Nameless (#3)

• Writer: Grant Morrison
• Artist: Chris Burnham
• Published by: Image
• Pages: 20, Publish Date: April 8, 2015
• Notes: Monthly series

Synopsis: 

“As the exploration of vast structures on the surface of the asteroid Xibalba begins, more nightmarish secrets of a prehistoric cosmic war come crawling into the light. What soul-destroying truth lies buried in Xibalba’s immense tunnel network? What malignancies lie dreaming there? What is human? And what is NOT!”

Personal Thoughts (minor spoilers):

Whoa, this series went from freaky to the super freaky.

I never thought of Grant Morrison as a horror writer, until know. Perhaps I should have, considering he does write some great stories that cross into our deeper fears and subconscious thinking. For Nameless, he pushed all the right buttons, especially for this issue.

So here we continue, with the crew on the asteroid. All seems a bit normal and conversational for the beginning of this issue, considering the signs of civilization and strange unknowns ahead their way. Which is a bit off-putting, considering how unsettling and ominous the last issue was. But our crewpersons are adorned with protective sigils on their helmets and motivation to save the Earth. The human spirit always triumphs, right?

And there is a bit of calm, and wonder; giving us readers a chance to share in the unexplored wonders of Xibalba. Chris Burnham’s art is superb in this issue, as he shows some fantastic and imaginative backdrops and curious structures. We also see some Earth tech and science in action, with the use of drones exploring the signs of some “lost” civilization. There is some fantastic depth and detail showing us the purely alien backdrops of this adventure. Such the moment reminds me of the early half of Alien, the monolith scenes in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the alien ship found by astronauts in Lifeforce. Sometimes, some mysteries are best alone.

But not for the crew here, because they got a planet to save. And their situation becomes troubling, with signs of lost contact back on the Moon base. There, all hell has already broken with sudden chaos and murder all through, with little explanation other than the madness was just waiting to take over. Murder and insanity has spread, and I think in space there would be almost nothing worse than a sudden disconnection to the native planet. That happens with our crew, and the shit really hits the fan.

Yet things do get worse, and loses control of everything. The terror is expressed wonderfully through the art, as angles and a sense of gravity are toyed with. The look of horror and bloody gore is priceless. Technology becomes useless. Things are not looking good, especially as the glyphs do little but rub off. Fear takes over, and the sequentual visuals are enough to keep us readers unsettled.

And so,  we get back into the supernatural elements of Nameless. Nightmarish visions happen, and there is a loss of reality for our crew. It seems clear that all is lost, until we finally center back on our main antagonist, Mr. Nameless who awakens elsewhere, apparently back on Earth. Was this all a dream? Probably not, as Grant Morrison makes nothing simple in his writing. And that last page….is really disturbing.

Nameless is great for fans looking for something more hardcore in both writing and science fiction. The gore and violent elements are consistent, as is vague and confounding symbolism. Based on other admired work of Grant Morrison, I feel this will all make sense eventually. There will probably be a meaningful ending with a point to all this, I hope. I may have to go back and re-read the these first three issues, and pick up on small details overlooked. In the meantime, I look forward to the next issue; with caution.

– Orion T