James Turner’s Nil is a brilliantly executed political satire and a hysterically funny dark comedy. The country of Nil’s ideology is nihilism, they believe in nothing. Of course, such a paradoxical belief system can be hard to sustain, so the crews of deconstruction ships, like the Derrida, are dispatched to destroy new belief systems before they can infect the populous.
Aboard the Derrida is crewman and everyman Proun Nul. In the tradition of all good dystopic stories, he is quickly swept up in events beyond his control – events which lay bare the ridiculous nature of the world he lives in. With the exception of the ridiculous lies and slanders spread about him by a co-worker, Sly, Nul works from day to day, getting by and dreaming about a girl in the office. That all changes when Sly is found murdered. In quick order he finds himself a murder suspect, a fugitive, an alleged terrorist, and an army conscript, fighting on the front lines against Nil’s enemy, Optima.
This book manages to be surprisingly original and to present an incredibly realized world. Turner has obviously given a great deal of thought to every aspect of Nil, from its politics to its religion (ruled by the Hypocripope and his Uncardinals), from value of today’s pundits as an incendiary fuel source to the dangers of the modern battlefield. Not the least of which being the frontline mocha and latte run.
Turner fills up every page with both great art and great clever ideas. The illustration reminds me of Antonio Prohias’ Spy vs. Spy, both in terms of its triangular anatomy and the bizarre, imaginative gadgets. It will be well worth your time to scan each of every bit of this book, the pages are crammed with great jokes and insights. My favourite is early in the book, when Nul and a co-worker walk past a series of buildings: Rubber Duck Factory, Bomb Factory, Bauble Factory, Trinket Factory, Consent Factory. Turner and SLG could raise the profile of this title, and make a killing, marketing Nil’s many slogans of T-shirts, buttons, etc.
If you enjoy movies like Brazil, or comics that are inventive and smart, I will enjoy Nil.
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