Nexus
Capital Comics/First Comics/Dark Horse Comics. All written by Mike Baron and drawn by Steve Rude unless noted.
Volume 1 (Vol. 1, 1-3; Vol. 2, 1-4). [From Dark Horse Comics: On the distant moon of Ylum, an enigmatic man is plagued by nightmares. He is forced to dream of the past. He dreams of real-life butchers and tyrants, and what they have done. And then he finds them, and kills them. The year is 2841, and this man is Nexus, a godlike figure who acts as judge, jury, and executioner for the vile criminals who appear in his dreams. He claims to kill in self-defense, but why? Where do the visions come from, and where did he get his powers? Though a hero to many, does he have any real moral code? These are but some of the questions that reporter Sundra Peale hopes to have answered. Collecting Nexus 1-3 (Vol. 1., black and white) and Nexus 1-4 (Vol. 2, full color), from Capital Comics.] Old Book of the Week 12/14/05: OK, so it's not an old book, and it's very expensive, but it's an old series, and one near and dear to my heart (when I largely stopped buying comics around 1986, Nexus was one of three titles I kept up with). These early issues, especially the first three black and white ones, are a bit crude compared to the height of the run (Steve Rude in particular had yet to achieve godhood), but there's a raw energy to the story of a man who is given superpowers in exchange for working as an assassin of evil-doers for a mysterious creature who punishes him with potentially deadly headaches if he doesn't carry out his missions. Nexus was one of the great comics of the 80s, and this is where it began. 
Volume 2 (5-11). [From Dark Horse Comics: In this second volume of the acclaimed and multiple Eisner
Award-winning series, reluctant vigilante Nexus-AKA Horatio
Hellpop-sets out with the gregarious warrior Judah Maccabee for a
drinking man's tour of the galaxy. They are soon waylaid when Judah,
well past the legal blood-alcohol limit for operating a spacecraft,
gets the pair sucked into a black hole! But instead of meeting their
untimely end, they meet … the Badger?! Meanwhile, back on the moon Ylum, the plot thickens with mysterious ruins, a coerced presidential election, and Ursula X. X. Imada's relentless espionage. The last thing this refugee population needs while Nexus is out of commission is the reappearance of mass murderer Claudius the Slaver, and guess who's coming for dinner!] 
Volume 3 (12-18; a Steve Rude, Eric Shanower). [From Dark Horse Comics: This latest collection of the landmark sci-fi series re-presents the original Nexus issues twelve through eighteen from First Comics--an indispensable storyline in the history of Horatio Hellpop's plagued existence. Wracked by inescapable, visceral nightmares of the grave misdeeds of his next targets, the executioner Nexus turns to the only solution he can--a life-threatening procedure that places an implant in his brain! This implant will prevent the dreams that Horatio has endured for years, but at what price? His behavior changes, and the ensuing emotional isolation pushes Sundra and her booming solar sailcraft business back to Mars. Spy Ursula X. X. Imada resurfaces with Horatio's twin daughters, and Clonezone the Hilariator is up to his usual mischief and misadventures! This collection also features a story about the Hammer, Judah Maccabee, illustrated by the famed Oz artist Eric Shanower.] 
Volume 4 (19-25). [From Dark Horse Comics: Every once in a while a creation appears that both reinvents and epitomizes its genre. 1981 marked the beginning of such an event with the first issue of Nexus, a playful adventure series that paid homage to the best of classic science fiction while introducing an unforgettable antihero. Countless readers around the world followed his action-packed exploits over the next two decades, visiting alien realms and fascinating creatures through the wit and verve of his youthful creators. Dark Horse invites you to relive the series that defined the careers of both Steve Rude and Mike Baron, collected in a hardcover format for the first time. In this volume, Sundra discovers the source of Nexus' powers and the cause of his headaches‹the Merk is revealed! Space pirates pillage Ylum's orbital community, and the Sovs declare war, but Nexus is without his powers . . . so the Heads create the most devastating weapon in the galaxy.] 
Volume 5 (26-32; a Steve Rude, Mike Mignola, Rick Veitch, Jackson Guice, José Luis García-López, Gerald Forton ). [From Dark Horse Comics: In this volume, the enigmatic executioner meets his match in the evil Clayborn. If that weren't enough, Horatio's uncle, a religious anti-technology zealot, arrives on the moon of Ylum with the mission of destroying the Gravity Well‹the same well that Ursula X. X. Imada, spy and mother to Horatio's twin daughters, hopes will soon suck in the 400 billion people of the Web! Uncle Lathe incites a riot and has his eye on a deadly, Head-designed battle cruiser to further his crusade. Judah takes on the task of training Scarlett, Nexus's extremely powerful young daughter, and Dave and Nexus travel to the library at Alexandria . . . in 47 B.C.! Plus, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola kicks off a series of stories with guest artists, including Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Rick Veitch, Jackson Guice, and more. Vootie!] 
