My blog post about thie book is at this link ( )

This modern retelling of H.G. Wells' novel The Invisible Man as a graphic novel is a nice combination of a coming of age story, a cathartic look at small town life, and a modernization of a classic sci-fi/horror novel. The drawings have an angular life to them that highlights the dissatisfaction, mystery, and occasional anger in the text. This is a tightly told story and one worth seeking out regardless of how familiar you are with Wells' original.

[full review here: http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-nobody-by-jeff-lemire-2009.html ] ( )

Summary: The Nobody is a take on H. G. Wells's The Invisible Man, in which a stranger covered in bandages arrives in a small town. He takes up residence in the tiny motel, and keeps to himself. Most of the townspeople distrust him, but a teenaged girl soon befriends him. But when the secrets of his past start to be revealed, both the stranger and the girl find themselves in a perilous and untenable situation.

Review: I haven't read The Invisible Man, so I can't comment on how well Lemire reworked it, but I thought this was an interesting story. I like how it worked on multiple levels: it had a good story to tell, with intrigue and action, and it also had some deeper things to say about trust and identity and running from your past and being a stranger... but at the same time, it didn't beat you over the head with those deeper meanings, and worked just fine on the more superficial level.

I'm somewhat torn as to how I feel about Lemire's artwork. Taken in isolation, it's not my favorite style. It's greyscale, with a lot of sketchy pencil lines and smudges. It doesn't look unfinished, exactly, but whatever the antonym of "polished" is, this is that. But at the same time, the style perfectly suits and even adds to the stories he's telling. They grey, sketchy lines of the art feel like the grey, worn-down buildings of a dying Nova Scotian fishing town, and the grey, worn-down people that live there. He also makes some really interesting choices regarding the composition and paneling of his story that add some spark to the work as a whole. 4 stars out of 5.

Recommendation: I think this book would be of interest to someone interested in modern author-illustrated graphic novels. The Nobody skews slightly more towards science fiction, but it's more of the "odd happenings in small towns" variety, and so should appeal to readers outside of the genre as well. ( )

An odd tale about a scientist who following an accident in the lab becomes invisible, wraps himself in bandages and moves to a small town where he hopes to be left alone to find a cure for his invisibility. He isn't left alone. Stuff happens! ( )

Lemire renders a haunting adaptation of H.G. Well's Invisible Man in beautiful panels of black, white and ice blue. ( )