The Nobody

The Nobody
by Jeff Lemire

Vertigo, 2009

A stranger, from head to toes wrapped in bandages comes in a small town called Large Mouse, where everyone knows each other and all life passes in a bar for a beer. Suspicious eccentric man with round glasses is settled in the room of the local hotels. Reminiscent of a mummy, stranger all day sits in his room, only occasionally going to have supper. Local residents are wondering what happened to the guy whose, as it turns out, name is John Griffen, - an accident or worse.

While habitues guessing, bandaged Griffen meets a lonely girl Vicky, who goes to school during the day, at evenings helping his father, but dreams to leave this God-forgotten place. Griffen on the contrary likes it: there can be a good idea to escape from the past.

Grasp the story, inspired by "The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells, an artist and author of stories Lemire (The Essex County, The Sweet Tooth) is very successful in this endeavor. Accomplished in the three colors work (the black and white by adding blue, so that when the entrance to the city shows us a traffic light, you can not understand what the light is on) keeps in suspense until the very end. Lemire weaves the fears of city dwellers (the beginner are mounted with all the mortal sins), with fears of the Nobody (though the words "I am a nobody" an entirely different person says): he`s the narrator, but The Nobody always keep something in secret, so readers will not know the secret, just as residents of Large Mouse.

This story, just as any decent pulp story, has a murder, and it gives even more charm to the novel, which is more important is another murder - the murder of one`s past.

Despite the fact that comic books can not be quickly read, though they often are very slim, - the picture requires a full immersion, - «The Nodoby» is a real page-turner; this book is read in one breath, but breathing downed, as by a blow to the belly.

Lemire is a real great artist, and «The Nobody» is a high-class work.