Nomen Omen #15 // Review
Becky is looking to slay a dragon. She might get what she’s looking for. She might not. A tiny girl of radiant green hurls herself at a massive red dragon with so much at stake in the final issue of Nomen Omen. Writer Marco B. Bucci’s story comes to an end...only to make way for a sequel series that’s teased at the end of the issue drawn by Jacopo Camagni. Color comes to the panels courtesy of Fabiola Ienne. The series ends with a satisfying showdown with a powerful ending and the promise of a newer, darker series on the horizon somewhere in the future. It’s not as revolutionary as it could have been, but it’s solidly enjoyable.
The dragoon has sliced Becky’s right arm off. It’s okay. She’s magic. She’s driven. She’s ready to get to work on a certain slaying. She’s not going to let anything stand in her way. She’s not necessarily noticing what she’ll be losing n the process of charging at the vast red dragon that has been marked as her enemy. Inevitably there’s going to be collateral damage that could have been avoided if only she had slowed down enough to notice what she was really doing. It’s a dark conclusion, but the story’s not over yet, even as this chapter closes.
Bucci unleashes the overwhelming power of physical conflict in this issue. It’s a very heavy-handed, climactic battle between the little green girl in the flowing robes and the giant red dragon. Bucci manages to infuse more than a bit of verbal poetry in and around the edges of the action. Still, the center of this issue’s strength lies in Bucci’s confidence that Camagni can deliver an epic feeling of supernatural conflict between one woman and one dragon. Having set everything up in the 14 issues that have led to this one, Bucci lets Camagni guide much of the final issue to its conclusion.
Camagni’s sense of proportion delivers like...90% of the impact of the combat between Becky and the red dragon. Her anger and aggression and the terrifying power of her confidence is tattooed across the page with the aid of Ienne’s coloring. There’s a symphony of green in her flesh adorned by the flowing white of a dress as she wields a relatively massive broadsword of pure magical energy. The immensity of the dragon is framed perfectly against the tiny heroine. Dragons have been slain on the comics page before, but rarely in a fashion that’s quite as dramatic as that in the final issue of Nomen Omen.
It’s over...but it hasn’t ended. War has broken out. And Nomen Omen will eventually give way to Arcadia. If that next story is anywhere near as sharp and distinct as Bucci’s dance with this one, Becky could prove to have a very engaging and captivating future ahead of her. She’s a dark hero who holds a tremendous appeal, and she’s really come a HELL of a long way in only 15 issues.
