Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
266 pages
Published 2015
Read from July 2 to July 3
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
I don't often read graphic novels. One might be justified in saying I don't know how to read graphic novels. Words are my thing; I appreciate art, but in a sequential story with words to read, my eye skims past panel after panel to get to the next speech bubble. And then when I've finished all the words, I feel shorted, as if disregarding 90% of what makes a graphic novel distinct from a conventional novel would leave me feeling anything other than let down.
Stevenson's adorable but minimalist style can make it hard to linger, only rarely filling panels with background details to reward close inspection. When I reminded myself to slow it down and appreciate things, however, the seemingly simple character work and framing revealed emotional depth, a keen understanding of how to convey feeling through a single line, the set of a jaw or a patch of highlighting. The emotional weight of the story also crept up on me, surprising me with tears a couple of times before the end.
In the future, whenever I read graphic novels, I want to learn how to pace myself so that I appreciate all the artistry and work that goes into everything surrounding the words. There's so much more to this sort of story than the bubbles of dialogue, no matter how impatient my brain might be to get to the next word.
