Pen: Noelle Stevenson
Pencil: Noelle Stevenson
The Internet is a great leveller of playing fields. Traditional challenges in a lot of fields no longer seem so, and opportunities that were open to a lucky few suddenly are available to many more. The Internet brought forth the concept of web comics. Suddenly, a lot of hidden writers and artists had an avenue before them, a chance to reach the masses. The Internet brought a talent like Noelle Stevenson to the fore. The Internet also made it possible for someone like me, half a world away, to read her work.
Nimona is set in a strange world that exists only in the most fertile of imaginations. A world where knights joust with lances, and the same lances can be weaponised with death rays and mini bombs. A world where a King rules, but the King is ruled by a Director. Of an institution called Institution! A world where there are dragons, but also science labs with self-destruct options.
In this world were two promising knights called Ambrosius Goldenloin and Ballister Blackheart. Once, they were asked to compete against each other. Blackheart won, but Goldenloin accidentally activated his lance and vaporised Ballister’s right hand. A knight without a hand is not a knight at all (please do not bring Jamie Lannister into this!). Goldenloin became the hero of the kingdom, while Blackheart took the next available position – the villain. But he was a villain with rules. He wouldn’t kill anyone, and he would always lose.
Into this status quo arrives Nimona, a young girl. She is a shape-shifter, and her abilities convinced Blackheart to take her on as his sidekick. Nimona has her qualities, but restraint is not one of them. Slowly, the villains start taking the upper hand, but it comes at the cost of the rules being broken. The tango being disrupted, things spiral out of control. But is Nimona, and by extension, her boss, really that bad? Or is there more to the hero-villain thing that we are allowed to know?
Nimona is a fantasy. No, it’s sci-fi. Definitely humour. Wait, isn’t it a father-daughter kind of drama? Or is it about the depression caused by suppression and oppression? That’s the beauty of Nimona. It cannot be pigeon-holed. In the story, Nimona claims to be a shape-shifter. I would say she is a shifter. Period. Because she changed things for those around her in more ways than one. She also changed them. Likewise, Nimona straddles genres effortlessly. But because this is not done intentionally, there is never a moment when one thinks it is a gimmick.
The artwork is special because it is simple. The background is not too detailed as the aim is to keep the main characters up front and centre. The colours are muted, yet bright (now, how does she do that?). For me, though, the art is a carrier for the creator’s abundant imagination. And in the end it is about telling a story. With words and pictures.
The Internet may have given Noelle the opportunity that she may not have gotten otherwise. But her talent is one that will stand out. This is such an assured debut that one would not believe that it didn't come from the mind of a veteran. Well, maybe it is not that surprising. It is very unlikely that an experienced hand would let her flights of fancy take her places; without following established guidelines. For Nimona to be impulsive and unencumbered like Nimona, it needed someone from outside. One just hopes the sense of spontaneity does not diminish as Noelle Stevenson goes further in the comic world.
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