Mike Baron
Encyclopedia
Mike Baron is the creator of comic books Badger
and (along with Steve Rude
) Nexus
. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado
.
. In 1981, he published his first formal comics script with Nexus, the science fiction title he co-created with illustrator Steve Rude; the series garnered numerous honors, including Eisners for both creators. A prolific creator, Baron is responsible for The Badger, Ginger Fox, Spyke, Feud, and many other comic book
titles. Baron has also written numerous mainstream characters, most notably DC
's The Flash
and Batman
, Marvel
's The Punisher
, and several Star Wars
adaptations for Dark Horse
. He has been nominated for Best Writer in the Kirby
, Harvey
and Eisner Award
s, and has won two Eisners for his work on Nexus.
, cat
and wildebeest
.
He also had a sign in his front yard in Fitchburg, WI that read "Prairie restoration in progress".
and Philip Jose Farmer
as influences on his fiction writing.
Badger (comics)
The Badger is a comic book character and series created by writer Mike Baron in 1983. The series began publication with the short-lived Capital Comics company before First Comics acquired the title and continued publshing it through the 1980s and early 1990s. The series ended when First Comics also...
and (along with Steve Rude
Steve Rude
-Career:In 1981, Rude became widely known in the comics world when he and writer Mike Baron created Nexus, an independent science fiction comic book with a large supporting cast. For the series, Rude designed a dozen or so distinctive alien races, including the Thunes, the Amphibs, the Quattros,...
) Nexus
Nexus (comics)
Nexus is an American comic book series created by writer Mike Baron and penciler Steve Rude in 1981. The series is a combination of the superhero and science fiction genres, set 500 years in the future.-Publication history:...
. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
.
Biography
Mike Baron broke into comics with an illustrated text piece in the 1974 debut issue of Marvel Comics's Comix BookComix Book
Comix Book was an underground comic book series published from 1974–1976, originally by Marvel Comics. It was the first underground comic to be published by a mainstream publisher. Edited by Denis Kitchen, Comix Book featured work by such underground luminaries as Justin Green, Kim Deitch, Trina...
. In 1981, he published his first formal comics script with Nexus, the science fiction title he co-created with illustrator Steve Rude; the series garnered numerous honors, including Eisners for both creators. A prolific creator, Baron is responsible for The Badger, Ginger Fox, Spyke, Feud, and many other comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
titles. Baron has also written numerous mainstream characters, most notably DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
's The Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
and Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
's The Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
, and several Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
adaptations for Dark Horse
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
. He has been nominated for Best Writer in the Kirby
Kirby Award
The Jack Kirby Award for achievement in comic books was presented from 1985-1987 by Amazing Heroes magazine, and managed by Fantagraphics employee Dave Olbrich...
, Harvey
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
and Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s, and has won two Eisners for his work on Nexus.
Personal life
Baron graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a B.A. in political science. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with his dogDog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
, cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
and wildebeest
Wildebeest
The wildebeest , also called the gnu is an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved mammal...
.
He also had a sign in his front yard in Fitchburg, WI that read "Prairie restoration in progress".
Influences
Baron has listed Carl BarksCarl Barks
Carl Barks was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , The Junior Woodchucks , Gyro Gearloose , Cornelius Coot , Flintheart Glomgold , John D...
and Philip Jose Farmer
Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
as influences on his fiction writing.
Comics
- 1981 to Present - NexusNexus (comics)Nexus is an American comic book series created by writer Mike Baron and penciler Steve Rude in 1981. The series is a combination of the superhero and science fiction genres, set 500 years in the future.-Publication history:...
- 1983 to Present - BadgerBadger (comics)The Badger is a comic book character and series created by writer Mike Baron in 1983. The series began publication with the short-lived Capital Comics company before First Comics acquired the title and continued publshing it through the 1980s and early 1990s. The series ended when First Comics also...
- 1980 to 1986 - Epic IllustratedEpic IllustratedEpic Illustrated was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. The series lasted for 34 issues, from Spring 1980 to February 1986....
