What happens when you put the camera in the protagonist’s hands and jump forward in time? I’d like to zoom in on Chapter 6. At this point in the story, Ballister Blackheart has not revealed how he will poison the population -- only that they should probably do something to scare the public into believing that there’s a jaderoot contamination.
Remember that pages before, Nimona and B.B. were sitting on the couch, eating popcorn (did anyone else worry a little bit about the appropriateness of a girl hanging out with a villian on his couch watching Netflix?). Suddenly, we are in a market. And through whose eyes are we looking? For an entire page, it is not clear who controls this camera. We don’t find out until the next chapter that B.B. has devised a plan to get Nimona to poison the apples (it’s only then that we realize Chapter 6 is a flashforward, which places it in a different context retrospectively -- which we actually “remember” at the bottom row of page 58… I know it’s a memory/flashback because the colors go to the rusty orange of Chapter 6).
It felt strange to suddenly embody a new perspective, and I think this is the only time it occurs in this graphic novel (correct me if I’m wrong). It was so sudden that I thought we were going to be introduced to more important characters or a subplot here.
At the bottom right panel on p. 53, who are the peasant townspeople staring at? I.e., who is the "me"? They look so judgmental and it rattles my middle-school nerves. I like the idea that these two flirting peasants have no idea what the witch-Nimona is up to. It works, because who doesn’t hate a good flirting couple? They’re allowed to be oblivious and play the “dumb” card because they’re too absorbed being annoyingly flirtatious. That was a clever choice and a way to categorize their annoyingness without being explicit.
I have some questions I would like to park here --
Did anyone feel like the action scenes were something quick to glance at and turn the page? Was it important to focus on each panel? I definitely scanned quickly to see if anyone got hurt, and if they didn’t, I kept turning pages.
I said it above, but was it a point of tension for anyone that Nimona was a young teen and B.B. was an adult, and they had this relationship? Was anyone worried he’d be a predator, or was it just me?
Did the fantastical nature of this graphic novel, and the fact that Nimona was actually a creature with many mysteries, make her age irrelevant? Am I putting too much of a nonfiction-writer-lens on this? How much does real world get to bleed into fantasy and how do authors establish this?
How invested were you in the relationship between B.B. and Ambrosius? Was there something wrong with me as a reader that I wasn’t super invested? Not a critique, just an observation. I think that is maybe some of the point? Aside from the backstory between them, I didn’t know B.B. or Ambrosius as characters that well. We got a clear sense of their moral compasses, but not about their hopes, dreams, fears, favorite breakfasts, first memories, etc.
Hi Hannah Jane,
ReplyDeleteI like the questions you raise in the second half of your post. I didn't get a weird vibe from BB, I think because I assumed Nimona was older. But perhaps this was lazy reading on my part. I wasn't super compelled by Ambrosius and BB's relationship. To be honest, I wasn't super compelled by the graphic novel in general. I did think the action scenes are scannable. I didn't spend too much time on them. Fire, action, slashing, lots of onomatopoeia, yawn. I did like Nimona as a character. I thought her story was interesting and subverted common narratives.
Nimona could shred BB. So i didn't worry--bur your other questions are good.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about the age difference, I didn't get a sense that BB was a predator, no. Their friendship seemed neutral and hands-off. Plus she's so powerful there didn't seem to be any vulnerability to exploit. Especially since she could shift mass and become bigger than him at any time!
ReplyDeleteI thought most of the fight scenes were pretty quick, and not really the center of what was happening in the comic. I liked the fight between BB and Goldenloin in the bar, and I think they spent a lot more time on this one than the others. It was very personal between them, so I think that one was more eye catching to me.
ReplyDeleteI never got the sense that BB was a predator. I think, for me, his fatherly demeanor was enough for me, and that Nimona was a lot more cold hearted than him convinced me.
I was much more invested in Nimona and BB's relationship, it took me a while to care about BB and Goldenloin, and it was mainly because I wanted BB to be happy and feel redeemed, not because I cared for Goldenloin.