Jeff Lemire is best known as the creator of The Essex County Trilogy, a series of graphic novels that deal with the intricate, rough, yet fragile relationships in a small Canadian farming town.
In The Nobody (2009) Lemire recreates and reinterprets H.G. Wells' novel The Invisible Man and places the story into a setting similar to that of The Essex County Trilogy -- a small northern town called "Large Mouth" (after that prized freshwater game fish).
Lemire's most effective addition to the classic Wells tale is the character of Vicki, a typical teenage girl who shares Griffin's feelings isolation and frustration. Additionally, Griffen's status as outsider and as odd-boll, greatly heightens Vicki's interest in his character.
Similar to his other work Lemire uses simple, moving, honest dialogue that gently presses the reader into the small town of his novel. And his sparse and jagged art perfectly reflect the landscape and social climate of his story -- illustrated below:
Those familiar with Wells' original work will recognized the plot and characters immediately. However, the big pay-off for the reader is that Lemire gradually works toward a different ending that is as compelling as the Wells original, neither of which will not be spoiled here by this reviewer. Let me simply say that the ending is well worth the journey; it offers tribute to Wells and a gripping vision of human dealings with the strangeness of strangers.
My rating: 9 out of a possible 10 nobodies
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