I have a few friends who love video games, especially MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online games) such as World of Warcraft and Line of Defense. These friends get so immersed in the worlds and spend a lot of time building a character and practically another life. Many geeks and nerds find comfort in these games, but they sometimes become the butt of jokes because of it. Media has capitalized on this; my favorite example is Felicia Day’s “The Guild.”
Well, this is the premise behind Nate Simpson‘s “Nonplayer.”
This comic begins in a world not our own, evident by the massive dinosaur and mammal-like creatures that show up on the second page. A conversation begins between King Heremoth and Queen Fendra, and I feel like I am immersed in a novel that could have been written by J. R. R. Tolkien or George R. R. Martin.
Well, that was until I was introduced to two more characters: one that looks like an elf and a warrior woman I later learn is named Dana. They are in this fantasy world but they are talking about Korea and “see you when we’re dead, then.” The duo jump in and attack the king and queen.
However, something goes terribly wrong when the queen just disappears, and Dana and the elf are killed. Or are they?
We then learn that this is a video game, Warriors of Jarvath, the world’s most popular full-immersion online game. From the artwork, it looks like an ear piece that you can wear at all times. Dana lives with her mother and sister in what looks like a filthy city, and works for a Mexican or Spanish restaurant and delivery service. Her mother woke her up because she is late for work, and as she is driving, she activates the LifeSkin, which turns people in the world around her into characters and scenery from the game.
The main issue for the protagonist, Dana, is the other characters in the game not played by other people, commonly referred to as nonplayers, seemed more lifelike than normal. And for a moment, that left a bad taste in Dana’s mouth. Could that be more than a typical bug in the program?
This comic book came out in April 2011 and was met with great reviews. Simpson is well known as a video game concept artist, and “Nonplayer” was his first comic book. Simpson wrote the story and did the art, which can be very time consuming. Coupled with his full-time job at PopCap, the fact he does all elements on the comic book and he was in a serious accident that shattered his drawing arm, the second issue in this series is still being worked on about a year and a half later.
But readers will not be deterred and I can see why. The structure of the story is amazing, and because I was unfamiliar with the term “nonplayer,” I didn’t realize that the characters were in a video game until it was planted right in front of my face. I thought the first conversation between Dana and the elf was weird, but I didn’t know what to make of it. The art is fantastic, jumping off the page, with expressions on the character’s faces and so much detail they seem to come alive. Simpson also made a smart move, and I noticed a different style, though subtle, to the pages that are in the video game world. They look like a high-tech video game, and I feel like I am in it! The real-world details are just as good, but that added element makes this comic book even more authentic.
Pick this up; you definitely will enjoy it, even if you don’t play video games.
Comic Book Wednesday showcases a variety of visually based books that fit into this wide category, to give a taste of this other form of reading.
