BOOK REVIEW: Nimona by ND Stevenson
Book Review
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Book Review 〰️
Written By: Mergo (Bookseller)
Writer’s note: This book was published in 2015 and used the cartoonist’s old name and pronouns. His proper name is Nate (or ND) Stevenson, and he uses he/him pronouns.
Great art has the ability to change the person who experiences it. The best art follows you, changing alongside you as you travel through the years. I remember discovering ND Stevenson’s Tumblr page in 2011 and immediately falling in love with his art. It was charming, deceptively simple, and emotionally complex. It’s the way I’d always wanted my comics to look and what had drawn me to cartoonists like Charles Schulz when I was younger. I’d all but given up on my dream of drawing comics but found instant inspiration in ND’s work. Marvel, Sherlock, and “hipster” Lord Of The Rings fan art evolved into an original webcomic featuring Nimona, a character ND had created years prior. He released the story a couple pages at a time and ultimately used the comic as his senior thesis at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Soon Harper Collins reached out to him, and the book was published as a middle-grade graphic novel in 2015.
Nimona is a young would-be sidekick to archvillain Lord Ballister Blackheart, and the pair work to thwart the heroics of Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. She’s quick to action and ready to prove herself at every turn, much to Blackheart’s annoyance. The two differ on their approach to villainy, and this isn’t a story that shies away from killing off henchfolk left and right. The tone is cartoony without being too heavy for younger readers, but it does show that actions have consequences. It shows great respect for the reader, regardless of age. As the comic unfolds, the connections between the characters change and are called into question. The villain has goodness within him and the hero can be a downright scoundrel. You genuinely care about these people, and ND gives them a humanity that is much needed. It would be so easy to tell a simple story of goofy good guys and mustache-twirling villains, but that’s just the foundation for something more. Nimona explores themes such as identity and purpose in a way that’s natural to both the characters and the world. Treating characters as people with genuine faults and virtues is a trend that I’m very happy to see continue as time goes on. ND’s care for worldbuilding and characterization will be familiar to fans of Adventure Time, Steven Universe, or Stevenson’s own She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Nimona is a self-contained tale, and I’m really happy that they didn’t try to turn this into a longer series. It ends where it needs to and leaves the reader satisfied.
Reading Nimona’s opening chapters as they were created was extremely instructive to me. One can see the art grow as the book goes on, and that’s inspiring to see. As a cartoonist, it gives me permission to just start making something. The quality will improve with time; the important part is to keep going (an important lesson in life as well as art) It’s exactly the kind of book I would have loved at 12 but am thankful for at 42. Nimona was being written when I was going through an identity crisis of my own as a closeted trans woman. Reading this in 2022 as someone who's come out since the creation of this book, it’s clear that the author was struggling with his own personal battles. Discovering yourself and trying to find your people is difficult as someone in the LGBTQIA+ community, but books like this give a person hope and perspective. In subsequent years, ND has brought She-Ra to Netflix and co-created the amazing Lumberjanes comic series. He also created the heart-wrenching autobiographical comic The Fire Never Goes Out (also published by HarperTeen) in 2020. It’s a wonderful coda to Nimona, showing the growth of not only ND’s art but of the cartoonist himself. Being open with your struggles and turning that journey into art resonates deeply for me. Nimona is charming, funny, sad, extremely queer, and an absolute treasure.
RATING: 5/5
