Hey everyone,

Sorry for the quiet week. Here’s the catch-up.

Saturday’s stream. Steve put the color on last week’s Barry Smith pen and ink, read your “where did you come in” stories by name, and took two questions from the comments on air: Horatio’s shirt question and Joe C’s Return to Earth question. If you missed it, the replay is up at youtube.com/steverudethedude.

The number. Ask Steve Anything unlocks at 500 backers and we’re 22 away as of this afternoon. That’s a live, backers-only stream where Steve answers your questions on camera, replay included. It’s the one goal on the ladder you can’t buy your way to. It takes people. So the ask stands: bring one friend who read Nexus back in the day. Every pledge, every level, gets the link to the Nexus Reading Library the same day, 80 Nexus books and counting, so they can be reading from issue #1 tonight.

Shirts. If you followed but haven’t backed, you never saw this one: we brought a stack of the Nexus “Galaxy” Tee to Dragon Con and 13 came home. They’re in the add-ons now, $20 for L and XL, $25 for the 4XL, and they ship in your box with the book. That’s the whole supply. When a size is gone, it’s gone.

And a question for the book. You voted First Comics as the era that gets the most pages. Inside that run, what do you want most? The poll is at the bottom. In the comments: which single First Comics issue would you put on the cover of that chapter, and why? Steve reads his favorites on Saturday’s stream, and the stories go into the archive.

These polls steer the book. Steve and the editor make the final call, but you’re in the room. Whatever doesn’t make the book goes into the archive, and the physical Library Card is the only key. If you followed before launch, the card ships with your book at any pledge level. If you followed and never back, that door closes October 1.

Regular stream Saturday, 1:30 PM Arizona, youtube.com/steverudethedude. It’s the last Saturday stream before the campaign closes.

Keep Drawing,

Steve and the Rude Dude Crew

Hey everyone,

You cleared the Vault Drop over the weekend. Every one of you gets the folder: the rejected cover, the lost pages, and the notes that went with them. It goes out after the campaign closes, free at every
pledge level.

And because the ladder keeps going, the next dollar goal is up: at $65,000, every physical pledge gets a campaign-exclusive die-cut title sticker in the box, and a 5x7 print of the Vault Drop art unlocks as an add-on.

The other goal is the one this week is about. Ask Steve Anything unlocks at 500 backers, and as of this morning we're 65 short. That's a live, backers-only stream: you send questions ahead, Steve answers them on camera, and the replay stays up for anyone who can't make it. It's the one goal on the ladder you can't buy your way to. It takes people.

So here's the ask. This week, bring one. One friend who read Nexus back in the day and has no idea this exists. Send them the page, tell them the Reading Library opens the second they back, and let Steve do the rest.

Start dropping your questions for Steve in the comments now. Tristan is collecting them, so when the goal clears the stream is already stacked.

Regular stream Saturday, 1:30 PM Arizona, youtube.com/steverudethedude. Steve reads the number live.

Keep Drawing,

Steve and the Rude Dude Crew

Hey everyone,

Thirty-one hours. That's how long it took you to fund Nexus: What It Is! Three days in, we're past $53,000 with 410 backers, and Steve is still a little stunned. Thank you.

If you missed Saturday's stream, the replay is up at steverude.com/YouTubeLive. Steve read your "which era of Nexus" replies out loud, and First Comics won in a landslide.

$55,000: The Vault Drop.  Every backer gets a free digital folder of Nexus art that never saw print: a rejected cover, lost pages, and the notes that went with them. Library Card holders get the full folder later. Free at every pledge level.

500 backers: Ask Steve Anything, live. At 500, Steve does an unlisted livestream just for backers. You send your questions ahead, he answers them on camera, and the replay stays up for anyone who can't make it. Ninety to go.

Every time one of these clears, the next one gets revealed. There's a ladder, and you're climbing it faster than we planned for.

One honest thing about the book. We have enough material for a volume on every era, and the book is capped at about 400 pages. So the polls in these updates are real: they steer what makes the page. Whatever doesn't fit goes into the archive, and the physical Library Card is the only way in. If you followed before launch, that card ships with your book at any pledge level. If you followed and never back, that door closes October 1.

If you've been following and haven't backed yet, every edition is the same 350+ full-color pages, oversized 9 x 12. The Metallic Edition Hardcover is $99 and it's the one most people pick. The Hardcover + Paperback Set is $149 if you want one to keep and one to lend. And every pledge, every level, gets instant access to the Nexus Reading Library, so you can be reading Nexus from issue #1 today.

We want to know where you came in.  Vote, then tell us in the comments: what issue, what year, where you bought it. Steve reads his favorites on Saturday's stream, and your stories go into the archive. 

Easiest way to get us to the vault faster: share the campaign with one Nexus fan who hasn't seen it yet. And if you want to be in the room for everything that happens next, the crew at patreon.com/steverude sees it first.

Keep Drawing,

Steve and the Rude Dude Crew

Hey everyone,

Quick one today. Two new achievements just went live on the campaign page, and we've got more in the works behind them.

500 backers: Ask Steve Anything, LIVE. When we hit 500 backers, Steve does an unlisted livestream just for you. You send your questions ahead of time, Steve answers them on camera, and the replay stays up for anyone who can't make it. Free for every backer. We're at 373 right now, so that's only 127 to go.

$55,000: The Vault Drop. At $55K we open the vault. Every backer gets a free digital folder of Nexus art that never saw print: a rejected cover, lost pages, and the notes that went with them. Nexus Reading Library Card holders get the full folder in the Crystal Ballroom. Free at every pledge level.

And the $45,000 goal already cleared, so a box of books is headed to ComicBooks For Troops on top of every Book for the Troops you've pledged. Thank you for that.

We're building the next rungs right now. Every time one of these clears, the next one gets revealed, so keep an eye on the achievements section.

One more thing. Steve read every reply in yesterday's "which era of Nexus" discussion, and he was blown away by what you wrote. He's reading some of them out loud on today's livestream, 1:30 PM Arizona at steverude.com/YouTubeLive. If you haven't weighed in yet, the discussion is still open on the campaign page.

And if you want to be in the room for everything that happens next, the crew at patreon.com/steverude sees it first.

Keep Drawing,

 Steve and the Rude Dude Crew

Funded.

291 of you just took Nexus: What It Is! past $40,000 in 31 hours, and that means one thing: the book goes to press. Ten years of work has a print date now, and you did that.

If you haven't backed yet — this is the part where it gets fun. Everything from here is a stretch goal, and the first one is already on the board: a box of books goes to ComicBooks For Troops for deployed service members, and we'll show you the receipt. After that, we reveal them one at a time as we go.

Every edition is the same 350+ pages inside — The People's Paperback and The People's Digital start at $50, and every pledge gets instant access to the Nexus Reading Library the moment you back. Painted Edition is Limit 5 and 1 is left. Deluxe Slipcase is limited to 500.

Two things at the bottom of this update. The first achievement just flipped — $40,000, funded. And there's a new poll: which era of Nexus do you want the most pages on? Vote, then defend it in the comments. Steve reads the results on tomorrow's stream.

Steve's live Saturday at 1:30 PM Arizona to say thank you in person: steverude.com/YouTubeLive.

45 years of Nexus survived because people passed it hand to hand. You just did it again.

Steve & Jaynelle Rude (and the Rude Dude Crew)