#comic book: nimona

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

📣 What to Read After Watching: Nimona 🎞️

🩷 I stumbled upon She-Ra and the Princesses of Power from creator, showrunner, and executive producer ND Stevenson in 2018 and never looked back. It was one of the few projects, let alone animations, I ever watched that so blatantly flipped the script by highlighting inclusivity without needing to say it outright. Queerness was simply a way of human existence; representation mattered but didn't need to be outrightly defined. Again, ND Stevenson has flipped the script, this time by bringing his webcomic from page to screen. The story became an outlet for Stevenson to express his own nonconforming gender identity. The shape-shifting title character, Nimona, is a stunning example of unapologetic transness and gender fluidity, again, without needing to say it outright. If you haven't watched it yet, Nimona is now available on Netflix, with the original comic available online and in stores.

🩷 If you HAVE seen it and adored Nimonia's punk-pop chaos, don't worry; there's plenty more where that came from! Here are a few options you should consider reading after watching Nimona!

🩷 The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag 🩷 Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker 🩷 CosmoKnights by Hannah Templer 🩷 The Night Eaters by Marjorie Liu 🩷 Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Gus Allen, and ND Stevenson 🩷 Save Yourself! by Bones Leopard 🩷 Kim Reaper by Sarah Graley 🩷 Moonstruck by Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle 🩷 Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

[d0lipr4n3]

charm idea hmmmmm

[mer1099]

[i-panic-at-the-disco]

Ngl Watching nimona on Netflix gave my Nonbinary ass such gender envy.

I too wish to be a shark, dancing with a fabulous gay man.

[palskippah]

Nimona and Goldenheart from the comic my beloveds :'''v

There's some other drawings I have made under the cut!

I liked these drawings the most of the ones I've made asjks I love both these men

You know that scene in Princess Mononoke? pipipi

(Translation) Ballister: I'll cut off your throat. That's the only way you'll shut up. Ambrosius: You charm me / I love you > Let me tell you that in English it just doesn't have the same vibe that me encantas has pipipi 😭 English why do you keep failing me. The literal translation would be you charm me but i intended it as an I love the way you are ;;

I'm so normal about them

The sillies

(Se comen = eating each other. In Chile is said, I don't know if in other countries too 🧍) (I love this expression because it's saying that they're kissing with tongue and looking like they're trying to eat the other's lips askjdk)

ALSO, my friend had let me borrow her tablet to draw in a screen and it was very cool :y I drew this guy, I love him. He's like a Disney princess but fucked in the head, also I forgot I drew the sword by his hip, but imagine that it's behind his legs or maybe it's a dagger sdjksj

I had wanted to draw Ballister too but I spent too long on Ambrosius bc drawing on a tablet with screen is different pipipi

[1eatboys]

I keep seeing the odd post here and there mentioning that Ballister Blackheart is white in the Nimona comic and it hurts my heart a little each time I see somebody say that bc he’s actually not! Ballister Blackheart is canonically Asian in the comic, he is East Asian and simply has light skin.

I just find it saddening and wrong (granted I’m white myself so maybe it’s not my place to have an opinion on) to erase a character who is canonically a poc just because they have light skin :/

This is not a diss to people who didn’t know or people that were mistaken, that’s sort of the reason I’m making this post, so more people can know the truth rather than be misinformed or assume incorrectly.

(Context of the photo attached is that it is from a QnA Nate did on the Nimona comic years ago)

Edit: added alt text of everything written in the photo

[pdalicedraws]

Getting a foggy morning going.

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[superectojazzmage]

Watched the Nimona movie last night. Review I guess. It was pretty damn good. Definitely would’ve probably been regarded as Blue Sky’s magnum opus if they’d gotten to release it instead of being fucked over by Disney. Very cute, very funny, very powerful in the right moments. A thing that stuck out to me is that it’s really only an adaptation in the loosest sense of the word. It takes the core premise and beats of the comic but is functionally an entirely different kind of story that does its own thing. And given that ND Stevenson was heavily involved in production, I suspect that was intentional.

