Gruesome cosmic horror and fish faces.
Creative Staff:
Story: Grant Morrison
Art: Chrisn Burnham, Nathan Fairbairn
What They Say:
An occult hustler known only as ‘Nameless’ is recruited by a consortium of billionaire futurists for a desperate mission. But nothing is what it seems—a terrifying inhuman experiment is about to begin. Abandon all hope and experience ultimate horror in NAMELESS.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
At this point, reading a Grant Morrison book is like walking through a long confusing maze. The man has a truly twisted writing style, skewing towards throwing events at the audience and letting them piece together what it all really means. The maze only becomes more complex and enigmatic the further you venture inside, but that’s really the appeal of a Morrison book. Piecing together the strung together story and realizing what it all means gives you a true sense of satisfaction. His newest venture with long time collaborator Chris Burnham retaining his signature story style, but Nameless is an easier read for more newer Morrison fans. Nameless offers horror and sci-fi fans a meaty and strange story to sink their teeth into from a truly gifted team.
Nameless begins with a spree of massacres and gory deaths occurring all across the globe. Police and governments are baffled as to the cause, though two things do connect all of these murders. There is always an unknown symbol painted on the walls, and the killers scream the same insane words, “Zirom Trian Ipam Ipamis.” These deaths draws the interest of a paranormal investigator with no name, only referring to himself as Nameless. He is pursuing clues to this mystery, but is stopped in his tracks by a veiled lady and her army of fish-faced thugs who appeared at every murder. Nameless ventures into a realm dreams are real and reality is never what it seems to help stop this cosmic threat before life as we know it is snuffed out.
The style Morrison is going for in Nameless is a blending of Lovecraftian horror with modern science fiction. This is a comic that wears its influences on it’s sleeves and revels in what makes both Lovecraft and sci-fi scary. Chris Burnham brings his very dirty, gritty art style to the book, giving an unnatural and unnerving tone to the story. He doesn’t shy away from gore and sex, and his art is so graphic that some scenes actually did manage to shock me. For example, while reading through this book again, I noticed a character’s finger tips had been ripped off and strange green goo was oozing out of her stubs.
The story can shock you because you’re never sure what is real and what is not. There’s ambiguity in this first issue, especially when Nameless wakes up from an adventure in a temple to his small one room apartment surrounded by fish men. Nameless travels through dreams and the creatures in this story can manipulate your senses, showing you horrific things that may or may not actually exist. Did he actually go to the jungle, or was that a dream, and is he still dreaming as he’s taken captive. These are questions you’ll be asking yourself throughout the story. Nothing ever seems real, which helps build the mystery of Nameless and his mission.
I really enjoyed the first issue, but it does feel like a lite Morrison story. For casual comic readers, this is a good introduction to a unique voice in comics. If you’re a horror fan, this is a must buy as Morrison and Burnham have crafted a truly unnerving story. However, it goes without saying, if you’re not a fan of horror or gore, stay away from Nameless. The story is also quite thick, and it’s not a simple read. Morrison books take a while to get the full nuance of what he’s trying to say to his audience, but I promise the journey is worth all the struggles.
In Summary:
Nameless is a good start to an insane world Morrison is trying to create. Part Lovecraft and part Alien, this comic doesn’t disappoint in the horror and the suspense. The gore is heavily on display, which is Burnham’s personal style and makes the comic a creepy read. I wouldn’t say Nameless is scary, but it definitely unnerves you as it shows off alien slime monsters and fish people. The story keeps you interested in the main character of Nameless, and the mood of the story keeps you on edge about what is real and what is just a dream. If you can stomach Burnham’s gore, definitely give this one a look.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: February 4th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
