Mike Baron is the creator of Nexus ( with artist Steve Rude) and Badger, two of the longest-lasting independent superhero comics. Nexus is about a cosmic avenger 500 years in the future. Badger is about multiple personalities, one of whom is a costumed crime fighter. Baron has won two Eisners and an Inkpot award and has written The Punisher, Flash, Deadman, and Star Wars, among many other titles.
He began crowdfunding with the Florida Man graphic novel, adapted from his novels. Next came Thin Blue Line, about two police officers trying to survive a night of rioting in a Midwest city. The pro-cop subject matter ignited fury in certain quarters, making the book extremely popular. His artist, Joe Arnold, is a full-time police officer who has almost finished the second issue. www.thinbluelinecomics.com Next came Private American, about a vigilante on the southern border. Marcos Zamora is a second-generation Cuban American and veteran who can no longer stand idly while cartels, human traffickers, and terrorists flood the country. He does not target migrants merely seeking a better life. If Thin Blue Line touched a nerve, Private American set off a thermonuclear explosion. www.theprivateamerican.com
His current project, Bronze Star, is a supernatural Western drawn by Pat Broderick. Broderick, well known for his work on Micronauts and Alpha Flight, is producing the best work of his career. The book is currently at the printer. www.bronzestarcomic.com
Next comes Florida Man #2: Hogzilla, in which Gary tackles a thousand-pound feral hog threatening upscale communities.
Baron has published fifteen novels: Helmet Head, Banshees, Whack Job, and eight in the Biker series, Skorpio, Florida Man, and Florida Man 2: Hogzilla. Florida Man 3: Catfish Calling. Helmet Head is about Nazi biker zombies. Whack Job is about spontaneous human combustion. Biker is a hard-boiled noir about a reformed motorcycle hoodlum turned private investigator. Skorpio is about a ghost who only appears under a blazing sun. Banshees is about a satanic rock band that returns from the dead.
Baron is working on three novels: Far Horizon, a military science fiction novel with co-writer Major Diggs Brown, a second Nexus novel, and the tenth Josh Pratt novel, Seventh Son, about a feud dating back to the Civil War. Seventh Son co-stars Chuck Dixon’s, Levon Cade. Baron writes on substack. mikebaron.substack. com. His website is bloodyredbaron.com. Subscribe to his YouTube channel to keep up to date.
Baron has written for The Boston Phoenix, Boston Globe, Creem, Fusion, Oui, and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. He got his first motorcycle in 1966. He lives in Colorado with his wife, Ann, and three dogs.