Nowhere Man #2 Review

Dynamite Entertainment’s Nowhere Man from Marc Guggenheim and Jeevan J. Kang definitely upped its’ stock with this second issue. While it’s only slated for four issues, this is gearing up to be a nice science fiction mini-series about the future and "big brother" style monitoring.

After the introduction into this futuristic world in the first issue, we meet a few more characters. Orion Lieutenant Alexis Shavra is on the case as the agent who first responded to the murder committed by Mason in issue number one. Her superior is ready to label it a suicide, but she believes otherwise.

Mason meets a man named Desmond who claims to be able to hear others thoughts. As Mason was bred to have his thoughts kept hidden, his identity is questioned. Desmond is a Roven. What exactly a Roven is hasn’t been defined. But in the context used, they don’t always fall on the side of the law.

Agent Shavra has some fun moments as she’s attempting to question the only witness to the crime, Tobin Babst. He’s locked away and isn’t to be approached by anyone. While trying to convince the guards otherwise, she is not pleased at their refusal. Next you see Agent Shavra’s angered face and the Omnimind’s caption readiing “hostile intent registered – threat of bodily harm – two subjects.” Following that, the guards receive a call for a “code 616” which is the assault on a law officer.

As she beings the interrogation, she discovers there was another person involved and that he wanted explosives. Meanwhile, Mason encounters Roven who believe him to be an Orion agent sent in to spy on them. Some fighting occurs and the men bring Mason back to Desmond. After some conversation, our protagonist opens up about his mission to destroy the Omnimind. The situation heats up as Orion now knows of his existence even though he doesn’t register.

Kang’s work here involves some shadow play giving the book a darker tone. It’s also fitting as most of the book takes place at night. The action is limited to only a few panels. But the artist does show a range of emotion on our characters. One visual note that is quite odd is how the background disappears in some panels; most of which feature Mason. One panel will have buildings or walls; the next has a character or characters out in the open in purple and white space.

Another questionable aspect of this book is the use of the phrase “I’ve gone a little of the reservation.” I’ve always found the phrase to be quite offensive to Native Americans. But as stated, the quality of this title has increased with this outing. With the first issue, the creative team had to introduce readers to the world, yet entice them to come back. Sometimes the balance can be difficult to achieve. When it works, as it did here, you get this product. It’s a good read. If you’re not reading, you may be able to order it or perhaps wait for the collected edition that is likely to follow. Thanks for looking friends.