Nimona

Nimona

Cover of the print edition
Author(s) Noelle Stevenson
Website http://gingerhaze.com/nimona
Current status / schedule Concluded
Publisher(s) Print: HarperCollins[1]
Genre(s) Comedy, drama, action

Nimona is a fantasy comic by the American comics writer and artist Noelle Stevenson. Stevenson started Nimona as a webcomic while a student at Maryland Institute College of Art. The webcomic was first published in June 2012 and doubled as Stevenson's senior thesis.[2] Nimona has been published in the form of a graphic novel by HarperCollins in 2015, and 20th Century Fox Animation acquired rights to create an animated film adaptation of the webcomic that same year.

Conception and development

Stevenson initially published Nimona on Tumblr. She was inspired to create Nimona's character based on her experiences with cosplay: Stevenson always preferred cosplaying as male characters rather than female characters and therefore wanted to create a female comics character that was more "butch".[3] Nimona started off as a collection of one- and two-page comics. Because of this, the webcomic was somewhat experimental for Stevenson. Though she knew how the webcomic would end from the very start, she never expected the project to gain any wider recognition.[4]

In an interview with Comics Alliance, Stevenson described her feelings upon completing Nimona as both satisfying and "a little sad."[4]

Release and adaptations

Nimona has been published online as a webcomic since June 2012. HarperCollins published the webcomic as a young adult graphic novel in May 2015.[5][6] In June 2015, 20th Century Fox Animation acquired the rights for an animated feature film adaptation.[7]

Synopsis

Nimona is set in a mash-up universe that combines fantasy and science fiction tropes. The titular character Nimona is a rambunctious young shapeshifter and the sidekick of the supervillain Lord Ballister Blackheart. Blackheart is a knight turned mad scientist who's pursued by his nemesis, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin of the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics. The first five chapters focus on the differences in outlook between Nimona and her by-the-book boss, as well as their plots against the secretly villainous Institution.

Reception

Nimona has been well received, with Slate awarding it the Cartoonist Studio Prize for being considered the "Best Web Comic of 2012".[8] A blogger writing for Comic Book Resources compared Stevenson's artwork to that of Kate Beaton, Eleanor Davis and Faith Erin Hicks.[2][9] Io9 commented that Nimona's "light, sketchy style" helped to set up the comic's tone and favorably compared it to the Venture Bros.,[10] as well as calling it one of the "Best New and Short Webcomics of 2012".[11] Nimona was rated as the best webcomic of 2014 by Paste Magazine.[12]

The comic was nominated for a 2015 Eisner Award and was a finalist for the 2015 National Book Award.[13][14]

After a German-language print version of Nimona was released in 2016, Timur Vermes of Spiegel Online reviewed the comic. Though Vermes described the work as "entertaining", he criticized Nimona's parody nature, stating that Stevenson "likes heroes too much". According to Vermes, as the story grows more complex, the logic of the world begins to fall apart. The reader's attention to these deficiencies are diverted, however, through "wonderfully" staged and colored action scenes.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "HarperCollins picks up webcomic Nimona". Comics Beat. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Kelly (2012-11-05). "She Has No Head! – "I'm a shark"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "'Nimona' Shifts Shape And Takes Names — In Sensible Armor, Of Course". NPR. 2015-05-13.
  4. 1 2 Kahn, Juliet (2014-11-17). "We're Defining This New Wave Of Comics For Ourselves: A Conversation With Noelle Stevenson [Interview]". Comics Alliance.
  5. ↑ "Art Blogger Noelle Stevenson Lands 2-Book Deal". CBC Books. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Nimona - Noelle Stevenson". Harper Collins. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Kit, Borys (11 June 2015). "Fox Animation Nabs 'Nimona' Adaptation With 'Feast' Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Announcing the Winners of the Cartoonist Studio Prize". Slate. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "The Cartoonist Studio Prize: The Shortlists". Slate. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  10. ↑ Davis, Lauren (10 November 2012). "Saturday Webcomic: What happens when a supervillain's sidekick is more villainous than he is?". io9. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  11. ↑ "The Best New and Short Webcomics of 2012". Io9. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  12. ↑ Jackson, Fannie (2014-12-17). "The 20 Best Webcomics of 2014". Paste Magazine.
  13. ↑ "2015 Eisner Award Nominations". Comic-Con. 2015.
  14. ↑ Dwyer, Colin (2015-10-14). "Finalists Unveiled For This Year's National Book Awards". NPR. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  15. ↑ Vermes, Timur (2016-11-23). ""Das war lustig! Was machen wir jetzt?"". Spiegel Online.
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