The comic was much darker and more downbeat in a lot of ways, plus it was significantly longer and thus could afford to be slower paced. But more than that, it was a lot more meaty in terms of themes and scope. The whole “LGBT allegory” element was there, but it wasn’t the sole focus, the comic was a story about a lot of different things; not just an LGBT experience, but also discussion of fantasy genre tropes and clichés, criticism of other fantasy deconstructions, character study, exploring what it means to be a hero or villain, critique of the glorification of crime and cruelty in underprivileged communities, corruption in governments, peer pressure, the senseless and self-perpetuating nature of violence, the worthlessness of revenge, etc.. And above all that, it was a story about trauma and people’s responses to it, with Ballister representing people who actually deal with their problems and move on while Nimona represented people who let their mistakes and suffering and grief consume their identity, or worse, use it as an excuse to indulge their worst qualities and take out their feelings on everyone around them.

The movie, by contrast, has a much more narrow focus. The LGBT allegory is front and center and basically the entire focal point of the movie, aside from a spattering of themes about the danger of zealotry and rigid fundamentalist thinking. This gives the movie a much tighter narrative and pacing that suits its inherently shorter runtime, but also leads to a ton of changes to the story either to convey a different kind of message or just work better in a different medium. Most obviously in how Nimona is vastly more sympathetic in the movie and essentially really is the silly gremlin the comic fakes you out into thinking she is, scrapping the comic’s twist that she was a genuinely bad person who was completely serious about wanting to be a villain, caring nothing for the lives she destroyed with her behavior and idolizing Ballister because she thought he was the same as her and would thus tell her what she wanted to hear (i.e., that she was justified in killing and destroying everything around her in the name of getting even). And in the changes to the Institution’s history and nature. And all sorts of other things.

All in all, I feel if you go in comparing and contrasting the movie and the comic, arguing which changes are for the better or worse, you’ll be setting yourself up for disappointment in either direction because they’re two different beasts and it’s like comparing apples and oranges. So keep that in mind if you’re a fan of the comic watching the movie or a fan of the movie wanting to look into the comic. I think ultimately I still like the comic better, but that’s purely my personal opinion and there’s plenty that I think the movie did better.

Some other observations:

Riz Ahmed my beloved, thank you Mr. Stevenson for this perfect casting. Literally perfect for Ballister.

Acting in general was very good. You can tell this was a passion project for a lot of people, not just Stevenson.

Only two changes that are objectively bad are Ambrosius losing his awesome Van Halen hairdo and changing Ballister’s last name — Blackheart is a way cooler name than Boldheart and it’s a pointless change, one that I’d argue even hurts the narrative since it makes it too obvious that Ballister isn’t actually a bad guy.

The animation is really great with fantastic expressions, stylish movement, and wonderful aesthetics that perfectly suit the story, but there’s times where it feels a little off. But there are parts where it looks less “movie” and more “cheap mid-2000s CGI-and-Flash cartoon show from France”.

The humor can be a hit and miss, in a “going through the motions of a Hollywood animated comedy for kids” way. The movie excels when it’s either imitating the comic’s Old Internet sense of humor or going hard on the drama, but there’s bits where it seemingly slams on the brakes to do Illumination-esque Twitter humor and those bits definitely throw off the vibe.

Having an actual straight up attempted suicide in the climax was shockingly ballsy. I genuinely can’t believe they went there, but I’m glad they did because the film wouldn’t have felt nearly as raw without it.

I don’t know how they managed to make the Director even more of an asshole than in the comics, but they did.

[pintsofguinnesmakeyoustrong]

which isnt a lot but it's weird its happened twice

[hrsndww]

Bonus sketch for the bottom post, but with original clothes!

