Nowhere Men #7

Written by Eric Stephenson, Art by Dave Taylor and Jordie Bellaire, and lettering and design by Fonografiks

The long-awaited second arc is finally here! Nowhere Men was instantly engaging, telling the story of four brilliant scientists in a rather unconventional way. With Nowhere Men #7, the story returns right to where the previous issue left off. The fallout of the first arc is quite apparent and here the book looks to bring the various groups together in hopes of determining just what is happening to everyone and if it can be stopped. Stephenson, with new-to-the-series artist Dave Taylor and colorist Jordie Bellaire take readers back into the world of Nowhere Men.

The opening section of this book features wonderful art from Emi Lenox. A surprise treat, the first section of the story continues the book’s tradition of using unconventional methods to tell a larger story. In this opening segment, readers are introduced to the daughter of Emerson Strange, Monica. Lenox’s artwork is gorgeous and the section is a great look into the character of Monica Strange; what it was like growing up and a bit about her personality. The imagery is excellent, with beautiful watercolors to fill out the pages. As the story shifts back into its main plot, readers get a glimpse into what Nowhere Men will look like under the pencils of Dave Taylor.

While the book certainly has a different visual component, it is still very much the world of Nowhere Men. Books always take a bit of adjusting when a new artist joins the series, but Taylor does a solid job capturing some of the stranger designs and characters from the book’s first arc. Later, he is able to showcase some of his talents when Ellis attempts to communicate with Susan. Taylor’s depiction of the sequence is unexpected, but very interesting.

Jordie Bellaire continues to be a force on the book and the talented colorist brings every moment to life. In such a moment when readers are adjusting to a new artists on a continuing series, Bellaire acts as an anchor, helping to provide visual continuity to Nowhere Men.

Fonografiks continues to add yet another dimension to the book. With stunning graphics speckled throughout each issue, the work from Fonografiks compliments the story, building out the universe through these gorgeously designed pages amidst the narrative.

In this new arc, the characters are all trying to recover from the chaos that occurred at the end of the previous issue. A number of characters from the World Corps space station have made their way to Earth, and they may have brought something very dangerous along with them. Stephenson presents this issue as a bit of a “dust-settling” chapter. Each of the individuals from the space station have been quarantined and readers get to see them trying to comprehend what is happening. As was the case in the first arc, secrets continue to be a primary language. Whether it be information held from the readers or information the characters are keeping from each other, Stephenson does an excellent job at keeping intrigue and suspense rather high.

Nowhere Men is a very complex series. For ongoing and new readers, jumping into this arc might be a bit challenging and therefore a return to the first arc is likely necessary to keep all of the pieces straight. That said, issue #7 is a welcome return and feels as strong as the issues before it.