Fantastic short story. I want more

Fantastic story. Had an really enjoyable time listening and following thru with the online comic (not necessary but both together works nicely)

I have seen the movie adaptation before this and I like both for what they are, although I like the ending more in the audiobook/comic.

I wish they included and voiced the short Christmas comics as they were a fun read.

The only downside might be the length, I wish there was more story as I really like the world and the characters. You might be hesitant to spend a credit for only 2-3 hours but it was worth it for me. (it's also something I can easily relisten to in the future)

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It were good 👍

It is really really really really really really really really really really really good 👍and I have been in a year while he had the chance,I was not a problem for you and the family
EDIT: This is my son's review. He used predictive text to reach the review minimum word count! :)

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A truly wonderful graphic novel/ audio drama that is a bit messy like life

Content Note: Child Endangerment, Harm, Imprisonment, Experimentation/ Torture, Violence, Death Disease

This is an incredibly charming and poignant comic with a lot of heart and style. I really wish I had read this before watching the animated adaptation because, while I loved this and absolutely adore the movie, I am struggling to separate my feelings about the different versions and their influences on my experience and perception.

For the full experience, I read the graphic novel along with the full cast audio drama, both of which are absolutely delightful and show a slight move towards the tone of the animation with the additional lines of dialogue, sometimes explicitly to make up for the lack of visual elements, and sometimes some tweaks, additions, small rearranging. I don't know if the original webcomic is different, but I will look into that after I get a chance to watch the movie again.

I hovered between giving this four or five, but I went with my heart and overall feelings, which are that this is such a wonderfully strange, anti-authoritarian story with a truly charming aesthetic and tone, both in the graphic novel, which I believe was fully written and drawn by Stevenson, that is a brilliant fusion of fantasy, Saturday morning cartoons, and sci-fi, and the excellent full cast audiobook/ audio play that does a fantastic job of conveying the tone and timbre of the script and artwork in the performances. They are both wonders individually, but I certainly found them spending together.

While taking a less than traditional approach to classic fairytale tropes, Stevenson doesn't shy away from the brutality and bleakness of original fairytales. There is a real meaningful depth to the main characters and the story, with story and character of Nimona really striking a particular chord with me as a trans person, especially knowing what little I do of Stevenson. It's not all doom and gloom though and there are bright veins of joy, whimsy, and shades of found family and the suggestion of complicated Queer feelings.

As the story progressd I started to see just how differently the graphic novel and animated movie explore Nimona's backstory, the history of Blackheart and Goldenloin, and, most notably, the climax and ending. I am not interested in getting into spoilers or talking much more about the movie, beyond thinking I need some time and a re-watch for me to get my head around my feelings around resolution, vaguaries, and what each version is saying and doing, or the converse, with Nimona, how the narrative treats her, and the message that sends.

I think there are strengths and weaknesses in each version, while thoroughly enjoying them all. However, without getting into specifics, I particularly enjoy just how unflinching and uncomfortable this isn't afraid to be. There is an honesty and a respect for the young audience there I admire and think is important. Unfortunately, while I think I actually prefer the climax of the graphic novel and audio drama to the animation, there is a little too much left unclear, which, while the mystery is good and perhaps the animation could be said to course correct a little too much, though I think the more explicit backstory chosen in the movie makes more sense thematically and sends an important and positive message. In this source material, I can't help feel the things that are said and shown, regardless of their veracity are missing just a little something that treats Nimona, as a character and a being with real feelings and trauma, with more care. I don't need detailed lore, but I couldn't help feeling I needed some closure and catharsis for myself, and more sympathy and empathy for Nimona.

This could very well be my trans femme autistic C-PTSD-having arse needing more than the 'hurt people hurt people' shtick, but I do think it is important to acknowledge that, but that it shouldn't stop there, as so much media does, effectively treating trauma survivors as dangerous, worth perhaps a little empathy, but ultimately throwing us away as ultimately beyond held or care. I am not saying that is the explicit feeling I get from this comic, Nimona is a sympathetic character, I just feel like the very end of this story feels a bit messy, rushed, and swept over.

Nonetheless, I am a huge fan of Stevenson's work. He's bloody brilliant. I love this comic, audio drama, and movie, and the amount I adore, identify with, want to be, and want to protect Nimona are impossible for me to convey. She is genuinely one of my favourite characters from any recent fiction and the fact the way she is drawn and presented doesn't conform to expectations and conventions for femme presenting characters is something that means the world to me.

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1 person found this helpful

Great in all versions

movie, book and audio book absolutely amazing not for the faint hearted a lot of fighting book has a lot of blood and knifes I don't recommend for kids under five tho

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