If you had asked me a month or two ago who Jeff Lemire was, I would have given you a blank look. “A comic writer?” I would’ve responded, assuming you were asking me based on my love of comic books. You might’ve smiled and patted me on the shoulder, and I would’ve been confused over all. The reason you would do this, of course, is because I was clearly missing out on the work of an incredibly talented man. When I decided to pick up Sweet Tooh #1 on it’s release date, little did I know I would be finding a writer/artist who I found so talented after a few short issues that I’d go out and hunt down more of his work! As luck would have it, right when Sweet Tooth came out, so did an original graphic novel entitled The Nobody.
Based partially on HG Wells’ classic, Lemire has created a modern day update to a classic tale while still keeping many of it’s original allusions in tact. In the Nobody, a man named John Griffen, wrapped entirely in bandages from head to toe, arrives in a small town where nothing really happens, and immediately the town becomes suspicious. Told through the eyes of the only girl in town who doesn’t instantly fear him, John spends most of his time alone in his motel bedroom, not bothering anyone and staying out of the sunlight. Of course, as small towns go, nobody trusts him, and when one girl goes missing, the entire town goes ballistic. Things quickly escalate and before you know it, the book resembles any number of classic Horror scenes with a raging village. Yet, despite these events, the question of who is John Griffen, as well as why he has his bandages, remains aloof until the very last page.
As far as the story goes, it strays from the Invisible Man originally penned by Wells. While names are still present, in this story Griffen is very much the protagonist instead of the awkward antagonist. The differences don’t stop there, of course, but what we have is a story with a modern take on an old tale. To a degree, anyway. The allegory for the story and it’s representation of feelings toward isolation, especially in a small town, read very well. The dialogue is well written, and the story is well paced. However, the story never really ends up being that eye catching. In all of it’s three chapters, I didn’t find myself particularly enamored with any one part of it. I enjoy the characters and the storyline for all it’s worth, but when I compare this book with the others that I read this weekend, this ranks at the bottom tier. There simply wasn’t too much in it that really caught my attention. Originally when I read the description of the book, I shyed away from it. I didn’t think I would enjoy it. If this hadn’t been a book by Lemire, I can’t honestly say that I would have gravitated towards it at all. And as it turns out, my initial prediction was correct. I didn’t feel too much for it when all is said and done.
The artwork for this book is really what did it for me, though. I really like Lemire’s style when it comes to drawing people, and I felt that it worked really well in this book. The whole story is a quiet allegory for isolation as well as alienation, and the way Lemire depicts this through his art is quite moving. There are several scenes that play out step by step by step (or frame/frame/frame) that add a unique flow to the story, such as a sequence involving a small butterfly perching itself on Griffen’s shoulder while he engages the narrator in dialogue. This is where the book truly shines. Lemire’s eye for shading as well as the way Lemire characterizes the town really make the story come alive. The art creates an incredibly engaging read and I love his ability to not draw that much yet say a whole lot. This isn’t to say that Lemire doesn’t add wonderful detail to his work, but what he does put in characterizes the small environment of the town beautifully.
While normally I try and be overwhelmingly positive about the things that I read and review, the Nobody is the first book that I have to admit left me quite underwhelmed. I was really impressed by how strong Sweet Tooth started out, and I’ve heard nothing but praise for his work on Essex County (which I’m very much looking forward to getting), but by the end of the Nobody I found that while I can admit it’s a very enjoyable read, it didn’t hit me in the way that other things have. By the end of the book I wasn’t really left with anything other than another notch in my reading belt. It’s a nice story, but it’s not a moving one. Unfortunately for it, it went up against Pride of Baghdad which, for those that follow us regularly, I loved tremendously. 
That is also a very hard book to follow up, though. And while I can’t say that’s the only reason I didn’t end up enjoying this book as much as I might’ve on any other day, the fact that it didn’t blow me away in it’s own regard still speaks to the overall nature of the book.
So the Nobody ends up being a book I wish I loved but never quite got into. It’s not a bad story in anyway. In fact it’s a nice little read. I think I finished it in about 15-20 minutes. But I didn’t take much away from it either. I’d read it again and I don’t regret my purchase of the book either, but I can’t recommend it in the way I can other books. I guess it really depends on the reader. For fans of Jeff’s artwork I’d say that the book is a definite buy because his work is really great in it. I absolutely love that. But for people who have never read anything by him, I wouldn’t say this is the place to start.
