Steve Rude, Nexus: Space Opera issue 99 page 22 (Rude Dude Productions 2007)

HARRY HELLPOP BIRTH PAGE

The third of three consecutive pages from this issue (pages 20,21,22). Nexus had been on long-term hibernation between issues 98 and 99: Baron and Rude joked that Sundra had the longest (human) pregnancy in history. Issue 99 was the first issue of a planned four issue series (which became three issues when numbers 100 and 101 become a double issue). Steve Rude decided to self-publish this series, a decision that allowed for total creativity but also was financially ruinous.

Space Opera, which is the subtitle to the entire series given by Baron, is a culmination of several trends that had been building over the prior 10-20 issues since Rude rejoined the regular publishing crew. Religious conflict, secular government versus religious edict, family events, impending fatherhood, and in the background of everything, the role of Nexus as executioner for the Merc.

These three pages show both the beginning of the violence and the birth of Harry Hellpop, son of Nexus and Sundra. Several nefarious groups have designs on Harry, as everyone believes he will inherit the great power of Nexus. This sequence also led to the death of one of the original characters, Ursula Imada. Ursula is the unmarried mother of Nexus' other children, the twins Scarlet and Sheena, and she first appeared way back in Nexus issue 3 (black and white as published by Capitol Comics). Ursula could not stand that her children could be pushed aside as heirs to Nexus by Harry and tried to steal him. This culminated in a battle between Ursula and Sundra which ended a relationship that began when Ursula recruited Sundra out of a Congressional page program to be a spy who befriended and reported back to Earth on Nexus. Sundra defected to Nexus and married him, and when Ursula tried to steal Harry Sundra killed her.

With the exception of a few small stories in Dark Horse Presents, Space Opera also serves as the ending of the Baron/Rude partnership on Nexus. After more than 40 years, the two co-creators have gone their separate ways and now each put out Nexus stories on their own.