Sporadic Sequential has posted some rather sad news regarding Nexus, the sci-fi comic being put out by Steve Rude, a criminally underrated artist if I do say so myself.
With Diamond Comic Distributors rules being tighter than ever, Rude and his company Rude Dude Productions has been hit especially hard, as seen by this e-mail:
Steve is then turning his focus to gallery paintings. Steve is a brilliant artist and we’ve been living hand to mouth for the past 3 years. Losing over $5,000 in the last 2 printings we have been unable to pay our mortgage have have no desire to lose our house.
Steve does plan to continue in comics putting out a book direct to trade every few years and using gallery painting as a means to finance his comic endeavors.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us by ordering commissions or purchasing artwork.
Sporadic Sequential has their own good thoughts on all this, as well as a link to Rude’s online store. It’s always a shame when true talent gets strangled in this economy, but the worst thing we can do it is take it in silence.
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:37 am
Nexus is so damn good that it is the only comic I don’t trade-wait. The $50 Nexus Archives from Dark Horse have been worth every penny, so I hope that a lot of readers will pick up the $10 paperback versions, Nexus: As It Happened, that Rude will be releasing himself. A lot of people are going to dig it if they take the time to check it out.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Nexus has been a classic series from the beginning. It was appreciated and will be very much missed….
Best wishes to both creators…
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I buy art, I like pop art in particular. Although I like comics they’re a small part of my world, and I’m only vaguely aware of Nexus. About 3 years ago, I had a chance to buys a $10,000 original Wonder Woman piece by Steve Rude from an art gallery. The gallery owners made calls to the artist, who without hesitation told them/us the price was now doubled, and further, the gallery would not be getting their sale commission but a greatly reduced “finders fee.”
I immediately lost interest.
Later, the gallerist told me that after Mr. Rude was informed of the lost sale he replied, “Well they’re probably just fans who wanted to meet me.” I’d never heard of Steve Rude before that, and I could care less about him now.
My point being, I understand talent, but I also know what happens to people who don’t know the golden rule: “be easy to work with,” its something all successful artists learn (often alongside humility). I bet he’d like that 10 thou now.
June 4th, 2009 at 4:18 am
F**K the Distributor! F**K the Retailers! F**K the Fanboys!