that Nexus cartoonist Steve Rude was in danger of losing his house to foreclosure. He was having kind of an eBay fire sale to stave off the sheriff (there is still stuff for sale there--check it out). I have been a fan for a long, long time, and even though Rude's art was not the kind I usually collect (specializing, as I do, in pre-1960s comic strips and more contemporary alternative and art comics), I figured this was a unique opportunity to get some and help out an artist I truly admire in his time of need.
Here's the piece, scanned in color (even though the art is black and white).
Steve Rude, Next Nexus issue 2, page 4, ink on bristol paper, 1989
Nexus was a comic written by Mike Baron and primarily drawn by Steve Rude. The two created the series together. It debuted in 1981 and I think I discovered it as a reader in 1982 or 83. It was a science fiction superhero series about a man in the far future who is beset by dreams that instruct him to kill mass murderers. The first murderer he kills is his own father, who had been governor of a Soviet planet and ordered its destruction when it looked like rebels might succeed in taking it over. In his guise as a cosmic avenger, the protagonist goes by the name Nexus. If he fails to heed the dreams, he starts to suffer physically some of the same injuries the victims of the murderers suffered. The series played a lot with notions of guilt, including Nexus's own.. It was clever, exciting space opera, beautifully drawn by Rude is a very clean, very old-fashioned style, one that was very much out-of-step with his peers. If I had to give it a name, I'd call it neoclassical. His elegance and simplicity recall neoclassical artists form the 18th/19th century, but even more, they recall Alex Toth and certain American magazine illustrators from the 30s to the 50s.
Here is a black and white scan of the same page.
Steve Rude, Next Nexus issue 2, page 4, ink on bristol paper, 1989
Here's the piece, scanned in color (even though the art is black and white).
Steve Rude, Next Nexus issue 2, page 4, ink on bristol paper, 1989
Nexus was a comic written by Mike Baron and primarily drawn by Steve Rude. The two created the series together. It debuted in 1981 and I think I discovered it as a reader in 1982 or 83. It was a science fiction superhero series about a man in the far future who is beset by dreams that instruct him to kill mass murderers. The first murderer he kills is his own father, who had been governor of a Soviet planet and ordered its destruction when it looked like rebels might succeed in taking it over. In his guise as a cosmic avenger, the protagonist goes by the name Nexus. If he fails to heed the dreams, he starts to suffer physically some of the same injuries the victims of the murderers suffered. The series played a lot with notions of guilt, including Nexus's own.. It was clever, exciting space opera, beautifully drawn by Rude is a very clean, very old-fashioned style, one that was very much out-of-step with his peers. If I had to give it a name, I'd call it neoclassical. His elegance and simplicity recall neoclassical artists form the 18th/19th century, but even more, they recall Alex Toth and certain American magazine illustrators from the 30s to the 50s.
Here is a black and white scan of the same page.
Steve Rude, Next Nexus issue 2, page 4, ink on bristol paper, 1989
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