Reviewed By Eric Switzer. The creative power house behind the critically acclaimed “Batman Inc.” reunite to bring us one of the strangest, most inventive series you’ll ever have the good fortune to be consumed by. “Nameless” #1 is unequivocally the kind of eery, dense, exotic experience that only the mind of Grant Morrison could provide.
WRITTEN BY: Grant Morrison
ART BY: Chris Burnham
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: February 4, 2015
Reading Grant Morrison is a lot like trying to see the hidden image in a stereograph: If you try to force yourself to see it you’ll strain your eyes and become frustrated, but if you have patience, work the muscles, learn to recognize patterns, and let go of the normal way you see things the true image will slowly start to present itself.
I’ve read a lot of Grant Morrison’s work (“Animal Man”, “The Invisibles” “Flex Mentallo”) and I haven’t always understood it, but I’ve always found it endlessly intriguing, and meticulously plotted. The characters in “Nameless” tend to speak in a natural way. Scenes are disconnected and end abruptly. It is difficult to follow things in a chronological way because characters seem to disappear and reappear and talk at length about things that don’t really make sense. I think most of Morrison’s work is kind of hard to follow, and yet I am so invested when I read them. Embracing the confusion is just something you sign up for when you read Morrison. You won’t be able to see every detail, but when you step back the big picture becomes clear. Themes and patterns stick in your subconscious and the book becomes a part of you in a way. This is the genius of Grant Morrison.
So what is “Nameless” about? The first 3/4th of the first issue follow a man on a surreal chase through time and space from four fish men. The man has stolen a dream key from the Veiled Woman. He meets up with his benefactor, and is told his task was a test to see if he would be capable of protecting a team living on the dark side of the moon that has a plan to save Earth from an asteroid. Thats the best I can do at describing the plot, but I’m doing the book a huge disservice because there are dozens of other details, places, names, and happenings going on here that bewilder me, and yet, I am completely invested in this story that I really don’t understand at all. The book sort of hypnotizes you.
Chris Burnham’s work here is equally incredible and hypnotic. I get really excited about layouts and panelling that contributes to the tone and style of the book and “Nameless” has some really unique and interesting stuff going on. The juxtaposition between his expressive, sort of cartoony style and the horrific content here is creepy and enticing.
“Nameless” isn’t for everyone. It is not passive reading, it requires time and investment. This is the kind of dense, literary stuff that I wish everyone was reading more of. I’m tempted to call it your vegetables, but its not a chore to read. I guess its the whole meal: steak, potatoes, whiskey, and some alien looking veggies you can’t quite figure out. But they’re fucking delicious.
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Eric Switzer is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles. His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality. He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com.