Comic book writer and novelist Mike Baron brings us Nexus: The Novel, a science fiction adventure based on the reluctant comic book hero created by Baron and drawn by artist Steve Rude.

Horatio Hellpop aka the reluctant superpowered hero Nexus heads to Earth on assignment from the Merk in order to meet his quota on slaying mass murderers. While there, he encounters the mysterious Thrillkill Twins, who escaped from a brainwashing center built by a crime syndicate. At first, they were targets, but upon learning that they only have killed bad guys, he takes pity on them. On his home planet of Ylum, his wife Sundra and son Harry hear some disturbing news. A gigantic being known as Gourmando is heading toward Ylum and plans on destroying it. With Nexus on earth and refugees trying to find safety, Sundra is at a loss on how to save Ylum and possibly the galaxy.

To be clear, I read the original run of Nexus, so I was pretty excited to see that the Bloody Red Baron himself Mike Baron was bringing Horatio Hellpop to novel form. It was funded through a highly successful crowdfunding campaign that I proudly supported. It is an understatement to say it did not disappoint.

I found the story captured the spirit of the original comic book series. It brings us a new adventure filled with some of your favorite characters and introduces some new faces. I also liked the poking it did at other mainstream comic book characters. That added some brevity to the otherwise seriousness of the situation. From beginning to end, you are hooked as Nexus searches for human killers and Sundra wonders how to stop the “devourer of worlds.” When these plots collide, it brings us a climax that you are not expecting.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or novel you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my articles on Till Human Voices Wake Us by CS Johnson and The Terminal List by Jack Carr. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this one.

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