Nomen Omen #8 // Review
Rebecca is trying to understand the magic that surrounds her. She has a powerful guide in the legendary figure of a very real and alive Lady Macbeth, but she’s going to need something more than that if she is to learn what she needs to survive in Issue Eight of Nomen Omen. Writer Marco B. Bucci composes a very cleverly-crafted chapter in Rebecca’s life that is brought to the page by artist and colorist Jacopo Camagni. The fusion of old-world magic and contemporary atmosphere gives this issue a very distinctly fresh and coherent feel that makes for one of the more satisfying issues in the series thus far.
Lady Macbeth can’t teach Rebecca. (Not directly.) Rebecca’s power comes from places that Lady M isn’t familiar with. The best she can offer Rebecca is a place to study in deep self-reflection and begin to understand the power that surrounds her from within. Her journey begins in February. It’s Imbolc. She’s awakening in Spring, but she’s impatient. The days pass slowly through Beltane. By Lughnasadh, she’s harvesting her dreams and coming to a fusion. She’s about to make a big breakthrough, but will it happen in time to avert disaster?
Bucci makes-up for scattered energies in previous issues with a smartly-designed plot structure in Issue Eight. Rebecca’s journey to discovery is a fun, little fusion of magic and information science that serves as the issue’s soul. The calendar serves as its backbone. Rebecca’s gradual journey into self-discovery is punctuated by moments in the lives of those she can’t be with while she’s immersed in her studies. Many panels are packed with a great deal of detail. Bucci has done some really deep work on the background of the contemporary fantasy world of Nomen Omen. Bucci manages to keep this in the background for those who might be interested in a deeper read without cluttering the surface-level enjoyment of time spent with a heroically driven Rebecca on her journey of reflection.
Camagni conjures the visual with a delicate balance between emotion and detail. The periodic interior splash-page check-ins with Rebecca render her psychological state with a strikingly nuanced level of characterization. The stillness of the moments shared between Rebecca, and Lady M. gives the panel a very vivid mood, which contrasts against the more menacing magical impacts that Camagni casts across the page. The green that has come to cover Rebecca’s right hand contrasts beautifully against the blacks and whites and grays that cover the majority of every panel. Elsewhere there are occasional splashes of color the come from other sources of magic.
Rebecca asserts herself and her power in an issue where she’s finally in control of things enough to understand what she must do to learn. The simple rhythm of the plot seems to have followed Rebecca’s mental state as she has fallen into a desire to focus herself and really study the forces that are so much a part of her life. Though the series has seen her through some pretty rough patches, Issue Eight feels like more of a closer walk with her than any other, which makes it the single most satisfying issue of the series thus far.
