Comic Review: King of Nowhere #2

King of Nowhere #2

BOOM! Studios

Writer: W. Maxwell Prince

Art: Tyler Jenkins, Hilary Jenkins, Andworld Design

Denis is a mysterious fellow who just woke up by the road one day and stumbled across the small town of Nowhere. A place where having six arms or no skin is actually quite normal and nobody cares at all really. Denis hangs around and finds himself involved in the town’s events while an unknown killer is on his track for some reason.

This second chapter picks up with Denis mid-dream where we can see he’s clearly running from something in his life and with what seems a direct recollection of what happened in the last issue with the giant iguana. Denis wakes up and we’re shown that he’s been crashing with Jed, the fish-man he helped out at the bar. We can instantly notice that our protagonist has gotten habituated to life in Nowhere. Despite the weird and bizarre being at every corner, Denis is trying his best to lead a normal life following Jed along on his wacky entrepreneurial ideas.

The only other work by writer W. Maxwell Prince’s I’ve ever read to this day is One Week in the Library. Coincidentally or not, King of Nowhere gives me a dreamlike sensation while reading it quite similar to OWitL. I was impressed once I realized they’re written by the same author but not quite surprised. Prince has a way of detaching the reader from the story along with the protagonist either in moments of reflection or just the plain obliviousness of the characters in frame regarding what may be happening just around the corner from them. It’s also worth noting how that helps the town of Nowhere feel organic. I mean, who does know about everything that goes in their hometown anyways?

Where can I begin about this comic’s artwork? It contains a gigantic variety of weird elements all duly embedded in a normal town. The fact that every new design is surprising yet familiar as one would see in a dream, for instance, is only reinforced by the composition of every page. The panels are framed with crayon-like lines and sometimes the elements escape their own panels to overlap onto others. While this was present in the first issue, the framing is new and helps to bring forth a feeling of disconnection between events despite the fluidity of the page. The coloring in this issue is composed of brighter tones than the last one and it is amazing how perfectly it complements the line art. Jenkins’ ability to portray a wide range of textures and daylight throughout this issue alone easily puts her work on my radar from now on as one of my favorites.

King of Nowhere is a nice addition to anyone’s pull this week for its compelling characters, world, and a plot that pulls you away from every day waking world into a quite regular dreaming world, but wondrous nonetheless. Composed by well-aligned group of professionals King of Nowhere is definitely worth the read.