Written by: Grant Morrison
Art by: Chris Burnham
Colours by: Nathan Fairbairn
Published by: Image Comics
Nameless, the titular character of Grant Morrison’s new title, is a delightful character; an expert on the occult who happens to have a happy knack of landing himself in trouble. Interesting trouble. This bodes well for the book, and for further reading of the story of Nameless. Being a ‘man with no name’ it is fitting that there is a hard edge to Nameless, an attitude akin to the legendary Clint Eastwood character who was also somewhat careless with his name.
We start issue one with some dark imagery, a mix of awful horror (in the form of a murder/suicide) and a sickening, lizard headed gang attack on a family. These events are a mere precursor to the main event. With any piece of dark story telling, it is standard practice to have a smattering of humor to offset the darkness, and Grant Morrison weaves subtle touches of humor into his tale.
As a first issue, this book sets the scene and whets the appetite for the further issues. On that basis, this book succeeds. There is enough of the character to pique your interest, his back story is hinted at, and the varied interests ranged either for or against Nameless mean that there is always something happening.
On art we have Chris Burnham, and luckily the book is easy on the eye. Some of the darker elements are very cool, and there are some delightful panels floating around amid the carnage, horror, and unsettling moments. The mixture of the occult and science, gives Chris plenty of scope to basically ‘go nuts’ – and he does so very effectively with the former and with some adept skill on the latter. I particularly enjoyed the layouts in the panels, they show a good understanding in making the pages interesting on the eye.
As Grant wraps the issue up, the stakes couldn’t be any higher – not just for Nameless, but also for the entire planet. Is Nameless a man to entrust with a mission so imperative, so vital, that he could find redemption? Time, and further issues will tell. From this point, the bait has been set and after quite a promising story so far, here’s to issue 2!
