Nimona

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

Nimona is a fantasy webcomic by the American comics writer and artist Noelle Stevenson. Stevenson started Nimona 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. An animated feature film adaptation, produced by 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios, is scheduled to be released in 2020.

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]

Adaptions

Nimona was released online as a webcomic beginning in June 2012. HarperCollins published the webcomic as a young adult graphic novel in May 2015.[5][6] In August 2016, Stevenson published an audiobook version of Nimona through Audible.com. Featuring voicework by Rebecca Soler, Jonathan Davis, Marc Thompson, January LaVoy, Natalie Gold, Peter Bradbury, and David Pittu, the audiobook has a runtime of two hours and seventeen minutes and is entirely unabridged.[7]

In June 2015, 20th Century Fox Animation acquired the rights for an animated feature film adaptation, with Patrick Osborne set to direct it.[8] The film will be produced by Blue Sky Studios.[9] In June 2017, Fox scheduled Nimona to be released on February 14, 2020.[10]

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".[11] A blogger writing for Comic Book Resources compared Stevenson's artwork to that of Kate Beaton, Eleanor Davis and Faith Erin Hicks.[2][12] Io9 commented that Nimona's "light, sketchy style" helped to set up the comic's tone and favorably compared it to the Venture Bros.,[13] as well as calling it one of the "Best New and Short Webcomics of 2012".[14] Nimona was rated as the best webcomic of 2014 by Paste Magazine.[15]

The Nimona graphic novel was nominated for a 2015 Eisner Award and was a finalist for the 2015 National Book Awards.[16][17] It won the 2015 Cybils Award in the "Young Adult Graphic Novels" category.[18]

Reviewing the German-language print version of Nimona in 2016, Timur Vermes of Spiegel Online described the webcomic as "entertaining", but he criticized Nimona's parody nature, stating that Stevenson "likes her 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.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "HarperCollins picks up webcomic Nimona". Comics Beat. November 7, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Kelly (November 5, 2012). "She Has No Head! – "I'm a shark"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  3. ↑ "'Nimona' Shifts Shape And Takes Names — In Sensible Armor, Of Course". NPR. May 13, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Kahn, Juliet (November 17, 2014). "We're Defining This New Wave Of Comics For Ourselves: A Conversation With Noelle Stevenson [Interview]". Comics Alliance. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Art Blogger Noelle Stevenson Lands 2-Book Deal". CBC Books. 2012-11-09. Archived from the original on 2013-03-05.
  6. ↑ MacDonald, Heidi (2012-11-07). "HarperCollins picks up webcomic Nimona". Comics Beat.
  7. ↑ Sims, Chris (August 26, 2016). "Noelle Stevenson Announces Full-Cast 'Nimona' Audiobook". ComicsAlliance.
  8. ↑ Kit, Borys (June 11, 2015). "Fox Animation Nabs 'Nimona' Adaptation With 'Feast' Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  9. ↑ Riley, Jennel (February 9, 2017). "Oscar Winner Patrick Osborne Returns With First-Ever VR Nominee 'Pearl'". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2017. I’m working with Blue Sky Animation and Fox on “Nimona,...
  10. ↑ Couch, Aaron (June 30, 2017). "Fox Carves Out Dates for 6 Mystery Marvel Movies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Announcing the Winners of the Cartoonist Studio Prize". Slate. March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Cartoonist Studio Prize: The Shortlists". Slate. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  13. ↑ Davis, Lauren (November 10, 2012). "Saturday Webcomic: What happens when a supervillain's sidekick is more villainous than he is?". io9. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  14. ↑ "The Best New and Short Webcomics of 2012". Io9. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  15. ↑ Jackson, Fannie (December 17, 2014). "The 20 Best Webcomics of 2014". Paste Magazine.
  16. ↑ "2015 Eisner Award Nominations". Comic-Con. 2015. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015.
  17. ↑ Dwyer, Colin (October 14, 2015). "Finalists Unveiled For This Year's National Book Awards". NPR. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  18. ↑ Alverson, Brigid (2016-02-15). "'Roller Girl,' 'Nimona' win Cybils awards". Comic Book Resources.
  19. ↑ Vermes, Timur (November 23, 2016). ""Das war lustig! Was machen wir jetzt?"". Spiegel Online.
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