[birchsight]

Recently, I've been reading

Nimona! A Graphic Novel

☆

(: Really like it so I made this meme :)

[traumatizedpomelo]

so i just finished watching nimona right

yes, I know it's been like a year since it came out. Sue me. I never had time to watch it.

But, uh. I can't stop thinking about how Nimona - even as an outsider - gets to watch things change. Gloreth doesn't fight for her when her parents call Nimona a monster and try to kill her, but Ballister yells and fights when they electrocute her and pin her down. The first time, she is attacked and almost killed by her own best friend, but the second, she finds something in the realms worth saving, and almost dies of her own accord.

she gets to see how the world evolves and grows and even though it's still not great - it's getting better. She's willing to sacrifice herself for a future where things are better. Yes, she thinks she won't actually die, and she changes into the form with maximum chance of survival, but it's not like she's actually tested this before.

the Nimona movie is special. the book was really good, but it was written in a time when a lot of marginalized communities, particularly the queer community, were hurting, and Nimona was meant to portray the complex struggles of that; how things can't just be fixed like in a fairytale, and the rot has to be torn out. It was a lot more cynical and was meant to inspire outrage at the injustice of a system built on corruption

however, I think the movie fits better for the current political and social climate. it's about how oftentimes, it's the system and not necessarily the people in it that cause harm, about what could be and how people can change, rather than tearing everything down. It gives people the chance to be better, instead of throwing everything out like in the book. I also think we need a happy ending free of guilt or sadness or questions - we have enough of that in our daily lives.

Anyway, I just finished it and absolutely cried. Ta, everyone.

[d0lipr4n3]

redraw of that one scene but i didn't draw ambrosius bc drawing this was already alot

[mer1099]

Some of my comics!Goldenheart art

[dkettchen]

Watch Nimona, guys.

Watch Nimona and then go buy the comic and also read Nimona, cause as nicely streamlined as the movie is they did change the style quite drastically (proportions and stuff, I’m not on abt the 3D-ness or the adjustments to make characters visually fit their cast better) and Nate’s original art is GOOD, and they left out some things I really liked in the comic (where was big buff guy nimona you monsters ToT) and comic has slower pacing that lets you have some more time w the characters, yada yada

NIMONA GOOD, CONSUME NIMONA IN ALL ITS MEDIA FORMATS

[eclecticendeavorss]

⚡️ hii!! this is my first post. i really want to join this community but to be honest, i have no idea how or what even to say. instead, i’ll just share my interests and see if anyone has it in common!! ⭐️

im an avid reader!! my favourite books are the mysterious benedict society, daughter of the deep + more. i also enjoy miss peregrine’s peculiar children, the lockwood & co series and a little guilty pleasure series of mine is the alex rider book series. even if i don’t like that the books that much, rereading it is weirdly comforting. im also a riordanverse fan!! my favs are magnus chase and the kane chronicles.

my favourite shows are jurassic world camp cretaceous, bad education, alex rider + modern family. my favourite movies are christopher robin, boss baby, sing (don’t ask abt the last two…i have an unhealthy attachment to them), sonic the hedgehog 2 and nimona. i also watch bollywood movies! my favourite is probably secret superstar :)

oh, im also a MASSIVE comic fan. marvel comics are my favourite but i dabble in DC if i like the character. my favourite superhero team is champions but x-men is close second <3. i am an mcu hater through and through but i can hold conversation about it. my favourite superheroes are ms marvel, nova (sam), cyclops, ironheart, iceman, spiderman (miles) + more!

im not entirely sure what else i can say. my main ongoing interests encompass peter pan + narnia. those two come back no matter what i do!!

some of my favourite authors are jonathan stroud, rick riordan, roshani chokshi, millie florence (she let me beta read her book!!), elle mcnicoll + more. i really should make a more decisive list instead of changing it up everytime.

anyway, i hope that’s enough as a first post. PLEASE comment and interact so i can meet more people.

(not sure how this is gonna look when i post it, hopefully it’s not ugly! 😭)