Nimona (Graphic Novel) (2025)

This article is about Nimona the Graphic Novel.You may be looking for The Comic Character, The Movie Character, The Webcomic, The Audiobook, or The Movie.

Nimona the webcomic by ND Stevenson was published as a graphic novel on May 12, 2015. It is available in English, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, and Turkish.

Summary[]

"Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are. Explosions will be involved. Science and sharks will be, too. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit."^[1]

Details[]

The graphic novel has 11 chapters, with an Epilogue, and an extra Christmas Special from 2013, that features a story from Ballister and Ambrosius' past. According to ND Stevenson, in preparation for publication the "art on the first 6 pages [was] redone to be more consistent with the color palette and character design of the rest of the comic."^[2] The epilogue was also added for the graphic novel release.^[3] On June 10, 2023, Stevenson released a comic called hindsight about the webcomic's development and how it is a metaphor for transness on his website.

On October 10, 2024, Nate announced the release of a 10th Anniversary edition with a new cover, afterword, and other extras.

Chapter and Page Breakdown (US English):[]

• Chapter 1: p.1-2
• Chapter 2: p.3-6
• Chapter 3: p.7-18
• Chapter 4: p.19-33
• Chapter 5: p.34-52
• Chapter 6: p.53-87
• Chapter 7: p.88-100
• Chapter 8: p.101-122
• Chapter 9: p.123-162
• Chapter 10: p.163-211
• Chapter 11: p.212-253
• Epilogue: p.254-256

Translations[]

• Chinese: 1 March 2019, 四川文艺出版社, translation by 林子贤^[4]
• čeština/Czech: 12 August 2019, Paseka, translation by Martina Knápková^[5]
• Dutch/Flemish: 16 May 2016, Blossom Books, translation by Mariella Manfré^[6]
• Français/French: 22 May 2015, Dargaud, translation by Alice Delarbre^[7]
• Deutsch/German: 1 November 2016, Splitter Verlag, translation by Gerlinde Althoff^[8]
• עִברִית/Hebrew: 1 January 2020, ^[9]עוץ
• Magyar/Hungarian: 20 November 2019, Cicero Könyvstúdió, translation by Zsófia Márton^[10]
• Bahasa Indonesia/Indonesian: 1 June 2017, Penerbit Spring, translation by Yudith Listiandri^[11]
• Italiano/Italian: 11 February 2016, BAO Publishing, translation by Leonardo Favia^[12]
• Norsk/Norwegian: 1 January 2019, Gyldendal^[13]
• Português/Portuguese: 22 September 2016, Intrínseca, translation by Flora Pinheiro^[14]
• Română/Romanian: 1 November 2020, Editura ART, translation by Beatrice Feleagă^[15]
• Русский/Russian: 1 December 2019, Jellyfish Jam^[16]
• Slovenský/Slovak: 1 March 2019, CooBoo, translation by Ivana Cingelová^[17]
• Español/Spanish: 1 February 2016, Océano, translation by Pablo Martínez Lozada^[18]
• Türk/Turkish: 1 October 2020, Martı Yayınları, translation by Saskia Açıkgöz^[19]

Awards[]

Nimona the graphic novel was nominated for and won numerous awards, including:

• Finalist for the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.^[20]
• Nominated for the 2015 Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction.^[21]
• The 2015 Cybils Award for Young Adult Graphic Novels.^[22]
• Nominated for the 2016 Milwaukee County Teen Book Award.^[23]
• The 2016 Eisner Awards for Best Graphic Album--Reprint.^[24]
• Nominated for the 2017 Vermont Golden Dome Book Award.^[25]
• Nominated for the 2017 Rhode Island Teen Book Award.^[26]

Alternate Versions[]

The standard graphic novel was published under ND Stevenson's deadname originally, and wasn't changed until around 6 years after its original publication (around 2021, when Nate started going by ND professionally), so many copies in circulation, likely in backstock/most on library shelves, are from the print run with his deadname and outdated pronouns on it. The English audiobook also uses the deadname. There are updated print runs of the graphic novel under ND Stevenson, including a new bio (with proper pronouns) and a new photograph on the back cover, and any ebook copies should also be updated (as are ebook covers for the audiobook).

On April 18, 2023, Illumicrate announced an Illumicrate Exclusive edition of Nimona the graphic novel, with new art for the cover, an updated author name, sprayed edges, foil designs, and an author signature.^[27]

On June 12, 2023, the Hungarian translation was released again as an edition using the movie adaptation poster.^[28][29]

Other Media[]

• How ND Stevenson Created the Healing, “Punk-Rock” Tale of Netflix’s ‘Nimona’: The film’s co-producer and award-winning webcomic creator on his journey with the animated feature from the original story, which "has always had this transness and gender fluidity at its heart." by Abbey White, article in The Hollywood Reporter (16 June 2023).
• Nimona by ND Stevenson post on I'm Fine I'm Fine Just Understand (29 June 2023).
• Revelations on Storytelling and Non-Conformity: ND Stevenson Talks ‘Nimona’: Based on his New York Times bestselling graphic novel, the 3DCG animated film follows Ballister Boldheart, a knight framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and the titular, mischievous shapeshifter who sets out to help him prove his innocence; coming to Netflix June 30. by Victoria Davis on Animation World Network (29 June 2023).
• ND Stevenson On Nimona, Bearing Your Queerness, And Staying Hopeful: "Turn a light on in the next room so you can move through the darkness" by Jade King on The Gamer (30 June 2023).
• How ‘Nimona’ Helped Its Creator Explore His Emerging Identity: The graphic novelist ND Stevenson wrote the trans allegory long before he came out. When it was time to adapt it for a new film, he was ready to go further. by Robert Ito in The New York Times (30 June 2023).
• Netflix’s Nimona movie adds backstory ND Stevenson always wanted to put in the comic: Nimona’s creator on how the movie evolved, and what changes worked best by Tasha Robinson in Polygon (1 July 2023).
• Nimona (the comic): a deep dive by ND Stevenson post on I'm Fine I'm Fine Just Understand (13 July 2023).

Image Gallery[]

References[]