Limited edition advance preview of Nexus 101 for retailers. The advance copy run was 750, however, only 250 were sold to the public.

NEXUS 100: SPACE OPERA ACT 2 OF 4

by Mike Baron and Steve Rude

The greatest superhero of modern times marches into legend. Read the comic and judge for yourself. You've heard about it for years. Now is the time.

Issue 100 is double-sized. What madness is this, you ask? You laugh and your little dog pees on the rug. For most fans, Nexus 100 is Nexus 2. Why should you shell out twice what you're paying for The Agitator, or Captain Kumquat?

In addition to the 22 page main feature, Nexus 100 contains an eight-page painted Sundra story that takes place at the beginning of Sundra's career and reveals her first meeting with Ursula. It's a thought-provoking piece of graphic literature to which you can return time and again without disappointment.

Who's Ursula? Who's Sundra? If you got 99, you have a pretty good idea. Ursula is the mother of Nexus' twin daughters. Sundra is Nexus' wife and the mother of his son.

Nexus 100 includes an essay by Bill Baker. Bill writes about our strange fascination with trunk monkeys. Not! Bill writes about the history of Nexus. Bill also writes "Baker's Dozen", and has written books on Alan Moore. Bill plays in a band. Bill has built his own house out of discarded aluminum cans. Bill has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

But wait! There's more. Nexus 99 brings us an amazing story of survival and the hope for Ylum's future with the birth of Nexus' and Sundra's baby. We're including both a commemorative print and a birth certificate in each bagged issue. Each issue will be serially numbered for a chance to win original artwork from the Dude, prints, books, and more! Details on the website at www.rudedudeproductions.com.

48 pgs, FC, bagged (2 of 4)..$5.99

What is an ashcan, you ask? Quick history lesson :) Enjoy!...

Because each new issue of a comic book requires new artwork, the design process is part of the manufacturing process. The exception is when a new comic title or series is first introduced. That design process involves the same creative and artistic abilities required to produce any new work of art and may include idea generation, preparation of sketches, and the development of a series of refinements before the final characters and themes emerge.

The final product of the initial design process may be a prototype comic book known as an "ashcan," a term that was first used in the 1930s when comic book publishers sought to protect new titles by copyrighting them. Rather than take the time to develop new characters or plots to go with the new title, a publisher simply took pages from a previous comic book and pasted the new title on the cover. Once the publisher was granted a copyright, the pasted-up prototype was often thrown in the ashcan, a metal container used to dispose of ashes from the stove or fireplace and commonly found in many households and businesses of that era.

The concept of the ashcan was given a more modern meaning in 1984 when one comic book creator produced a limited number of black and white prototype comics for his friends and staff. In more recent times, several publishers have released small runs of ashcans in a variety of sizes and colors as promotional items for the full-production versions.

Source: How a Comic Book is made