Discussing Nimona

         

Fashion, it's more than clothes

By Jamie Harper

In reading Nimona, I cannot help but be excited about the abundance of craft topics available for discussion, primarily in relation to the visual choices made by author Noelle Stevenson. Stevenson presents a mastery of visual storytelling in Nimona, from her use of the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, negative and face space, as well as colour palette, form, and what she decides to include within a cell.

Each of Stevenson’s characters is given a defined palette of colours, that rarely varies throughout the narrative, with few exceptions. Titular character Nimona appears in simple greenish maille and burgundy tunic, both of which provide a nice compliment and contrast to her red/pink hair. Her boss Ballister Blackheart, the so called “villain” of the story, is introduced in a rather standard suit of grey armour and the traditional red cape and black hair commonly associated with the “dark side,” his nemesis/love interest Sir Goldenloin is presented in stereotypical shining armour, and the secondary characters of the director and Dr. Blitzmeyer are both shown in muted, grey or white. The rare exceptions to these uniforms come when the characters are facing moments of character growth or development, visually signalling the change occurring within them through their representations without (all save the Director, of course).

Blitzmeyer becomes more invested, caring, and “human” at the end of the novel, rather than the stereotypical absent minded mad scientist, when she arrives to check on and care for Blackheart, after being confided in by him (p. 214) and listed as his emergency contact (p. 251). This humanizing and interpersonal connection is signaled to reader through her sudden appearance in a soft green tunic and deep brown cape, colours typically associated with nurturing and the restorative powers of the earth.

Goldenloin, perhaps the character with the greatest development arc, experiences several outfit changes, beginning with page 127, when presented with the mech-enhanced armour given to him by the director. This new suit of armour is only minimally different in design from his original, and remains within the muted golden tones previously associated with him, with the addition of the green shade Stevenson seems to be using as an indicator of power. Yet, it also represents the Director and the Academy’s attempts to bolster him, turning him to the moralless “robo-cop” they desire, presenting him with his first stumbling block as he realises all that glitters is not gold. His next moment of character growth and accompanying costume change occurs after defying the Director, landing himself demoted to guard duty (p. 180), and a much simpler, duller version of his original appearance. At this moment, Goldenloin is humbled by the Academy, before Blackheart as well, but we begin to see him reconsidering his position within the social hierarchies and alignments. Following this, we see Goldenloin’s first true instance of vulnerability, when he admits to cheating in the joust and costing his friend his arm (p. 182), the admission accompanied by the change to a flashback version of Goldenloin, wearing a much more muted, soft tunic and shirt, reminiscent of a british schoolboy uniform. This regression to past fault and vulnerability marks the real turning point for Goldenloin, spurring him to alter his stance within the Dungeons and Dragons alignment chart from lawful to neutral good. After this realignment, the next time we see Goldenloin in a new outfit is at the very end of the story on page 256, when we see him in a green shirt, and brown pants waiting for and embracing Blackheart (The same, neutral, nurturing and natural colours seen on Blitzmeyer).

Opposite to Goldenloin, Blackheart is perhaps the character with the least amount of arc, with more of a social rebranding from villain to hero. Blackheart’s outfit rarely changes within the narrative, the most common exception being his disguises, typically a cloak and raised hood within the same colour pallette as his main suit of armour. These disguised periods, however, signal moments, not of growth, but of Blackheart revealing himself, such as on pages 104 through 105, when he begins to loosen up at the science expo. Like the others, Blackheart does have his moment of that soft green and brown combination, when he is shown waiting for Goldenloin to wake up, talking with Blitzmeyer, and looking for Nimona (p. 251), his found family, as it were. Following this, we then get to see the physical expression of Blackheart’s new place within society, as we are shown him standing with first Blitzmeyer, then Goldenloin, in a new outfit that combines the darkness of his original suit of armour with the gold and white of Goldenloin’s.

For Nimona, we have perhaps the most interesting form of outfit change (general shape shifting not withstanding), in that we see her hair colour change one time, but her entire age and bearing change twice. In terms of her hair colour, for a brief moment in chapter 9, we see Nimona with bright purple hair, rather than her usual reddish pink, with Blackheart making note of it, as Nimona begins to close herself off to him after temporarily losing her powers (p. 110). In chapter 10, we see another change in Nimona’s hair, in that she has shaved off her fluffy ear tails and blunt bangs, giving her face a much more harsh look with her new angled, almost mohawk-like bang. This further symbolizes her distancing of and annoyance with Blackheart, and herself. The next time we see her, Nimona is trapped within the Jaderoot containment system built by the Director, a new shade of yellow and darkened shadows brought to her face by the glass, followed by her transformation to the hurt little girl inside of her. This major transformation happens twice within the narrative, once under Nimona’s control as a means of manipulation (p. 25), and once out of her control (p.226). The first time, we are presented with a young nimona, pink haired and determined, in control as she spins a lie about being given her powers by a witch, while the second, we see the truth, a little girl, copper haired and scared, in the white shift reminiscent of a hospital gown, symbolizing both innocence and hurt. This is the moment where Nimona has her biggest character shift, in that in her pain and fear, she becomes angry and mistrustful, lashing out at everyone around her as she clearly suffers from PTSD flashback to previous abuse (p. 226). Like Goldenloin, Nimona’s flashback to a younger age and a more formless, lighter coloured outfit is reflective of her vulnerability, but unlike Goldenloin, Nimona struggles to give into this vulnerability, eventually disappearing.