Ah yes, Steve Rude. I remember discovering the Nexus series in the 1980s and buying most all of the issues he made. Hey, if he had to copy someone, at least it was among the best. I recall that Magnus and Leeja got a few cameos in some of the issues.

I also got a real kick out of the Badger, the crazy superhero who would beat up people who double-parked and wrote checks while in the checkout line. Now THAT's a hero! :^)
He had a crossover with Nexus which was quite amusing. "Are you Larry?"

I stopped getting the series when others took over with their lesser artwork and story talents, just like with Magnus and Manning.

For an in-depth profile of Manning, see here:

http://www.angelfire.com/trek/erbzine16/erbz837.html

One thing I learned: Magnus was going to have a big hammer to help him smash evil robots. Manning's wife talked him out of it, thankfully.