Rex Mundi (Dark Horse Comics)

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For the Malibu Comics character of the same name, see Rex Mundi (Malibu Comics)

Rex Mundi

Cover to Rex Mundi #16. Art by Juan Ferreyra.

Publisher	Dark Horse Comics (formerly published by Image Comics)
Schedule	Irregular
Format	Ongoing
Publication dates	August 2003 – present
Number of issues	18 (as at September 2006)

Creative team
Writer(s)	Arvid Nelson
Artist(s)	Juan Ferreyra
Penciller(s)	Juan Ferreyra
Inker(s)	Juan Ferreyra
Colourist(s)	Juan Ferreyra
Creator(s)	Arvid Nelson, Eric J

Rex Mundi is a term in Latin to describe the King of the World, a term deriving from Cathar heresies of the Middle Ages, and taken up in such esoteric pseudohistorical works as Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Within the Cathar context it seems to have been equated with the Demiurge.

It also appears in an original comic book mini-series from Dark Horse Comics (having moved from Image Comics in 2006), by Arvid Nelson (writer) and Juan Ferreyra (artist).

It is a tale of murder, sin and redemption in a world where magic is real and the Catholic Church never lost its grip on power.

1 Background
2 Plot
3 Le Journal de la Liberté
4 Characters
5 Visual references
6 Change of publisher
7 Spin-offs
- 7.1 Film adaptation
- 7.2 Other comic series
8 Creative team (past and present)
9 References and articles
10 External links

[edit] Background

Rex Mundi writer and co-creator, Arvid Nelson says he 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^[1]

"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."^[1]

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.^[1]

[edit] Plot

Rex Mundi is a quest for the Holy Grail told as a murder mystery. It's set in 1933 in an alternate history Europe where magic is real and the Protestant Reformation never happened.

"The story is staying primarily in Europe," Nelson has said, "But the very end will involve Spain, which is still Muslim [in the setting of the story], so readers will have an opportunity to see another culture, even if the geography remains constant."^[1]

[edit] Le Journal de la Liberté

Rex Mundi devotes space in each issue to a fictitious newspaper, Le Journal de la Liberté, which enables Nelson to embellish events in the Mundiverse without writing them entirely in his storylines.

For example, rather than devote several pages to a political event within the body of the comic, the event is written as a news story in Le Journal de la Liberté, giving readers some useful, although not always essential, background.

[edit] Characters

Julien Saunière
Genevieve Tournon
David Plantard des Saint-Claire, Duke of Lorraine
Brother Moricant
Rabbi Albert Maiselles
Père Gerard Marin

[edit] Visual references

Current 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.

[edit] Change of publisher

On March 28, 2006, a press release was issued, indicating that Rex Mundi would be moving from Image to Dark Horse.

Dark Horse editor, Scott Allie: "I first read Rex Mundi when the series creator Arvid Nelson sent me the collections last year. I devoured the stuff. Arvid has a massive plan for this series — he's taking his time telling an involved story in a way that you don't often see in American comics, and the payoff is going to be well worth the buildup." ^[2]

Series co-creator, Arvid Nelson: "Switching publishers is a big change for me, it's huge. Dark Horse has given me an incredible opportunity, and I want to take full advantage of it. I’m scared and excited all at the same time. I feel like a little schoolgirl."^[2]

Current Rex Mundi publisher Image will continue the series up through issue #18 with the first Dark Horse issue arriving in August 2006. The last six issues of Image's run will be collected by Dark Horse and released in September 2006, followed by reprints of the two previous Image collections. Rex Mundi features art by Juan Ferreyra and the first Dark Horse issue will feature a cover by JH Williams III.^[2]

[edit] Spin-offs

[edit] Film adaptation

To date, the biggest Rex Mundi spin-off mentioned has been a motion picture. While the project has had an on-again, off-again nature, as of March 28, 2006, a firm project appears to be in the works, under the auspices of Dark Horse Entertainment.

There is no director attached yet.(2006).

According to Los Angeles Times, Jim Uhls will write the script. Uhls did the adaptation of "Fight Club" The script will be produced by and star Johnny Depp.

[edit] Other comic series

For a time, the official website offered a spin-off online 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 Mundiverse, but not involving the characters of Rex Mundi.

"Eric and I have considered doing a Rex Mundi 'prequel' set in the United States around the time of the Civil War. It wouldn't really be a prequel per se because it won't involve any of the characters in Rex Mundi or even the plot. It would be a totally unconnected story set in a different part of the same world at a different time. At this point it's just daydream, but there is a lot of stuff about America we might not be able to cover in Rex Mundi."^[1]