A Comic By Larry Patrick Higgins
It has been a minute since I have gone through my massive digital “pile of shame” and read some of the comics I’ve amassed from crowdfunding campaigns and pack-ins from Kickstarter, so I figured that I’d revisit a series I started reading last year. Nyobi, by Larry Patrick Higgins, tells the story of a popular Japanese-American pop singer who has the unenviable task of living a double life as a crime fighter of sorts. She is a G-Nom, a mutated evolved human that exhibits what most would consider superhero powers, much in the same vein as mutants in the X-Men universe. With the ability to control portals, Nyobi has an interesting set of skills that will definitely aid her in what appears to be a never-ending onslaught of other G-Noms looking for her, and this book is no departure from that. This time, Nyobi finds herself face-to-face with the legendary folkloric beast El Cadejo.
“Nyobi returns with the 3rd action-packed issue to the already successful independent series. We follow Nyobi straight from the events of issues 1 and 2!!! With Nyobi’s ever growing problems, she just seeks a little fun and relaxation. Unfortunately for her, trouble just seems to land on her lap.”
One of the first things I immediately noticed in this book was just how awesome the artwork was. Steve Beaulieu is still the interior artist here, but boy has he stepped up his artwork! The character designs retain their almost anime-inspired features, but everything is just so much more detailed this time around. Some of the panels reminded me of old-school Image Comics with heavy pen lines and intricate inking you just don’t see much anymore. I think one of my biggest gripes about the second issue was that it departed so much from the first issue, but this makes up for it one-hundred percent. Especially impressive is how El Cadejo is realized – a huge hulking beast – part man, part wolf and covered with huge chains. The character is very imposing, and his chains are impressively drawn despite the fact that they are comically large.
There’s not too much going on with the story aside from the fact that this book sets up what is going on behind the scenes with a shadowy organization that one can assume are the villains of the story. Most of the book is the aforementioned battle with the monster. Nyobi is minding her own business on vacation finishing up a photo shoot when all hell breaks loose, that’s basically it. This book excels at focusing on setting the “villain” of the story up and showing off what Nyobi can do. We’ve now seen her fight a character named Avani and now this creature, and she has fared pretty well each time. For a power that wouldn’t crack the top of the X-Men power tier list, Higgins does well making it look both cool and different.
As always, Nyobi isn’t for everyone. Yes, it is largely a “cheesecake book” with the setting being an excuse to have the characters wearing swimsuits while they fight, but it has enough interesting things going on to make it stand out. There’s nothing really sleazy going on here, and it’s paced more like a standard superhero book than what you’d expect. If you are looking for something different with different characters than what the big publishers currently roll out, be sure to get into the indy comic market. You’ll find real gems like Nyobi every once in a while, and I hope you have fun with it!
If you are interested in this comic, it can be found on Drive Thru Comics.