Nowhere Men, the “scientists-as-rock-stars” comic by Image co-publisher Eric Stephenson, artist Nate Bellegrade and Einser award-winning colorist Jordie Bellaire, will return in January with a new artist, Dave Taylor (Batman: Death by Design, Judge Dredd, Prophet).
“It’s very cool to work on something you admire,” Taylor said in the press release. “My respect for the first series is making me work extra hard to fulfil Eric’s concept to the end, in fact, this is the best work I’ve done for years.”
Issue #7 picks up after the cliffhanger that issue #6 left us with two years ago. “It’s really exciting to finally be returning to Nowhere Men,” Stephenson said in the press release. “I’ve admired Dave’s work since I first saw it back in the ‘90s, so learning that he was a fan of of Nowhere Men and interested in working on the book was nothing short of amazing. It’s awesome to be working with him, and I’m looking forward to seeing how his style develops as we further explore the landscape created by World Corp.”
The comic tells the story of a Beatle-esque group of scientists — Dade Ellis, Simon Grimshaw, Emerson Strange and Thomas Walker — as they rise in fame and subsequently fall pretty hard when their experiments take some dark and ghastly turns.
The change in artist comes as no surprise, as Bellegrade, who received an Eisner nomination for his work on the book, release two long essays on the comics’ delays and why he wouldn’t be continuing with the series this past summer (available here and here). In that second post, he noted:
To be very honest I would have to admit that I am to some degree angry in a very general and radiant sense. Reason would show that the only person I could be angry about in this situation is myself. It wouldn’t be reasonable to be angry with Eric for not continuing to wait for something he had no guarantee of ever occurring. It wouldn’t be reasonable to be angry with Jordie or Steven for taking his side either. I am angry and therefore I can only be angry at myself because I have unknowingly manufactured this outcome. I am angry because for the past five years the bulk of world-building and character design has been for story elements that have not yet come to pass and now they never will. Ideas for devices and architecture and fashion and cultural landmarks that have so far only existed in my head, stored for future use. Sketches for covers that will never see print, diagrams of Dr. Kurt McManus’ new physiology, drawings of paintings made by Daniel Pierce’s much older sister. I used to know what was going to happen to Dr. Susan Queen, but now I do not. The worldline where those things happen has closed off, the future where they were part of the story winked away into nothing, they were not destroyed but never occurred in the first place. So I am angry that, through my actions, the years of creative euphoria and collaboration where I felt anything was possible were torn away from meaning and crushed into nothing.
Bellegrade is a hell of an artist and left some big shoes for Taylor to fill on the title; best of luck to him as he moves on to his next project.
You can chekc out the covers for issues #7 and 8 below.
