“Nimona” is a twice-weekly updated webcomic by artist Noelle Stevenson. The comic is slated for novel publication by HarperCollins in 2015. The comic has won numerous awards including the Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Webcomic of 2012 by Slate Magazine and the Center for Cartoon Studies.

http://gingerhaze.com/nimona/comic/page-1

Hello again, readers. If you’re like me, you find any way to distract yourself from homework for as long as possible until suddenly it’s midnight, and you’re just like, “Oh god what have I done.” But sometimes it’s hard to regret those few hours of insane procrastination because of what you found along the way. About a year ago, one of these bouts of procrastination led me to the website of a fanartist whose work I had seen numerous times online but never put in the effort to really look at. I haven’t looked back on that decision since.

Her name is Noelle Stevenson. On Tumblr she created the now wildly famous “Broship of the Ring,” what Lord of the Rings would be if it was made by hipsters, and silly fan art that makes its way around the internet at impeccable speeds. But that is only a side job for Stevenson. Her main project is “Nimona,” an ongoing graphic novel-length webcomic first published in June of last year.

The story centers around Ballister Blackheart, a knight turned villain who works to expose the evils of The Institution, the supposed protectors of the kingdom. When Nimona, a shape-shifting sassy teenager drops into his life as his new sidekick, she’ll revamp his whole ideals of being a villain and what it really means to expose his enemies, especially his best friend turned arch nemesis Ambrious Goldenloin.

“Nimona” is an amazing mix of modern day technology with fantasy and a medieval setting. It’s a nice blend of genres that don’t tend to blend that often. I could sometimes see Nimona as “what if the world had just kept the medieval look but got awesome holographic computers and super high tech evil villain lairs.” That’s a world I want to live in.

“Nimona” is absolutely fantastic. It has an incredible storyline, amazing character development, hilarious dialogue, and awesome visuals. It has also created a fantastic fanbase, who post wonderful comments below each update discussing the story and cracking horrible puns and witty jokes. Stevenson herself even adds commentary under each page, usually a little witty statement sarcastically summarizing what has happened.

So if you like dragons, sassy teenagers, science, bank robberies, and beautifully flowing hair, you should definitely check out “Nimona.”

The comic is updated every Tuesday and Thursday at midnight promptly at http://gingerhaze.com/nimona. You can visit Noelle on her tumblr gingerhaze.tumblr.com or on twitter @gingerhazing.