by James TurnerNo one makes comics like James Turner does. I quite enjoyed the first volume of Rex Libris, as well as his recent Warlord of Io one-shot, but I think that his first graphic novel is, in many ways, his strongest piece of art.
Nil is about Proun Nul, an engineer on a deconstruction ship (a vessel employed to destroy outbreaks of memes - especially democracy) who is wrongfully accused of murdering the Hypocripope's nephew, and who escapes demons from Hell to attempt to defect to Optima. But this book is about a lot more than that, too.
The world of Nil is a highly realized one. The country of Nil is founded on belief in nothing. There is no religion or political order, and instead, subjects live at the whim of a huge beauracracy, headed by the Hypocripope. Bombings abound, but they have usually been permitted. The government is working on a scheme to protect women's eggs from the degradation of male sperm. Oh, and no one's happy. The government is continuing a war with Optima, but for no real reason.
The book has a very strong aesthetic that is immediately recognizable as Turner's. Huge, complex vessels like the Derrida, Nul's deconstruction ship, float under the power of balloons. Trains are embarked upon by climbing long ladders, as are most apartments. Gigantic tanks balance on tiny little wheels. The panels in this comic are awash with visual information, to match the density of the text.
This comic is no quick read. It takes quite a commitment to explore its tiny, dense drawings and lengthy speech bubbles. Turner manages to reference a great number of philosophers and thinkers, and yet the story never becomes preachy - instead it is a funny and enjoyable book. It is rare to read something this involved and complicated, yet so amusing.
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