- 1984 to 1987 - Amazing High Adventure #4 - #5
- 1985 - Heroes for HopeHeroes for HopeHeroes for Hope: Starring the X-Men is a 1985 Marvel comic book designed to raise money for African famine relief and recovery. Published in the form of a comics "jam," or exquisite corpse, the book featured an all-star lineup of comics creators as well as a few notable authors from outside the...
starring X-MenX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
#1 - March 1985 - All-Star SquadronAll-Star SquadronThe All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in a special insert in Justice League of America #193 . Created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway.-The concept:...
#43 - 1985 - Atari ForceAtari ForceAtari Force was the name of two comic book series published by DC Comics from 1982 to 1986. Both were loosely based on trademarks of Atari, Inc.- Publication history :...
#14 - #15 - 1987 to 1988 - The FlashFlash (comics)The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
- 1988 - Chronicles of Corum
- 1988 - CrossroadsCrossroads (comics)Crossroads was a five-issue limited series published in 1988 by First Comics.Crossroads made use of various First Comics published characters, including Sable, Badger, Grimjack, Dreadstar, and Nexus. The stories, written by Steven Grant, Mike Baron, and Roger Salick, were intertwined, although...
- 1987 to 1995 - The PunisherPunisherThe Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
Vol.2 #1 - #44, #46 - #48, #50 - #63, #76 - 1988 to 1994 - The Punisher Annual #1 - #4
- 1988 to 1995 - The Punisher War Journal #16, #25 - #37
- 1989 - Classic Punisher #1
- 1989 to 1990 - The Punisher Magazine #4 - #13
- 1989 - DeadmanDeadmanDeadman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 , and was created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino.-Publication history:...
: Love After Death #1 - #2 - 1989 to 1998 - What If...?What If (comics)What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
#83 - 1992 - The Punisher: G-Force #1
- 1992 - Deadman: Exorcism1 - #2
- 1993 - Heavy Hitters #1
- 1993 - Feud #1 - #4
- 1993 - The Punisher: Origin of Micro Chip #1 - #2
- 1993 - SpykeSpyke (comics)Spyke is a 4 issues comic-book limited series created by Mike Baron and Bill Reinhold , and published in 1993 by the Marvel Comics imprint Epic Comics.Also seen in the movie made in the 2006 blockbuster, " X-Men: The Last Stand" when Wolverine tries to find Jean and then Spyke comes and throws his...
#1 - #4 - 1994 - The Punisher: Empty Quarter #1
- 1995 to 1996 - Bruce Lee (graphic novel) #1 - #6
- 1995 - Tales of the Marvels: Blockbuster #1
- 1995 - Conan the SavageConan (comics)Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard was first adapted into comics published Marvel Comics beginning with the series Conan the Barbarian in 1970...
#8 - 1998 - Strange TalesStrange TalesStrange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
: Dark Corners #1 - 2003 to 2004 - Faro Korbit #1 - #3
- 2005- "Night Club" #1-4
- Nov. 2004–Present - Detonator #1 - #3
- (?) 2007 to September 2008 - Code #2-4
- October 2007 - November 2008 - Black Ice #1 - #25
- July 2007 - July 2009 - Nexus:Space Opera #1 - #4
Graphic novels
- Aug. 1986 - Robotech the Graphic Novel: Genesis
- 1988 - Badger: Hexbreaker
- 1989 - The Punisher: Intruder # 1
- 1991 - Badger: Bedlam
- June 1999 - Madman Boogaloo!
- June 1999 - Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
: The Last Command - Oct. 2003 - Kiss Vol. 3: Men and Monsters
- Feb. 2004 - Kiss Vol. 4: Unholy War
- 2004 - Faro Korbit
Novels
- Nov. 1986 - The World of Ginger Fox
- 2003 - WitchbladeWitchbladeWitchblade is an American comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, from 1995 until present. The series was created by Top Cow editors Marc Silvestri and David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner.The series follows Sara...
: Demons - Aug. 2004 - Iron Triangle: The Screenplay
Instructor
- 2003-2004 - Self-Publishing Comics Instructor at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design