Nexus co-creator Mike Baron returns to the world for the first time in a decade with today’s Nexus: Scourge. The original story features art by Kelsey Shannon, and marks the first time Baron has published a Nexus story since his partnership with Rude was dissolved. The two seem to have a good relationship — Rude gets name-dropped as an inspiration to Shannon in Dark Horse’s release — but back in 2022, Rude announced they had parted ways, and went on to publish his own Nexus story, Battle For Thuneworld, on his own. To have both creators doing their versions of the character feels like a fitting end to a relationship that lasted years, spawned dozens of comics, and had an unprecedented relationship with publisher Dark Horse Comics.
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Dark Horse at one point held the rights to Nexus, but the publisher turned them back over to the creators years ago.
“Mike Baron and I have always had a cordial and respectful relationship with Mike Richardson, the head of DarkHorse comics,” Rude told ComicBook.com in 2012. “Mike, after all, is the one who gave us the rights to Nexus back.That alone puts us in his eternal favor.”
The series was Baron’s original idea, with Rude going out of his way over the years to credit the writer with most of the developmental work, even as Rude himself became more and more closely associated with the character and his world.
Baron had successfully crowdfunded the title, which you can preorder now at BaronComics.com.
Here’s how Baron’s Big Studios describes the title in its press release:
In Nexus: Scourge, an all-new, standalone adventure, readers will be reintroduced to the cosmic vigilante, as he is forced to confront an ancient evil that threatens the very fabric of existence.
Featuring captivating art and colors by Kelsey Shannon (Batman Adventures, Dark Fang, Norah’s Saga), along with letters by Warren Montgomery (Florida Man, Fun Adventure Comics!), the tale is written by Nexus co-creator Mike Baron (The Punisher, The Flash, Bronze Star), and the stakes in “Scourge” are higher than ever.
In “Nexus: Scourge,” readers are thrust into an enthralling narrative as Nexus investigates the mystery of vanishing planets, and complete star systems. With the universe on the brink of destruction, Nexus must unravel the truth against seemingly insurmountable odds. “Scourge” offers a vibrant expansion of the Nexus universe, filled with villainy, danger, and deceit, brought to life through the dynamic artwork by Kelsey Shannon, who is a self-professed “Nexus super-fan” and was inspired by Nexus co-creator Steve Rude, and classic comic artists like Alex Toth.
