Nameless #2

By Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham, & Nathan Fairbairn

Grant Morrison’s predilection for the otherworldly and mystical, along with a superb art team, is what prevents Nameless from being a “new” take on Armageddon. This is starting to feel more along the lines of a Terry Gilliam film or even Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, which is my kinda sci-fi! This is the expositional issue where the group explains the impending doom and other conflicts at the moon base. They develop a plan for the asteroid and prepare to implement it.

It’s not to say that Morrison includes so much confusing or odd material that readers coax themselves into believing it’s a good story for fear of appearing uncultured. He’s taking an established sub-genre in science fiction and suffusing it with his sensibilities. Grant’s work is not for everyone that’s for sure, but this title is definitely more accessible than others due to the type of story he’s doing. This would be a good jumping-on point for people wanting to try some of his work outside of main superhero fare.

The page layouts are fascinating in this issue. Burnham executes the moonscape panels with large, open panels and once inside the moon base, he forms the panels around the dome or tube structure of the base. This helps sell the claustrophobic nature of the setting and sets the eeriness of what takes place. The meeting room appears like it’s right out of the Nostromo’s mess hall in Alien. This is also due in large part to Nathan Fairbairn’s intricate coloring. He understands what the creative team is going for and makes sure not to lose Burnham’s subtle details in the design of the base and characters. One could spend days just studying the comic panel by panel.

The first issue felt a lot of material thrown at the reader and now it seems to be finding its groove, but knowing Morrison he will probably shake up the narrative soon. Fans of science fiction should give the book a shot. There are only two issues out at the moment, so it’s not a huge investment of money or time.