Just this week I sat down and finally caught up on Nowhere Men slamming through issues three and four in preparation for this issue, it’s one of those series that you can forget about easily if you’re not constantly reminded of its existence. The strange thing is that as well as it’s selling, the marketing push is very low compared to other Image titles. It’s unfortunate, but maybe now that it’s back on my reviewing cycle it will receive more attention. For starters, I have to say that the previous issue was much better, but there were several interesting things about this issue as well. One thing that I will say about the writing for this book is that as much as the timeline jumps around, it’s amazingly organized and never breaks the flow of the story or is confusing. This issue begins in the past, but not the distant past. Emerson is in a meeting with a man from the ISS about buying the now destroyed space station, but he wants to keep it a secret. This is where we learn about one of his many secrets in which they tell the public that the space station is gone while Emerson purchases it and keeps it from the public.
In the present timeline, Grimshaw is watching footage of the space station crashing and it becomes clear that he’s been spying on the station for a while. As he’s watching the footage he notices that it’s not breaking up, but actually teleporting away. It’s revealed that they’ve discovered Ellis’ robot that’s been advertised in the previous issues and now Grimshaw wants to find the crew members as well.
The story jumps over to a fraction of our crew that finds themselves in… Antarctica most likely. Karen stands over Susan with another of the suited men and they stare at the black goo that inhabits her suit. The suited person informs her that they’ve “Seen weirder.” Daniel wakes up and is handed his World Corp idea, but is asked why it doesn’t check out. He once again asks where they are and he’s told that their on a remote site that houses all of World Corp’s greatest secrets. (Awesome)
I don’t mind the fake ads for things that later appear in the issue, but I’ve grown tired of the magazine segments and the book excerpts. For me, they don’t enrich the story and I’ve begun to skip them. It hasn’t hurt my reading experience any and I seriously doubt that there is anything too revealing considering it’s intended for the general public. Other than that, I’m enjoying the slow discovery of the team’s powers. I have a feel that once they’re all revealed and the world discovers them that this series will dramatically change. In a way I’m looking forward to it, but at the same time I’m enjoying the slow deliberate pacing. The addition of the “virus” appearing on the planet is also very cool and could potentially change the world even more.
The art is fantastic and I applaud the artist for keeping up with the different characters and shifts in the storyline. To draw the same group of characters in so many different stages of their lives has to be challenging, but Bellegarde does a great job. The coloring is gorgeous on this series and gives me a sense of déjà vu, but I cannot for the life of me place it. While I know its Jordie Bellaire, there is still something else that’s familiar about it. Oh well.
This issue had cool moments for sure, but there reveals and events in the past two issues might have spoiled me coming into this issue. I will definitely be paying attention to the next issue though and can’t wait to start seeing the characters interact with the world more.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Eric Stephenson Artist: Nate Bellegarde Colorist: Jordie Bellaire Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 5/22/13