Nexus Omnibus Volume Five!

The fifth omnibus edition of the long-lasting Nexus series is brimming with change. We finally see the the finale when the Loomis sisters try to get their long-sought revenge. And we Horatio Hellpop walk away from his role as Nexus as the Merk sends out the word he's looking for a successor. Steve Rude will walk away from the series for a time and the artistic results are often less than ideal. But Mike Baron is still there, allowing the series to hold an amazing continuity from its earliest days. 

One of the things which has happened naturally over the course of time the books have been dropping onto the comics racks is that Ylum has gone from a largely deserted planet filled with secrets, to one rippling with all sorts of aliens who bring their own secrets. The planet has become a haven for those downtrodden and dispossessed by dictators and feckless governments. In addition, it has also become a haven for entrepreneurs, many of them filled with avarice and ambition. As the stories have continued to roll out Ylum has slowly but steadily become in many ways the center of the action and not an unknown outlier. Tyrone, a character from the first days has been the leader and seeing him forced to deal with social ills and political ills is actually quite interesting. He's a flawed character trying to do his best. And that is the case with a lot of the characters in these stories. 

We see the Loomis sisters fall apart as the second oldest breaks from her sisters, weary of the mission to take vengeance for their father's death. The youngest sister has been driven mad by the quest and oldest is the most keen to seek Horatio Hellpop's death. Ultimately, they will fail, but in ways that makes you feel sorry for their lives given over to such pointless pursuits. The stories here bounce back and forth between the mini-series Next Nexus drawn by Rude and the regular series drawn by Paul Smith. 

Ultimately the Merk selects a college professor named Stanley Korivitsky to be his new Nexus. Stan unlike Horatio chooses to become an executioner of murderers, and he does so from a philosophical position which say it's the right thing to do. He goes about his tasks without glee but a keen sense of satisfaction, at least that is until the Merk cuts off his powers. Still committed to the cause this new Nexus uses his training as a Gucci killer to get the jobs done. 

The Judah the Hammer back up series continues with many diverse hands on the artwork. Even a number of writers take a crack at this more light-hearted action-filled romp. Some of the talent involved are Baron, Roger Salick, Steve Epting, Phil Hester among many others. The back-up goes away during the extended battle with the Loomis girls. 

Nexus loses Steve Rude and despite the reasonably high quality of the replacements, the series takes a nose-dive. That alas will only get worse as the series wraps up its long First Comics run. 

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