Volume 6 (33-39; a Steve Rude, Paul Smith). [From Dark Horse Comics: Ylum shakes with the Merk's rage! Nexus sent Gucci-trained Quatro assassins Kreed and Sinclair to do his work of killing mass-murderers, but since then they've butchered over three thousand people in pursuit of two hundred! Now afflicted with a Quatro disease that will not allow them to stop, the pair are demolishing Mars and Nexus must intervene before the planet's authorities go nuclear. Sundra joins an intrigue in the Crystal Ballroom's library, Nexus infiltrates a Chernenko prison, and the "young" chairperson of the Central Committee -- Konstantin -- escapes captivity with Clausius the Slaver. Meanwhile, General Loomis's daughters plot their revenge!] 
Volume 7 (40-46?; a Steve Rude, Paul Smith). [From Dark Horse Comics: The Merk is restless, dissatisfied with Nexus's performance as champion and executioner since the massacre on Mars. The fallout from that incident is just beginning: Of the two Quatros responsible, Sinclair has disappeared, and Kreed is being tracked by two Gucci assassins hired by the Martian government. The Merk now psychically reaches out to Michana -- the youngest daughter of the late General Loomis, bent on revenge. Nexus doesn't have the luxury of worrying about any of this, though . . . the artificial black hole known as the Gravity Well is on the verge of collapse, which endangers the entire solar system! He and Judah Maccabee set out to appeal to the one creature who can manipulate black holes . . . Ashram, resident of the Bowl-Shaped World. The only time the duo encountered this strange world, they were with the likewise bizarre Badger! And speak of the devil...] 
The Original Nexus (vol. 1, 1-3). [Originally published
as a B&W series by Capital Comics, this oversized hardcover collection
was published by Graphitti.] 
Nexus One (vol. 2, 1-5). [Dark Horse collection
of the first five issues of the Capital Comics color series. From Dark
Horse Comics: Horatio Hellpop has been chosen to be the conscience of
his race: haunted by dreams of mass murderers, as Nexus he is forced to
seek the killers out and assassinate them. His superpowers, granted by an
ancient alien and derived from the stars, are almost limitless, but they
are his only because he dreams and then kills. And, while the men and women
he destroys are guilty of crimes against humanity, sometimes the effects
of their deaths can threaten a world—or Nexus' fragile peace of mind.
Here are the first five issues of the original Nexus color stories, collected
for the first time with new material by creators Mike Baron and Steve Rude.]
Nexus Two (vol. 2, 6-10). [Another Dark Horse collection.
After issue 6 of the original series, Capital Comics went out of business
and the series was picked up by First Comics. Although the First Comics
series continued to issue 80, nothing further has been collected. From
Dark Horse Comics: Who is Nexus? Galactic assassin or planetary savior?
A unique scientific phenomenon, or an awesome source of power to be controlled
and exploited? The man called Nexus is these things and more. Fueled by
the force of raging suns, driven by tortured dreams of murder and vengeance,
Nexus hunts the ruthless killers in the universe—while hoping to someday
find the peace he craves. Now a close encounter with a black hole strands
Nexus on a bizarre alien world where he must overcome dangers both mental
and physical—and come face-to-face with the most psychotic superhero
of all: The Badger! This softcover collects the First Comics Nexus issues
6-10, and includes new material by Mike Baron and Steve Rude.] 
The Next Nexus (First Comics; 4-issue mini).
Alien Justice (3-issue Dark Horse mini). [Other
uncollected Dark Horse minis are Nexus the Liberator; Wages of
Sin; Executioner's Song; God Con; and Nightmare in
Blue. Liberator drawn by John Calimee. From Dark Horse Comics:
When Nexus and his buddy Dave journey to Dave's home planet in search of
long-lost friends, they find that things have changed for the worse since
their last visit: the once-thriving world has been ravaged by pollution
and famine that seem to be spreading from a mysterious factory. Is this
merely another case of industry run amuck, or do ancient Thune legends of
a planet-devouring creature somehow figure into the picture?] 
Madman Boogaloo (Dark Horse: Nexus Meets Madman [w Mike Baron &
Mike Allred; a Steve Rude]; Madman Jam 1-2 ["Written and drawn by Mike
Allred and Bernie Mireault"]). [From Dark Horse
Comics: Two of the wackiest crossovers in the tortured history of comics
-- Nexus Meets Madman and Madman/The Jam -- are now stuffed kicking and
screaming into a single package, bursting at the seams with rampaging robots,
giant insects, optical illusions, and... well, the Gloved One. A four-alarm
rush-hour pileup masterminded by the freshest creative talents in the industry.
Boogaloo, baby!] 