Doug TenNapel’s wonderful graphic novel, Nnewts, Book One: Escape from the Lizzarks, is an engaging, beautiful story of perseverance in the midst of loss, told with witty dialogue and beautifully illustrated in Doug’s striking and uniquely simplified style.
I was first captivated by Doug’s storytelling in his graphic novel Creature Tech, a fast-paced adventure involving an alien symbiote, demon cats, the lost Shroud of Turin, and giant space eels. His bold inking style has inspired my art from a young age, which is why when I was invited to do work on Nnewts Book Three, I was delighted. I couldn’t believe I was working for one of my favorite artists. Though flat coloring is a relatively unromantic aspect of comics (it’s blocking in the shapes of colors for the actual colorist to go back and color), it was a pleasure to contribute to such beautiful comic art. Besides, I was learning something new about coloring on every page.
In the few pages of Nnewts Book Three that I saw, I had the opportunity to study in depth Doug’s inking style, his creative mind, and his sense of humor (one of the characters won’t stop picking his nose). After working hard to finish the flat coloring for Book Two, I wasted no time and got my hands on Book One.
Escape from the Lizzarks wastes no time in blowing the reader away. The first page is a beautiful overhead shot of the town of the Nnewts. After working so long on obscurely colored pages of Nnewts Book Three, it was refreshing to see what the final product would look like. The story instantly dives in with delightful characters and a suspenseful story. The book revolves around the theme of heroes- the brave warriors who come and save the day. When tragedy strikes, the definition of hero is closely examined as a lone, handicapped Nnewt embarks on a journey. Good and evil are built into the very nature of Doug’s characters, and he’s able to use this to teach us valuable life lessons.
When Herk, the small, handicapped Nnewt, meets a Turt (turtle), he assumes by his scales that he’s bad. The Turt reminds him that not all scale-less creatures are always good, and explains not all creatures with scales are always bad. Where we can learn from the Turt, most, however, is when he’s confronted with the decision with whether or not to report his encounter with Herk to the evil Lizzarks. Upon remembering advice from his mother, he decides to take his paddle boat in the OPPOSITE direction.
Often it can feel like we’re simply wired for evil, whether it’s a disposition to fits of anger, a genetic weakness to addictions such as to gambling or drunkenness, or the perversion of natural desire to lust. The Turt teaches us that no matter what the circumstances, there’s always a way out. The best way not to be evil is to go the OPPOSITE direction from temptation. We have a choice, and standing up for good is always one of them.
The Nnewts series is clearly a brilliant piece of art. Personally, I’m going to find Book Two, Rise of Herk, as soon as I can to continue the adventure. And of course, I can’t wait to see the final outcome of my contributions to Book Three.
