The final hour! A few hundred dollars from the 1988 Nexus tee
24 days ago
– Thu, Oct 01, 2026 at 12:14:43 PM
Hey everyone,
Two things happened since yesterday. You passed 600 backers, so Steve is hiding an original drawing inside a book for the troops. And you unlocked the Nexus Trading Card.
We’re a few hundred dollars from unlocking the 1988 Nexus tee. It opens as an add-on after the campaign ($30, or $35 for 3XL and up), you pick your size then, and VIP backers get one automatically.
The campaign closes today at 1 PM Arizona (4 PM Eastern). Two ways to help in the next couple of hours, and each takes a minute:
-
Add to your pledge. Open your pledge, then add an add-on or step up an edition.
-
Send one friend this: You need to see this. Mike Baron and Steve Rude’s Nexus. $5 gets you 80 Nexus books to read today, and it closes at 1 PM Arizona: https://steverude.com/whatitis-friend
Thank you for three incredible weeks.
Keep Drawing,
Steve and the Rude Dude Crew
P.S. Thank you for every kind word about Sasha. She is still at the emergency hospital, and we’ll share more after the campaign closes.
Our husky Sasha is at the emergency vet. A note on the stretch goals.
25 days ago
– Wed, Sep 30, 2026 at 05:53:11 PM
Hey everyone,
Sasha, our 2-year-old husky, is at the emergency vet.
We don’t know what she got into, but her liver enzymes came back higher than the test can measure. She’s in for an ultrasound and possibly an overnight stay.
What this means for the campaign. We may not get pictures posted for every stretch goal today. Nobody misses out:
- Every backer can add the extras we unlock after the campaign, in the pledge manager.
- VIP backers get one of everything we unlock, automatically.
- Any pledge over $149 can be split into 4 payments.
The campaign still closes Thursday at 1 PM Arizona (4 PM Eastern).
If you’d like to help with Sasha. The vet bill is going to be between $5,000 and $10,000. Your pledge goes to making the book, so here is how to help with the bill:
-
Our store. Take 10% off your entire order with code WELOVESASHA:
-
Free shipping. Use code COMBINESHIPWHATITIS for free shipping along with your crowdfunding order. USA orders ship free.
-
Commissions. Steve is going to take commissions to cover the costs. They aren’t open yet, but if you’re interested in a larger commission, email us at [email protected].
Thank you for your support, and for being the kind of community we can tell this to.
Keep Drawing,
Steve and the Rude Dude Crew
You unlocked Ask Steve Anything. Now bring a friend.
27 days ago
– Mon, Sep 28, 2026 at 01:16:15 PM
Hey everyone,
Three days left. Nexus: What It Is! closes Thursday, October 1, at 1 PM Arizona time.
You did it! 516 backers, and Ask Steve Anything is unlocked: a live, backers-only stream where Steve answers your questions on camera. Get your questions into the comments now; Tristan is building the list, and the date comes after the campaign closes.
What's next on the ladder? $65,000 puts a die-cut Nexus: What It Is! sticker in every physical box, plus the Vault Drop 5x7 print as an add-on. $3,773 to go. At 600 backers, Steve draws one original piece of art and hides it inside one of the books we send to ComicBooks For Troops, with a handwritten note. Somewhere out there, a service member opens their book and finds a Steve Rude original. 84 backers to go.
A question for the book. How should the interviews read? Vote at the bottom. In the comments: who do you most want to hear from in the book, and what would you ask them? These polls steer the book. Steve and the editor make the final call, but you're in the room.
Keep Drawing,
Steve and the Rude Dude Crew
One week left. Finished art, or the rough stuff?
about 1 month ago
– Fri, Sep 25, 2026 at 07:59:32 AM
.png)
Hey everyone,
One week from today the campaign closes, Thursday October 1 at 1 PM Arizona. Here’s what that means, and one question for the book.
The number. Ask Steve Anything: 13 to go.
Two doors close October 1. If you reserved a stone coaster and haven’t backed, any pledge claims it, and it can’t be made for anyone else. If you followed before launch and haven’t backed, the Crystal Ballroom Library Card ships with your book at any level. After October 1, both are gone for good.
The question. How much of Steve’s process goes in the book? Vote at the bottom. In the comments: what’s the one thing about how Steve works that you’ve always wanted to see?
These polls steer the book. Steve and the editor make the final call, but you’re in the room. Whatever doesn’t make the book goes into the archive, and the physical Library Card is the only key.
Keep Drawing,
Steve and the Rude Dude Crew
13 to go. And a question that decides how the book looks.
about 1 month ago
– Fri, Sep 25, 2026 at 07:57:29 AM
Hey everyone,
The number. Ask Steve Anything is 13 away as of this afternoon. Tristan’s stacking your questions in the comments. Badger fans, we see you.
The question. This one is the single biggest lever on the page count. When a page can hold one big piece of art or three smaller ones with captions, which do you want? Vote at the bottom. In the comments: name one Nexus image you’d want to see at full page, 9 x 12.
These polls steer the book. Steve and the editor make the final call, but you’re in the room. Whatever doesn’t make the book goes into the archive, and the physical Library Card is the only key.
Keep Drawing,
Steve and the Rude Dude Crew
