GRAPHIC NOVELS

Nameless

Chris Burnham & others (illus.). Image. Mar. 2016. 192p. ISBN 9781632155276. $24.99. Rated: M. HORROR
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Asteroid Xibalba, named after the Mayan underworld, is on a collision course with Earth. When a massive carved glyph is spotted on the rock, occult specialist Nameless is recruited for a daring space mission to intercept and deflect the object—saving the earth while exploring the last remnant of a mythical lost planet. But how is this asteroid connected to a séance Nameless conducted at a haunted house years before? And who is the veiled lady chasing him in his dreams? Morrison (Doom Patrol) crafts an intricate and disturbing story meshing standard horror tropes with Mayan and Polynesian mythology and occult scholarship resulting in a nested nightmare. Burnham (Batman Incorporated) fills the pages with grisly detail often using panels to fracture the page. Combined, they present a unique and complicated experience, ultimately, as with the reworked tarot presented within, open to the reader's interpretation.
VERDICT Nameless has enough grotesque imagery to please most horror fans but requires a serious reading (and rereading) to unravel all the mysteries within—a chapter guide in the back only begins to explain some of the ideas. Mature fans of the genre looking for something deeper will appreciate this most.
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