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Nimona was originally a webcomic written and drawn by ND Stevenson, with the first pages posted on tumblr on December 14, 2011, and then it officially ran as a webcomic on its own site from June 19, 2012 to September 30, 2014.
Summary[]
"Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are. Explosions will be involved. Science and sharks will be, too. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit."[1]
Details[]
Stevenson noted that Zam Wesell, a shapeshifter bounty hunter in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, and Carrie Kelley from DC Comics inspired Nimona's character design.[2] Stevenson created the first few pages of Nimona as part of a school project, which are still viewable on tumblr.[3] Stevenson later expanded it into a full webcomic for his senior thesis.[4] The full webcomic was officially launched on its own, free to read third party site on June 19, 2012.[5]
The webcomic was contracted for physical and ebook publication by HarperCollins sometime before November 1, 2012.[6] The comic completed publication online on September 30, 2014.[7][4] Some time after completion, all but a handful of pages of the beginning were taken down from the site due to contractual requirements for publication of the then-future graphic novel. The webcomic was published as a graphic novel on May 12, 2015, with the first six pages redone, an added epilogue,[8] and was collected with the 2013 Christmas Special and sketches.[9] Eventually, the third party site hosting the webcomic was taken down entirely, though the Disqus comments are still accessible via Disqus. The rights to adapt it into a film were purchased by 20th Century Fox Animation in 2015. The webcomic was later adapted into a full cast English audiobook, which released on October 4, 2016.
On June 10, 2023, Stevenson released a comic called hindsight about the webcomic's development and how it is a metaphor for transness on his website. Only July 13, 2023, Stevenson released Nimona (the comic): a deep dive, exploring early comic art, development, scrapped scripts, extra sketches, and how making the comic and engaging with the fanbase made the story evolve.
Awards[]
Nimona the webcomic won the 2012 Cartoonist Studio Prize's award for Best Web Comic[10] and was nominated for the 2015 Eisner Awards Best Digital Webcomic.[11]
Trivia[]
- The ending for the webcomic was originally quite different and darker, but Stevenson's sister had Stevenson change it.[12] Stevenson shared part of what he originally wrote on twitter. (Posted in Discussions)
Other Media[]
- How ND Stevenson Created the Healing, “Punk-Rock” Tale of Netflix’s ‘Nimona’: The film’s co-producer and award-winning webcomic creator on his journey with the animated feature from the original story, which "has always had this transness and gender fluidity at its heart." by Abbey White, article in The Hollywood Reporter (16 June 2023).
- Nimona by ND Stevenson post on I'm Fine I'm Fine Just Understand (29 June 2023).
- Revelations on Storytelling and Non-Conformity: ND Stevenson Talks ‘Nimona’: Based on his New York Times bestselling graphic novel, the 3DCG animated film follows Ballister Boldheart, a knight framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and the titular, mischievous shapeshifter who sets out to help him prove his innocence; coming to Netflix June 30. by Victoria Davis on Animation World Network (29 June 2023).
- ND Stevenson On Nimona, Bearing Your Queerness, And Staying Hopeful: "Turn a light on in the next room so you can move through the darkness" by Jade King on The Gamer (30 June 2023).
- How ‘Nimona’ Helped Its Creator Explore His Emerging Identity: The graphic novelist ND Stevenson wrote the trans allegory long before he came out. When it was time to adapt it for a new film, he was ready to go further. by Robert Ito in The New York Times (30 June 2023).
- Netflix’s Nimona movie adds backstory ND Stevenson always wanted to put in the comic: Nimona’s creator on how the movie evolved, and what changes worked best by Tasha Robinson in Polygon (1 July 2023).
Image Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Stevenson, ND. Nimona. HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015.
- ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie. “‘Nimona’ Team Talk Quest To Complete Film Against The Odds & Surprise ‘Star Wars’ Villain Who Sparked The Original Character – Annecy.” Deadline, 15 June 2023, https://deadline.com/2023/06/nimona-team-challenge-annecy-1235417963/.
- ↑ gingerhaze. "A comic that I made for my Jr. Illustration final!" How Are You I'm Fine Thanks, 14 Dec 2011, 7:12 PM, https://gingerhaze.tumblr.com/post/14237382248/a-comic-that-i-made-for-my-jr-illustration.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brown, Alex (January 28, 2015). "Pull List: Nimona". Tor.com. Posted 28 January 2015. Accessed 17 November 2021.
- ↑ gingerhaze. "Aaaaaaand NIMONA IS LIVE! Five new pages are up on my shiny new site, brought to you by the wonderful Stephen Warren, who set it all up for me! The next update will be on Thursday, and updates will be every Tuesday and Thursday after that." How Are You I'm Fine Thanks, 19 June 2012, 10:23 PM, https://gingerhaze.tumblr.com/post/25477741832/aaaaaaand-nimona-is-live-five-new-pages-are-up-on.
- ↑ gingerhaze. "BIG NEWS, TUMBLR!" How Are You I'm Fine Thanks, 1 Nov 2012, 11:29 PM, https://gingerhaze.tumblr.com/post/34808686274/big-news-tumblr.
- ↑ gingerhaze. "NIMONA came to an end today as a webcomic, but it will live again in print form from HarperCollins in May of 2015! There will be bonus material, extra and revamped pages, and an exclusive book-only epilogue. Click to reserve a copy for yourself!." How Are You I'm Fine Thanks, 30 Sep 2014, 4:22 PM, https://gingerhaze.tumblr.com/post/98829259803/nimona-is-available-for-pre-order.
- ↑ gingerhaze. “NIMONA IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER! How Are You I'm Fine Thanks, 30 Sep. 2014, 4:22 PM, https://gingerhaze.tumblr.com/post/98829259803/nimona-is-available-for-pre-order.
- ↑ gingerhaze. "Nimona Q&A" How Are You I'm Fine Thanks, 14 Oct 2014, 4:23 PM, https://gingerhaze.tumblr.com/post/100017892553/nimona-qa.
- ↑ “Announcing the Winners of the Cartoonist Studio Prize: Here’s to the Best Graphic Novel and Web Comic of 2012.” Slate, 1 Mar. 2013, https://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2013/03/chris_ware_s_building_stories_and_noelle_stevenson_s_nimona_win_the_cartoonist.html. Accessed 10 July 2023.
- ↑ “2015 Eisner Awards Nominations.” San Diego Comic-Con, 2015, https://web.archive.org/web/20150613194937/http://www.comic-con.org/awards/2015-eisner-award-nominations.
- ↑ Stevenson, ND [@Gingerhazing]. "Whoa. Nimona originally had a much darker ending, which I changed when my sister found out and yelled at me (true story). But I didn't remember that I'd actually written part of it." Twitter, 16 Feb. 2021, https://twitter.com/Gingerhazing/status/1361812843188822017.