Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Nameless #1
Image Comics
Morrison, Burnham & Fairbairn
Nameless is a horror comic book. Morrison doesn't give a lot away in this issue but he also doesn't make the reader work too hard for the plot either. The book is backed up with fantastic artwork and that helps the story along because it is downright strange in parts. This isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea but it is something to give a shot.
The lead character is named, Nameless. This is so no one has control over him. That's about as normal as this comic book gets. Nameless is a thief of sorts but he operates in the dream world and has the ability to manipulate reality while going between the two. However, the problem is the Earth is going to hit by a comet in a month. Life will be snuffed out. This comes as a surprise to Nameless, but with society already breaking down around him he probably already saw the warning signs. Nameless is recruited to head into space to try to save Earth.
The book is grotesque in several parts. One family of characters is killed off by a host of aliens while another family is made to drink bleach by their old man before he hangs himself with barbed wire. This is in the first couple of pages. The artwork's detailed presentation is horrific but effective. The book is one of those books where you kind of cringe before you turn the page because you aren't sure if what you see next is something you are going to wish you didn't see. The art is supported by a strong color palette that plays to the story as well as the individual page layouts. While many of Morrison's creator-owned books take on a drug-induced haze, visually, this one seems to stay closer to reality despite the dreams and aliens.
The comic struggles to set itself apart from other science-horror comics. Garth Ennis just finished publishing his science-horror series called Caliban. That one was more grotesque and had a stronger concept to grip on to in the first issue. This issue feels like it's already been done and nothing new is being brought to the table. The strength of the book is clearly the pacing and the artwork telling the story as opposed to the dialog. The other problem is that the characters aren't particularly interesting. Thankfully, the name of the lead character is the name of the book because at least now it's impossible to forget. The cast is definitely forgettable thus far.
Nameless is a decent launch. It has a lot going for it with the big name creators, the Image banner and the three dollar price tag. However, they all can't be winners. This one gets out of the gate with a decent read but nothing that hasn't been seen before in other incarnations with slight tweaks here and there. I liked the first issue and will probably stick with this for one more to see where it is heading. I recommend this to the Morrison fans or the fans of the horror genre but that's about it.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
