Nate Simpson's NONPLAYER

[Stark Raving]

Wow. This is some of the prettiest comic art I've seen.

A few finished pages here

Official blog here

[Supreme Convoy]

It came out today and gave it a shot.

I had no idea it was about video games. I was just judging it by it's solicitation images and the cover on the shelf. I love the art work, which reminds me at times of Geoff Darrow. It's brilliant looking but the story didn't hook me. I may give the second issue a shot.

[Thudpucker]

I picked it up today based soley on the art and character designs. Breathtaking work! This is one of the best looking comics I've seen in years.

The story? I was ok. Reminds me of the anime '.Hack' and Neal Stephenson's 'Snow Crash'.

[Thudpucker]

I'm definately going to be buying the full series btw. This is the kind of book I love supporting, hopefully more people give it a try.

[Tim Simmons]

I picked it up today based soley on the art and character designs. Breathtaking work! This is one of the best looking comics I've seen in years.

The story? I was ok. Reminds me of the anime '.Hack' and Neal Stephenson's 'Snow Crash'.

I'd agree-- also throw in some Tad Williams book that I read half of, years ago.

That said, the art is breathtaking and the world Simpson created is lush and "feels real"--
Hard to say if the story will take off into a direction we haven't seen before-- but even if it doesn't, I'm sticking around-- I don't mind a concept we've seen told this beautifully.

[MayorMitch100]

I went in knowing absolutely nothing about the story and buying it solely off the preview art and I loved the hell out of it. The art was out of this world.

[skinnyrunaway]

I'm excited to see where this series goes and that's exactly what a first issue should do. I wonder if we'll get to see other gaming worlds under Simpson's gorgeous pen. I hope so.

[Foolish Mortal]

I just read it. One of the most beautifully rendered books I've seen in recent memory. The art is like a cross between Geoff Darrow and Katsuhiro Otomo.

As for the story,

Spoiler:

It seems to take place in a future society with the technology to create highly realistic and immersive video games. The question is how immersive are they?

I like how it starts and how seamlessly is transfers from the game world to the real world, nevertheless the real world is just as fascinating. Dana's more mundane real life, her messing room, her humdrum daily routine, all intricately detailed.

I can't wait for the next issue, I don't care how long it takes.

I give it a solid ✰✰✰✰ out of five stars.

[Kurt Russell Crowe]

a really incredible book

[Deej]

I posted this in the thread that AndrewG created a day or two ago...

SO - Yesterday I picked up Nonplayer and Green Wake but since I was out most of the evening, I was only able to read Nonplayer. I had seen some of the interiors and a little of the concept (or so I thought) but picked the title up mostly based on the hype. The delay in the second issue almost turned me off from picking it up...but in the end I decided to give it a chance.

Overall - The art was fantastic and the story concept from what I understand of it is very interesting (to me)...BUT...there really didn't seem to be much of a story here. I don't know anything about the story or the main character, there's nothing in this first issue that makes me anticipate how this is going to play out in the next issue. Given the 6+ month wait until #2, I think I'll wait for reviews before buying it or just wait to see if the story warrants a collected form of some kind.

Spoiler:

The opening in the VR/Gaming world was beautiful and exciting. The early conversation gives the reader a little clue that this is just a Final Fantasy type game. But, it's easy to get lost in this beautiful fantasy world. But then after the big fight, things get a bit confusing. Is this a game within a game? Or do the characters spawn back to the initial starting point in the game?

We meet the main character as she "awakens" from the game - she's addicted to this fantasy game of hers and seems to neglect her real life. But that's pretty much all we learn of her as she's off back into the fantasy world while taking care of certain everyday tasks.

I really would have enjoyed a note from the writer/artist just explaining the book, how it came to be...just something more than what the 22 illustrated pages give you. I'm left with very little. There's no hook, except for the art, to get me to buy the next issue. It's a shame because I really like the potential of this story.