Rex Mundi (Dark Horse Comics)

Supercbbox| title = Rex Mundi
comic_color = background:#80ff80


caption = Cover to "Rex Mundi" #16. Art by Juan Ferreyra.
schedule = Irregular
format = Ongoing
publisher = Dark Horse Comics (formerly published by Image Comics)
date = August 2003 – "present"
issues =
main_char_team =
writers = Arvid Nelson
artists = (former) Eric J; (current) Jim Di Bartolo, Juan Ferreyra
colorists = (former) Jeremy Cox; (current) Jim Di Bartolo, Juan Ferreyra
creative_team_month =
creative_team_year =
creators = Arvid Nelson, Eric J

"Rex Mundi" is an American comic book published by Dark Horse Comics (having moved from Image Comics in 2006), written by Arvid Nelson and drawn by Argentinian artist Juan Ferreyra.

The series is a quest for the Holy Grail told as a murder mystery. It is set in the year 1933, in an alternate history Europe, where magic is real, feudalism persisted, and the Protestant Reformation was crushed by a still politically powerful Roman Catholic Church. All of this is woven together as "… a meditation on the prophecies surrounding the advent of the Bahá'í era.” [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17297 Arvid Nelson talks "Rex Mundi"] by David Press, Staff Writer, Comic book Resources.com] The book takes its name from the Latin term meaning 'King of the World'. It is derived from the Cathar heresies of the Middle Ages, and taken up in works like Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Within the Cathar context it seems to have been equated with the Demiurge.

History

"Rex Mundi" writer and co-creator Arvid Nelson came up with "Rex Mundi" while in Paris helping to film a documentary on the "Paris Review", a literary magazine founded by Ivy League ex-pats in the 1950s [http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10103 Interview with Arvid Nelson] , " [http://www.irosf.com/ Internet Review of Science Fiction] ", December 2004 (login required)]

It was the first time I had been to Europe and it radically changed my view of the world", Nelson says of the period. "All the history that had seemed so dull and remote in high school became suddenly visceral and alive."

Surrounded by the juxtaposition of being in an ancient city in otherwise modern times, Nelson says he had the idea, although very vague at the time, about a story set in a place that looked modern but was actually medieval.

When speaking of his plans for the story, Nelson said that it would remain primarily set in Europe, but the very end will involve a Muslim Spain.

"Rex Mundi" artist, Juan Ferreyra, cites photographer Eugene Atget, artist Alfons Mucha and Coco Chanel among the many visual references for his work in Rex Mundi.

"Rex Mundi" was initially published by Image Comics, starting in 2003. In August 2006 it moved to Dark Horse. This came about because series co-creator, Arvid Nelson, sent the Image collections to Dark Horse editor, Scott Allie. Dark Horse then expressed interest in taking over the publication of "Rex Mundi", and Nelson accepted as he felt this was an incredible opportunity that he wanted to take full advantage of. [http://www.nyxxunderground.com/HOME/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1940 Rex Mundi "moves from Image to Dark Horse"] , NYXX Underground.com, March 27, 2006]

In all, eighteen issues were published by Image before the series moved to Dark Horse.

Film adaptation

There have been a number of rumours about a film version of "Rex Mundi". In 2006, Jim Uhls was hired to write a script for Johnny Depp to star in and produce. [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-scriptland20sep20,1,5179958.story?track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-entnews&ctrack=1&cset=true King of the world of adaptation] , LA Times, September 20, 2006] It is not known how much further production has progressed since then.Arvid Nelson confirms the rumor of the movie, and working with Johnny Depp. [http://housewifeinhollywood.com/my-interview-with-arvid-nelson/] , Housewife in Hollywood, June 11, 2008]

Related comics

Rex Mundi devotes space in each issue to a fictitious newspaper, "Le Journal de la Liberté", which enables Nelson to embellish events elsewhere in the setting without writing them entirely in his storylines, thus giving readers some useful, but not always essential, background.

The official website for "Rex Mundi" initially carried a spin-off comic series called "Brother Matthew". Prior to the breakdown in the creative team of Nelson and Johnson, Nelson had commented that he was considering another comic series set in the same universe as "Rex Mundi" with different characters.

Bibliography

"Rex Mundi" has been collected in the following trade paperbacks.

References

External links

*official|http://www.rexmundi.net
* [http://jefandart.blogspot.com/ Series artist Juan Ferreyra's blog]

Interviews

* [http://www.comixology.com/podcasts/27/Rex-Mundi-with-Arvid-Nelson Podcast interview] with Arvid Nelson at [http://www.comixology.com comiXology]
* [http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=427 Americans in Paris: An interview with EricJ and Arvid Nelson] , Ninth Art, 11 November, 2002
* [http://www.popimage.com/content/viewnews.cgi?newsid1027577583,41842, Interview with Rex Mundi Creators Arvid Nelson & Eric J] , PopImage.com, undated
* Interview: Rex Mundi Collected ( [http://www.popimage.com/content/viewnews.cgi?newsid1073819552,24088, part 1] , [http://www.popimage.com/content/viewnews.cgi?newsid1073819725,87717, part 2] ), PopImage.com, undated
* [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17297 Arvid Nelson talks "Rex Mundi"] , Comic Book Resources, July 18, 2008

Reviews

* [http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2007/03/08/rex-mundi-book-iii-the-lost-kings-by-arvid-nelson/ Review of "Rex Mundi Book III, The Lost Kings"] , The Daily Cross Hatch, March 8, 2007