Big Studios launched a Kickstarter for Nexus: Deluxe Hardcover Omnibus – Volume One. This will be the first printing of a hardcover omnibus collection of Mike Baron and Steve Rude’s Eisner Award-winning science fiction comic series Nexus. The response was immediate, and the campaign matched its goal—well, almost four times its initial goal—in less than 3 days.
The quintessential anti-hero space epic has been published on-and-off for 40 years and has changed publishers many times, first at Capital Comics in 1981, First Comics in 1983, Dark Horse in 1992, and Rude Dude Productions from 1992 to 1997.
Even the initial deal for the comic seems to involve many parties, with Baron writing in the afterword of Nexus: The Origin #1, “This was no big-money deal, though. It wasn’t until years later that we learned we could’ve struck a better bargain. This was not John Davis, Milt Griepp, and Rich Brunning’s fault, except insofar as they instructed their lawyer to maximize their advantage, and we failed to get our lawyers to defend ours.”
Capital Comics Released May 1, 1983
Recently, there was an amicable split between the creators. In The Gutter Review article by Chad Nevett, the split is explained to be caused by creative differences:
Moving forward, the plan is for both men to do Nexus stories as they see fit, generally in the spirit of friendship and cooperation. It’s a fairly unique situation where both recognise the validity of the other’s claim to the character and its world.
The primary difference that I see is that Baron seems more interested in Nexus as a science fiction sandbox where he can explore ideas and build upon the larger world. It’s increasingly common for Baron to take Nexus out of his costume or remove his powers, escaping the superhero elements of the character. Rude, on the other hand, seems to continually bring Nexus back to its superhero roots. Horatio has his powers, wears his costume, and fights against larger than life enemies, ultimately triumphing.
And it seems that those contact disagreements have followed Nexus to the present day.
In a Facebook post on June 2, 2025, Rude clarified, “We’ve received many questions about the Nexus Omnibus crowdfunder by Mike Baron. I am not involved whatsoever with this project, nor am I receiving any funding of any kind from it. Reprinting older material and redoing the art was disappointing, but I wish him the best on the project.” This led to speculation that Rude’s original art was being altered, and some fans even declared that they would not back the campaign because of Rude’s exclusion from the project.
Baron then gave fans an update on the Nexus Omnibus Kickstarter:
A few quick clarifications for those asking:
Steve Rude’s original art remains unchanged—no edits, no alterations. We did look at recoloring the first three black-and-white issues, but set that aside last year due to multiple technical hurdles.“Remastered” means reformatting, renumbering, minor clean-ups, and better print quality—no changes to the art itself. More info in the FAQ section. Steve is receiving a royalty from this campaign after fulfillment and each subsequent volume.
Mike and Steve are in touch regularly, and we remain hopeful this wave of support will lead to more involvement down the line. Steve’s focus is on new projects, and we respect that, while always appreciating and cherishing his impact on Nexus.
Thank you for your passion and support. This campaign is about honoring Nexus’s legacy and celebrating the fans who keep it alive. Your feedback is always welcome. Stay tuned!
For the time, there is no update from Rude, but we hope that both parties have come to an agreement and fans can look forward to more collected editions of Nexus.
Its kind of sad really, the current state of Nexus is pretty dismal if you ask this long time fan (though I’ll admit I only came on board after issue 50 of the First Comics series). I’ve read both current works from the two creators and neither one really captures the spirit of Nexus. It’s kind of like you need both of them to have the whole. And since doesn’t look like there’s going to be a reconciliation soon, better off to let the whole IP sit.
Also didn’t Dark Horse do a nice job of collecting all of the previously issued Nexus stuff?
I have the DH Archives from a few years back
so no need for anything else,
unless there’d be new material in it,
which, given the apparent state of things, seems unlikely.
Why doesn’t Mike Baron create something new
rather than this type of cash grab.
How would this even capture new readers
rather than milk older ones.
@Thomas The quick success of this KS tells me that a lot of people do not have the DH Archives and would like some nice copies on their shelves. Maybe this project was not aimed at folks like you.
In addition, projects like this often mean that, further down the road, more accessible copies of Nexus will be available because the cleaned-up files are all ready to go both in print and digital. Not a lot of “new readers” are going to hop onto a brand new, steeped-in-continuity Nexus book these days.
shoot, i was hoping for (but not expecting) eventual DH Archives of the uncollected miniseries.