Published by Image Comics Genres: Science Fiction Dana is a teenager working an unfulfilling job as a tamale delivery girl, still living at home with her mom. Yet in the world of Jarvath, an online fantasy game, she's an invincible warrior. It's no surprise that she prefers to spend as much time as she can in Jarvath, even creating visual skins to give the appearance of Jarvath while living her life in "the real world."
An incident of global proportion has the world struggling to survive, the police now struggling to contain and control this new tech obsessed world. The future is indefinite, the lines between Jarvath and the real world becoming even more undefined and indefinite.
When I discovered Nonplayer a few months ago, little did I knew the comic I held in my hand was actually the third printing of an issue originally released four years ago. Originally released in 2011, Nonplayer was an instant hit. Yet the constraints of life and a family prevented the second issue from releasing until June of 2015. When I read the first issue I was instantly enamored. Unlike early fans, I didn’t have to wait years to read the next issue. Just a few months. Two issues in, I’m beyond enamored. I’m obsessed.
It isn’t the acclaim of the first issue that won me over, but the premise, the potential for this six-issue series. The artwork, too, is awe-inspiring. Ignoring all cliches, it will genuinely take your breath away. It is so vibrant and rich that it could probably tell the story alone, yet Simpson uses it to compliment and expand upon the written text.
Simpson uses color to differentiate between the virtual world and the real world. In Jarvath, the coloring is much more vibrant and alive, the real world is far more muted and bland. There is a depth to the artwork that you just don’t see that often, a clear indication of Simpson’s passion for his work. I found myself transfixed for minutes at a time, just taking in and celebrating it’s beauty.
My hope is that the wait won’t be nearly as long for the next issue as there was for previous. It has been recommended that Simpson attempt to crowdsource the next issue. I know I would put my money behind it. Highly, highly recommended.
