The back jacket text of Canadian writer/artist Jeff Lemire's The Nobody declares that the author “is proud to add to DC/Vertigo's fine tradition of bandaged protagonists, from The Unknown Soldier to the Doom Patrol's Rebus.” But the real tip-off is found in the front jacket: the acknowledged influence of H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man.
Indeed, from its gloomy mood to many of its visuals and broader story elements, The Nobody makes liberal use of classic horror archetypes, drawn from both the literary and cinematic canons. There is explicit acknowledgment of its lurid pulp genealogy reflected in several splash panels, which recreate the look of classic EC horror comics (“WHY IS THIS BANDAGED STRANGER TERRORIZING A SMALL TOWN?”). The opening is lifted straight from Wells, with an unnamed, bandaged stranger arriving in a remote community – in this case, the town of Large Mouth, “Home of the World's Biggest Bass!” The curiosity, suspicion, and finally fears of the locals are successively aroused; however, the titular nobody attracts at least one sympathetic soul – the story's teenage female narrator. Lemire also provides us vague glimpses of the mystery man's fractured memories. Just who is he, and what's he running from?
The Nobody, written and illustrated by Jeff Lemire, DC/Vertigo Comics, 144 pages, $22.99
Lemire can certainly spin an absorbing yarn. If the book begins on a Wellsian note, it proceeds not unlike The English Patient. Having promptly established a tantalizing mystery, Lemire unspools his secrets slowly, unfalteringly pulling the reader straight through to the end – where he pulls a few unexpected tricks from his sleeve.
Yet he also deems it ultimately unnecessary to establish the precise details of the titular hero's past. As the narrator herself observes: What was he even guilty of? “I guess no one will ever know for sure.”
What's impressive is that Lemire never lets his tale get swallowed whole by its horror and pulp conventions. The Nobody may end with the misunderstood protagonist pursued by a vengeful mob à la Frankenstein, yet never does the story feel like the mad doctor's ungainly creation, cobbled together from used parts. By the time we reach the climax, the progression of action has felt convincing and inevitable.
The establishment of distinctive characters is integral to that achievement. Even when they're essentially stock types, such as the gossiping old biddy, the stalwart sheriff or the local hermit, the denizens of Large Mouth feel drawn from life. Indeed, Lemire is very good at situating the established conventions of his story within an authentic framework.
This extends to the moody artwork as well, which in its positive-negative colour scheme (chilled by icy blue tones) is well suited to the story's Gothic moodiness. At the same time, Lemire splendidly evokes the stark loneliness of his isolated small-town milieu, where there are only five kids on a school bus and the streets are usually desolate.
Yet there's also some hauntingly fantastical imagery as well, such as a repeated sequence of the bandaged hero unravelling into nothingness beneath a lake. Whether in such dream-like moments, or in the vividness of characters' heightened facial expressions, The Nobody nicely illustrates how the drawn nature of the comics medium allows for a considerably greater degree of stylized communication.
The book also begins and ends with a nice bit of Alan Moore-esque contradictory imagery. The opening panels feature a traffic light, a road sign and a sign welcoming motorists into Large Mouth; the closing panels repeat this sequence, but with an additional final twist. A modest example, to be sure, but nonetheless a good illustration of the unique narrative possibilities inherent in comics storytelling.
Such examples notwithstanding, the accomplished Lemire – who has won both Shuster and Doug Wright awards (as well as being nominated for the Eisner and Harvey awards) – might have better exploited the unique nature of his medium here. He seems mostly content just to tell a good tale, which is fine, but he hasn't exactly stretched his muscles as a practitioner of his art, either.
Still, it's a nice piece of work that Lemire, author of the Essex County trilogy, has crafted with The Nobody. Lemire has also been recognized by The American Library Association for creating books with appeal for both adults and teens; once again, he has succeeded in producing a volume accessible for either age group. Whether the book will please more demanding comic connoisseurs is another story.
Kenton Smith is a freelance writer, critic and comics enthusiast.
