Book Review · 9th December 2023

Nimona

ND Stevenson. HarperCollins. (285p) ISBN: 9780062278227

Nimona

Nimona

Talking to friends about how much I enjoyed the animated show on Netflix they pointed out that the graphic novel it was based on was really good, so of course I had to get it.

I’ve finally got around to reading it as I like having some graphic novels in reserve if I find myself unable to read much else.

I was pulled into the world of Ballister, Nimona, and Goldenloin right from the start with an art style that has so much energy and fun.

Ballister has been set up as a foil to the oppressive Institute and is the Nemesis to the wonderful (?) Goldenloin, when all of a sudden a sidekick falls into his lap in the shape (well one of them anyway) of Nimona.

Nimona and Ballister embark on many a quest against the government that made him into the villain that he never wanted to be, it all feels like one big game but it becomes so so serious.

Nimona is my kind of hero, violent and random but with an underlying pathos which we find more about as the story progresses.

The comic is full of themes of trust, friendship. betrayal but it also looks at oppression, despotism, corrupt government, and manipulation.

This is in a world where science and magic are intertwined and as valid as each other, where old myths dog the memories of government, where fear rules and rulers think power is the answer.

A wonderful story that is an improvement on the show, worthy addition to your graphic novel collection.


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