Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nimona surprised me. At first I was enjoying it as a lighthearted sci-fi fantasy adventure, but by the end I was deeply hooked and emotionally invested. This is a truly character-driven story. The main characters – Nimona, Blackheart, and Goldenloin – are all masterfully developed, with their own distinct attitudes and motives. Nimona’s chaotic impulsivity and Blackheart’s more cautious and by-the-books approach complement each other well, making them excellent foils. Meanwhile, Blackheart’s history with Goldenloin makes their relationship intriguing and believable.
The character designs (and the visuals generally) are simplistic, which lends them a certain charm as well as serving the practical purpose of being relatively quick to draw. I appreciate the concept art page at the end of the book – I love that sort of behind-the-scenes bonus content showing an artist’s process and the development of their ideas prior to creating the finished piece.
After finishing this book, I learnt that it was originally published episodically on Tumblr. I think it shows, especially near the beginning where the pace is quick and the stakes are low, only later reconfiguring to focus on a single ongoing arc rather than smaller escapades. Overall, the graphic novel improves both artistically and in terms of writing as the story goes on. It would have been nice to see more splash pages and panels without dialogue, though I recognise that slowing the story down in this way would have made the book incredibly long.
Nimona is one of those books I know I’ll revisit at some point. I’d love to give the audiobook a listen as well.