Judging Dredd: Examining the World of Judge Dredd.It is another example of Pure Morrison Magic, in which a single construct bears multiple meanings in and beyond the context of the story. Between the top and bottom halves of the page, Burnham inverts the same image of Nameless and Paul, showing how the information revealed in the center literally flips his world upside-down. They reflect the globe-like device projecting the image of the powerful Paul Darius, as well as the two orbs central to the plot: the earth and the moon. In a page towards the end of the issue, Burnham composes a page with three globes, one in the center and two halves at the top and bottom. These symbols are highlighted by Fairbairn's coloring and construct a world where magic lies beneath the lives and actions of the people involved. Through the first half of the comic he injects sigils into the pages. This natural feeling keeps with the visceral emotions and responses of the stories, turning the fantastical into something biological.īurnham's panel compositions in Nameless are truly something to behold. He is a figure of magic, but it is a very organic, human magic. Stubble and unkempt hair define Nameless. Burnham also applies his sense of exaggerated realism, creating a sweaty, vigorous energy in the characters. The walls of a cube lock in Nameless and condense the page with three visible side pressing in upon the center of the panels. It is within the balance of the greater narrative and the micro-narratives that Morrison creates a complete world where both parts reflect and impart meaning upon one another.īurnham crafts Nameless #1 to have a very confined feel in which both Nameless and the reader are stuffed into the dream settings. The macro story is that of Nameless and the conspiracy in which he finds himself entangled. Only a few panels encapsulate entire happenings. In a micro story, readers are shown brief anecdotes of the atrocities being committed on earth. Morrison crafts both micro and macro stories within Nameless #1. Discerning the meaning of these actions and their connections is where readers must become very active participants in the story. Mapping the actions of each page and how they connect can be done easily enough. While it is certainly dense, it is not difficult to recount the basic structure of the plot and characters involved. They are simply a description of a comic that incorporates whatever elements are necessary in order to convey meaning.Īgain, that is not to say Nameless is indiscernible or confusing. There are references and comparisons to be made, but they are keys to understanding the story rather than its basis. The story ignores tropes and simply does as it pleases. Nameless #1 may be referred to as horror or a psychedelic thriller, but it defines genre definition.

Nameless morrison