Sticky Notes: Nimona

Alrighty, time for blog 2: Nimona.

If you’re not familiar, Nimona (272 pages) is a fantasy/sci-fi graphic novel by ND Stevenson, published in 2015. This delightful, slightly unhinged treat was a National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature, an Eisner Award winner, and a New York Times bestseller, and honestly, by the time I finished it, I was nodding along in full agreement with all of that hype.

A Quick, Spoiler-Free Summary

Nimona follows a shape-shifting teen who appoints herself the sidekick to supervillain Ballister Blackheart. From the opening pages, Stevenson throws us into a world that gleefully messes with our expectations of hero and villain. The so-called villains might not be the worst people in the room, and the so-called heroes might not be nearly as noble as their branding suggests.

What unfolds is sharp, funny, and surprisingly sincere. The humor is fast, irreverent, and often laugh-out-loud, but beneath the jokes there’s a real interrogation of power, institutions, and the stories those institutions tell to maintain control. It’s a book that knows how to be silly and serious at the same time—and never feels confused about which mode it’s in.

Why I Chose This Book

I’ve wanted to read Nimona for years. The Netflix adaptation is easily in my top ten movies of all time, and I love stories centered on acceptance and unlikely friendships. I was genuinely curious whether the graphic novel would feel thinner or less developed compared to the film. Short answer: it absolutely holds its own. In some ways, the comic’s visual storytelling makes its emotional beats hit even harder.

Teaching & Content Considerations

I’d use this text in a high school setting, ideally in an elective focused on graphic novels or in ELA literature circles. It’s appropriate for most high school students, though teachers should be mindful of fantasy violence and heavier themes related to identity, belonging, and control.

Instructionally, Nimona is a goldmine. I’d focus on:

• Humor as a craft move (especially timing and panel layout)
• Characterization through visuals rather than exposition
• Power, access, and the control of information: who gets to define “hero” and “villain”?

This text would pair beautifully with discussions of propaganda, narrative framing, and institutional authority. In other words, it’s doing real intellectual work while being wildly entertaining.

Book Talk Read-Aloud Excerpts

Pages 4–5, with the opening line about killing him, are a perfect hook and immediately signal Stevenson’s genre-subverting approach. Page 59’s “fairest of them all” exchange is another standout, pure parody, perfectly timed.

Final Thoughts

So good. Nimona pulls off the tough balance of being genuinely funny and deeply sincere, all while remaining a quick, accessible read. It left me wanting to explore more graphic novels that push genre boundaries and interrogate power structures. If this is what the medium can do, I’m all in.