“Nimona” is an ongoing SF webcomic by Noelle Stephenson, updating on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s the story of Nimona, a teenage shapeshifter with a tragic past and a bombastically plucky personality; and how she joins forces with Ballister Blackheart, a former knight-turned-supervillain scientist whose aim is to exact vengeance on the Institution whose corruption cost him his right arm and turned Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin,* the love of his life, into his archnemesis.
The comic is funny, touching and fast-paced. The relationship between Nimona and Blackheart becomes a sweet father-daughter type friendship as well as a partnership. Nimona always swoops in to save Blackheart’s life and provide firepower for their schemes, and Blackheart gives counsel and tempers Nimona’s axe-crazy tendencies with his more sober taste in plots. “Merry Christmas! I turned into a sheep and knitted you this scarf with my wool,” says Nimona to Blackheart in the Christmas strip.
The world in which the story is set is hilariously anachronistic: Sir Goldenloin’s plate armor has a built-in radio on his wrist, which he uses to call for archers as reinforcements. Elements of magic and science blend seamlessly, and modern elements of society blend with more medieval/fantasy ones as well—there’s a “king” mentioned, but the real power seems to come from corporate entities. Surprisingly, this works so well that when it isn’t hilarious, it feels so natural that it flies right under the radar.
The art is beautiful and polished-looking, and although it does improve over the length of the comic, it has more consistency than many webcomics do. It also has a command of body language rarely seen even in published comics; surprise or cheerfulness show in a character’s posture and not simply in facial expression.
So overall, it’s a delightful read! It’s hosted at http://gingerhaze.com/nimona, and a book release by HarperCollins is planned for 2015.
* “So have I mentioned lately that the knights choose their own names?” says the note after one comic. Sir Coriander Cadaverish and Sir Mansley Girthrod are two more examples. Commenters have speculated that Goldenloin’s name is connected to the prominent codpiece of his burnished gold-tone plate armor.