'Nimona' illustrates villanous morals in heartwarming color

“Nimona” by ND Stevenson is a quirky comic book whose main characters are the villains, set inside a futuristic medieval world where magic and science coexist. Interestingly enough, Stevenson started “Nimona” as a webcomic, and it later became their senior thesis.

“Nimona" centers around a devious shapeshifter named Nimona and surprisingly moral villain Lord Ballister Blackheart. This odd pair sets off on a series of mischievous missions where, alongside Nimona and Blackheart, the reader begins to slowly unravel two things: one, that the real villains may be the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics overseeing their kingdom and manufacturing war weapons; two, that Nimona's backstory is as dubious as her powers.

Yet, while this is an adventure comic in many ways, the thing that makes it stands out in its genre is the slow trust and love the two main characters develop for each other. Through this relationship, Stevenson conveys the core message of the book: there is power in having someone that cares for you, despite one's past struggles and emotional hangups.

Now, this comic isn't just sentimentality and high-stakes missions. It is also extremely funny and filled with situational humor. For instance, at the very beginning of the series, Nimona breaks into Blackheart's lab and introduces herself by saying that the agency sent her as his new sidekick in order to help his image and appeal to “today's youth”. However, after further questioning, she quickly admits she just broke in. Another example comes towards the middle of the series, where we get a rare slow scene of Nimona and Blackheart playing a medieval version of Monopoly. Upon losing, Nimona burns the board by morphing her head into that of a dragon; in the next panel she deadpans how a questionable moral compass. This duality was refreshing: it made me see an iconic character in a completely different light, showing that our heroes should not be 100% idolized.

I already knew Robert Pattinson’s acting range went beyond “sparkling vampire”, but watching him act like a vengeful god, every action laced with bitterness, was goosebumpinducing. His glare was far different than his Edward Cullen smolder, showing the viewers he is straying far from the “heartthrob” roles that I feared he would be typecast in. Instead, getting to watch him portray Batman deftly solving a series of intricate clues was anxietyinducing in the best way possible.

Pattinson and Paul Dano’s Riddler also had the best interactions between a hero and villain that I’ve seen in a long time. Better still, while Dano was completely unhinged and amazingly frightening to watch as the Riddler, the film also introduces our new Joker briefly and vaguely, which had me almost leaping out of my seat because the actor choice (spoiler alert) is amazing. I cannot fathom waiting a couple of years to see Pattinson’s Batman square off against the next Joker.

I urge you to watch this film to see where Pattinson falls in your Batman tier list. Before doing so, push away all previous notions of the actor if you only know him as a hot vampire. He brings a unique performance while sharing chemistry with a cast full of equally amazing stars. This is just the beginning for our new Caped Crusader, as Pattinson plays a Batman just beginning to test his wings in his second year of vigilante work, leaving plenty of room for his journey across the next few installments. This is one of the few superhero films that show clear character development, and I cannot wait to see more of Pattinson and how he develops not just the character of Batman, but of Bruce Wayne himself.

“that was fun.”

Another element that adds to this comic’s whimsical nature is its art style. Instead of it being hyperrealistic and proportional, its line work is thin, sketchy and loose. This makes for some very fun and dramatic poses for when there is a fight scene and adds humor to otherwise-static scenes. Lastly, its color palette does a good job of being light and faint-looking when it needs to be in order to convey an easygoing scene or dark and impactful when it needs to convey an action or seriousness.

A joy to read, “Nimona” is a story that combines a fun art style with narrative ele-