Thursday, December 31, 2015

Nimona

Nimona
By Noelle Stevenson
Harper Collins, 2015. 272 pages. Young Adult Graphic Novel

This graphic novel covers a lot of ground: fantasy, science, humor, love, loss, and redemption.  Lord Blackheart is a villain who is approached one day by Nimona - a young shapeshifter looking to offer her services to him.  Initially reluctant to take her on as his side kick, Blackheart changes his mind when he realizes how useful she can be.  But despite the professional nature of their relationship, and Nimona's reluctance to let Blackheart know the details of her life, they grow to have a meaningful friendship.  Blackheart's nemesis is Sir Goldenloin, and although Nimona offers to finish him off once and for all, Blackheart's history with Goldenloin prevents him from letting her.

With more depth than I initially realized, this book won me over as the story developed complexity and the characters became more endearing.  I also really enjoyed the illustrations - they were both fun to look at and quite expressive of the story.

BHG

1 comment:

ACS said...

Because it was originally published as a webcomic, Nimona feels very episodic, something where I could easily find a stopping point when real life called, but also something I was constantly looking forward to getting back to. I loved the characters! While the plot and story line were great, it was the well-developed characters that really made me fall in love with this novel. Nimona was tough and driven, and even though she was trying to be the side-kick, she was definitely the hero for me. She wasn’t perfect, but that made her all the more endearing and relatable. I could easily recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, fantasy graphic novel.