I
‘ve long been a fan of Gingerhaze (Noelle Stevenson’s online persona), but I didn’t read Nimona when it was a webcomic. I hate waiting for new updates (which is also why I watch Netflix more than TV). But now it’s out in book form, and IT IS SO GOOD.
Nimona is clever, gorgeously drawn in a deceptively simplistic animation, and incredibly touching while also being laugh-out-loud funny on multiple occasions. In the words of Stevenson herself:
Nimona is about a supervillain mad scientist knight and his shapeshifting, trigger-happy girl sidekick, the titular Nimona. Ballister is actually a pretty nice guy, but Nimona just wants to blow stuff up. They go up against Sir Goldenloin, the codpiece-wearing swishy-haired hero, and the duplicitous institution he represents. It all takes place in a medieval-futuristic world.
It’s dedicated “to all the monster girls” and I am in love with the raw emotion behind Nimona’s story. She’s a shapeshifter, dangerous and angry. She joins Ballister Blackheart in supervillainy in one of the coolest settings I’ve seen: there are kings and knights alongside science labs and touch screens. Teaming up against Goldenloin (who has a secret past with Blackheart) and the good (evil?) Institute, Nimona and Blackheart become good friends…until Nimona’s monstrous side gets out of hand.
Nimona is every girl who has felt Too Much, who feels used and abused, who knows trusting people is the first step toward being betrayed. This comic gets deep, y’all. The fact that she makes jokes about “I’m a shark!” is just icing on top of a really emotional story about beauty and the beast – but genderswapped! I’m SUCH a fan.
You can read the first three comics on Stevenson’s website HERE. Though be forewarned, the drawing style matures throughout the story (it was written over the course of a couple years). It gets SO GOOD. Now I’m off to dive back into the Internet world of Gingerhaze.
Book Jacket
Nimona is an impulsive shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta.
As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.
Explosions will be involved. Science and sharks will be too.
But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.
Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism!
All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson, based on her award-winning web comic.
Release Date: May 2015
It Is Trish 