Part of it is . The fact that you can’t easily find it makes finding it feel like a victory. There are Reddit threads with dead MEGA links, cryptic pastebins, and users whispering about a “complete simonscans Nico archive” on a private Soulseek channel.
Depending on which thread you follow, Nico is a melancholic, sword-wielding wanderer from a lesser-known late-2000s webcomic or doujinshi series—possibly French or Japanese in origin. The art style is unmistakable: scratchy ink lines, heavy contrast, and a world soaked in perpetual rain and rust. Nico rarely speaks. When they do, the dialogue is sparse, almost poetic. Think Blame! meets Guts from Berserk , but with a quieter, more resigned sadness.
At first glance, it looks like a typo or a fragmented search term. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find a fascinating rabbit hole involving fan scanning, lost media preservation, and a cult character who refuses to fade into obscurity. Let’s start with the center of the puzzle: Nico . simonscans nico
Part of it is . In the few pages still floating around (low-resolution PNGs, watermarked with simonscans’ faded logo), Nico is heartbreaking. They carry a broken compass. They talk to a ghost that may not exist. In one memorable panel, they sit by a flooded highway and simply say: “I don’t remember why I’m walking. But stopping feels worse.”
That kind of raw, minimalist angst sticks with you. Of course, simonscans operated in a legal fog. Scanning and translating without permission is copyright infringement, plain and simple. But when the original creator has vanished, and the work is unavailable in any language, fans face a dilemma: let it die, or become an archivist. Part of it is
Maybe that’s enough. Have you ever stumbled across a lost scanlation or forgotten webcomic that stuck with you? Drop a comment below—or share your own “simonscans” story.
Simon, the group’s enigmatic founder, was known for high-quality raws, meticulous cleaning, and translations that prioritized mood over literal accuracy. In 2011, they released a 40-page scanlation of Nico’s debut chapter. It spread slowly across forums like Batoto, /a/, and a now-defunct LiveJournal community called ScarletScans . Depending on which thread you follow, Nico is
If you’ve spent any time in online art communities—especially those orbiting dark fantasy, gritty manga, or indie visual storytelling—you’ve probably seen the name pop up in forum threads or Discord recs: simonscans nico .