Nameless

Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham’s “Nameless” #5 is built around a classic horror genre tactic: raising doubt about sanity and perception. In the last issue, Nameless seemed to be the last man standing, the last one to succumb to malevolent alien possession. “Nameless” #5 is a flashback issue that reveals how the main character might not be what he thinks he is. This is a classic horror moment of truth: the evil the protagonist fears has already made its home inside him without his awareness. This re-framing works to stir up some surprise, but it doesn’t max out the potential shock value. This kind of inversion works best when the reader has built up significant trust in one person’s version of events, which isn’t the case here. Nameless seemed more trustworthy than the other characters, but that’s because he was the only character with any dimension; the world-building was always too mind-bending and chaotic for the reader to develop any sense of security. To say that “Nameless”

In “Nameless” #2 by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham, Nameless joins his new teammates in outer space. Morrison combines his usual interests in mysticism and antiauthoritarian attitude with sci-fi horror plot twists and a potentially world-ending threat. “Nameless” #1 focuses heavily on the occult, but the second issue leans more towards space opera. Nameless, the titular hero, continues to be a combination of magician, wise man and rebellious loner. His doomed romantic motivation is a cliche and his “gruff cowboy with a heart of gold and all the answers” persona is also a familiar stereotype, but Morrison manages to make the character feel new by giving Nameless scene-stealing dialogue like his request to use the “moon toilets.” While Nameless hasn’t been given a lot of fleshing out, he can hold the spotlight. The same isn’t true for the other characters. Morrison spares readers the usual character ’round-the-spaceship or roundtable introductions. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a

Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham’s “Nameless” #1 doesn’t go for an easy first issue. It takes a convoluted in medias res route, plunging readers right into the middle of a dangerous and fast-moving situation. By the end of the issue, though, you’ll find yourself hooked and wanting to see what happens next, even as you’re still catching your breath. It’s difficult to fully describe the plot of “Nameless” #1, something that feels more than a bit deliberate on the part of Morrison. Without giving anything away (not that I’m entirely sure it’s possible), it follows our protagonist, Nameless, as he embarks on a series of missions through an atypical landscape. As I said before, “Nameless” #1 has a slightly convoluted path. Readers are left to figure out what’s going on and, while Nameless gives everyone enough to piece together the series of events, it’s not a simple, gentle or hand-holding experience. Because of the sort of mission that Nameless is on, we’re left with shifting scenery, a