INDIE SPOTLIGHT: NIMONA IS EVERONE’S FAVORITE LITTLE MONSTER

Sort of science fiction, sort of fantasy, sort of fantastic, Nimona is a trope twisting roller coaster from start to finish. Created for one of her classes, Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona achieved critical success when it was published in 2015. Stevenson first started publishing the series online one page at a time back in 2012 and the first three chapters can still be found on her site, but you’ll have to buy the book if you want to keep reading. And everyone seriously should. It’s absolutely brilliant for so many reasons that I can’t name them all but I’ll try. Nimona is witty, surprising, and absolutely delightful, not least of all, because the main character is an unapologetic, foul-tempered hellion and you love her anyway.

Independent comics, webcomics in particular, have the luxury of exploring complex themes and developing complex character driven plots, without having to worry about any specific page or form restrictions. A typical single issue of a comic is usually twenty-four pages from cover to cover, however, Nimona plays with chapter lengths, ranging from one page to twenty pages per chapter. This allows Stevenson’s plot to dictate the pace and length of her story, rather than having to conform to any specific guidelines, the characters are given time to develop and grow, and there are no filler arcs to fluff the story up or increase the page count. Likewise, she didn’t have to take shortcuts in the plot to resolve it within a certain amount of pages. Nimona has a distinct beginning and end and stories like that are hard to force into the skin of an industry-standard, ongoing series.

Actually, the transition from webcomic to print presented Stevenson with some great opportunities. Nimona was a work in progress for over three years. During the course of that time, Stevenson’s art style changed, sometimes in subtle ways and other times in pretty dramatic ones. Stevenson was able to re-draw the first several chapters in order to better match her later character designs and lettering.

Original Nimona art.

Updated art for the trade paperback print.

In the industry, or even simply working as part of a team, making adjustments like that are a much more complicated process.

Which is also to say that being solo and independent also means that the creator has the freedom to design the world however they see fit. High fantasy and science fiction don’t typically go together but somehow, Stevenson manages to blend the genres almost seamlessly. Magic and science work in tandem to create an unnamed land where the mysterious Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics dictates who becomes heroes and villains and maintains the balance of good and evil for the sake of the nation. Or does it? (Come on guys, with a name so overly pretentious, you know that it doesn’t.)

It’s immediately obvious that the world that Stevenson has created in Nimona is unique. Giant robots and vials of mystery liquid don’t seem at all out of place beside the medieval stone and chainmail aesthetic and shapeshifters.

Oh, I should mention that Nimona’s a shapeshifter. That’s going to be important later.

Enter Ballister Blackheart; ex-knight in training who lost his arm in an accident at the Academy and has been since relegated to the role of villain, a role he fills beautifully. Not only because he completely looks the part of a villain–cyborg arm, facial scars, dark goatee–but because he’s intelligent. And not the way that most supervillains are, for comedic effect, but is actually really just smarter than literally everyone.

Especially his arch nemesis, Ambrosius Goldenloin. Tall, blond, and a little dumb, on paper Goldenloin sounds pretty much like the archetypal “hero,” but he’s also impatient, boastful, and an enormous tool.

I’m not going to lie, I absolutely love any story where the more traditional “hero” is a jerk while the “villain” is actually a decent person. Not only does it become a critique on the nature of morality, but it forces writers to work extra hard to create compelling, three-dimensional characters with backstories that inform their actions.

Blackheart blames Goldenloin and the Institution (but mostly Goldenloin) for the loss of his arm and works to undermine them and upset the status quo–

Because the status is not… oh.

–with the help of his assistant-slash-sidekick, Nimona.

Despite Blackheart’s initial protests, the two make a great dynamic duo. They share common goals and they (somehow) manage to bring out the best in the other.

Aside from some seemingly uncontrollable murder-impulses, Nimona is incredibly level-headed. Throughout the course of the story, she calls out injustice and double standards in the world around her and is constantly doing exactly what any of us would do if we could shapeshift into apparently anything we want with no regard for the laws of mass conservation or reality. Which is to say: literally anything she wants.

To all the monster girls.

Just like Stevenson’s dedication implies, Nimona is the vicious little shoulder-demon inside all girls; the voice we hear telling us to be bigger, bolder, and braver than anyone expects us to be. Nimona refuses to be quiet or conform to social norms and expectations and won’t shy away from doing what she has to in order to protect herself and the people she cares about.

In the character of Nimona, Stevenson has created a fantasy heroine who is both the dragon and the damsel and that’s really incredible. For most of the story, Nimona refuses to show weakness (except one time, and that’s just to trick a guard), she lies about her past and her powers, and plays by her own rules. She also swears like a sailor.

She’s impulsive and terrifying but also surprisingly thoughtful and even kind of nice when she wants to be. She’s also got some anger issues that she’s mostly able to stifle with unabashed glee over committing crime and doing other crime-related things and being a dragon or a shark or some other dangerous creature with lots of sharp teeth.

But to be perfectly honest, her gender is unimportant, since as the story proves, she’s Nimona no matter what form she takes. Nimona might have been created for girls to have someone to identify with, however, over the course of the story, she shows that she can represent pretty much anyone. Nimona is the true “every[wo]man” because anyone who looks closely enough will find a little piece of themselves or who they could be in Nimona.