Nomad: Girl Without a World

Nomad: Girl Without a World #1-4

by Sean McKeever, David Baldeón (Contributor)

Captain America's sidekick Rikki Barnes is transported to another dimension where Captain America is dead and she has never existed, and she must reconnect with her brother and return to crimefighting as the superhero Nomad.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Ebooks

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

After writing indie comics (such as the ensemble teen-drama The Waiting Place) for six years, Sean got his big break writing an issue of The Incredible Hulk for Marvel Comics in 2001. Since then, Sean has written hundreds of comics for Marvel, DC Comics and other publishers, including notable runs on Sentinel, Inhumans, Mystique, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, Gravity, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Birds of Prey and Teen Titans.

Best known for delivering introspective, character-driven work, Sean also wrote several weeks of the Funky Winkerbean syndicated comic strip, much of which has been reprinted in the celebrated collection, Lisa's story: the other shoe.

In 2005, Sean won the Eisner Award for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition.

Sean continues to write comic books; he also writes for the videogame and animation industries.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertainingish.

I had no idea who this chick was, so I thought this might help clear things up.
Not really.
This could have been a lot better (for me, anyway) if this had included some kind of backstory.
Knock, Knock!
Who's there?
Flashbacks.
Flashbacks, who?
Sorry, this isn't actually a Knock, Knock joke. I just wanted you to be aware that using Flashbacks would have been an option, Mr. McKeever.

On an alternate Earth, Rikki Barnes was Captain America's sidekick, Bucky.
How did she end up here?
I really don't have a clear idea. There's some mention at the end of the book that she thought she was saving her planet? Sacrificing herself? Something?

So the story picks up with her in high school, trying to stay close to her alternate world brother. In her other life, her older brother was EVIL, and this dude is nice. They're BFFs!
Only he doesn't know about the whole brother/sister thing.
Yep.
Right away I was thinking this could end in a horrifyingly awkward situation.
It did.
tsk

The main plot revolves around the election of her school's student body president, and involves mind control via a secret society...called Secret Empire.
*snort*
Anyhoo.
This would probably be a good one for younger teens to read. It's got plenty of that angsty We Gotta Fight For Our Right To Paaaarty stuff that might resonate with people who actually do have to ask for permission to go out on Friday night.
Me?
I can go to the convenience store and buy a beer anytime I want.
SUCKERS!
That's right. There are lots of perks to getting older.
Beer is just the best one I can think of right now...
Hmmm.
Yep. I'm off track. Where was I?
Yes! Good comic for the youngsters, not so much for me and Grandpa.

It's not bad, but it didn't answer enough questions for me.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nomad: Girl Without a World gives us Rikki Barnes, who isn't from our world. I am still far and far away from being a comic book expert, so here goes my Wikipedia aided explanation of Rikki. In her world, Rikki was the female Bucky Barnes, side-kick to Captain America. Then, during Marvel's Onslaught crossover, she sacrificed herself to push Onslaught into the Negative Zone (yeah, I don't really know what any of that means either). Instead of dying, like she was supposed to, she ended up in our world, where the real Captain America is dead and the new one isn't looking for a side-kick. So, Rikki is just a teenage girl is a world vaguely like her own, but definitely not. She found this world's version of her brother and enrolls in his school (after some forgeries and what-not). In her world, her brother was a Neo-Nazi who joined Red Skull so she is stoked to see this world's version is a nice guy. This is about where Girl Without a World picks up. Rikki is a High School girl trying to find her place in the world (preferably next to the Capt.). All goes to Hell when a random student makes an impassioned speech about finding our purpose, making a difference, "It all starts with us", and other "High School graduation commencement speech" bullshit that the entire school rallies around. Everyone is crowding onto the bandwagon, except Rikki. Rikki has the eye roll reaction that anyone not part of the graduating class has to that "High School graduation commencement speech" bullshit. She is confused as to why everyone is falling into it. As the guy gains more and more followers, Rikki starts to investigate him. And, because it's a comic book, of course everything is a big super-villain conspiracy and what not. The story is okay, but it's not really that compelling. It's been played out so many times in other media that it felt stale. My biggest problem is that I guess since it takes place in a High School, Sean McKeever felt it needed to be a High School story. It reeked of mellow drama and petty teenage shenanigans. Yeah, I get that Rikki is a teenager, but everything about the book screams "I'm going to be 16 next month and I'm going to get a real job and buy a car!" Even the art work feels cartoony. I'm not saying that every comic book needs to be gritty, but come on, this feels more like Teen Titans Go! than a legitimate comic. Even overlooking all that, Rikki just isn't that interesting of a character. She doesn't have a very strong motive and she's missing any real defining character traits. The story itself only runs four issues and it feels like they wanted and open-and-shut case that could be abandoned if it didn't sell or expanded if it gains an audience. Did I check Wikipedia (again) to see what happens next with Rikki? Yeah, so I guess I must have cared about her a little, but I don't feel inclined to read anymore comics with her. It's a neat idea that just needs more meat. Everything is underdeveloped and what we to get just felt to childish.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reason #436 to watch BBC America: if you end up in an alternate world where you never existed and your brother is not a crazy neo Nazi, thereby encouraging you to develop a relationship with him, you will know about genetic sexual attraction and can prevent his meltdown after you reject him when he tries to kiss you.

[Inah (Fueled By Chapters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really good! I really enjoyed Rikki's story!

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps too brief to have a long lasting cultural impact, the adventures of this alternate universe Bucky makes for a fascinating character that I wish Marvel would do more with, as this particular adventure about a student president election that is influenced by a sinister outside force that has infiltrated the American education system enables this book to feel both a work of Young Adult literature and a Young Avengers tie-in.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually enjoy Sean McKeever's work on teen characters but this was a bore. Some lame villains and worse plot. Rikki's life is sad and even made worse here. She deserves better than she gets. The artwork was also weak. Overall, the book is pretty uninspired.

[Whatcha Reading Heather? · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm definitely missing some story history and makes this run a little hard to read as a standalone. I do really enjoy Rikki Barnes as a character and it gives a nice (yet not too convoluted) look into what the marvel multiverse looks like in terms of relationships and potential consequences. The plot of a group of people (in this case students) taking the words and goals of someone (even though in this case it was a good kid that was shocked by how crazy everything got) and turning into radicalized destruction hits a little too close to home at the present moment, and it's also a little weird to see how relevant the story still is considering this run was originally published now over 10 years ago.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rikki Barnes is a girl from a different universe who's trying to find a home in this here. In that one, she was Bucky, Captain America's sidekick. In this one, Captain America isn't alive any more. What role will she find in this universe?

I'm not as familiar with Marvel comics as I used to be. I missed the entire Ultimate launch and picked this up, a graphic novel collection of a mini-series, on a whim from my local library. But it stands as pretty okay light superhero fare without too much drama and a nice message.

Rikki has found this universe's version of her brother, an orphan who lost his family, and is attending school in the classic Spider-Man tradition. When school elections come around, one student's message is unnaturally convincing to a number of her classmates. What is this candidates mysterious power and what is his agenda?

There are some nice twists and Sean McKeever does a reasonably solid job of introducing a difficult character to new readers. I wouldn't say that it's particularly groundbreaking, but it would've been a nice foundation for an ongoing series.

[Mersini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of interesting. I'd never heard of Rikki Barnes before, so this was an introduction for me. I feel like you have to have read some of the other comics before this one to truly understand it, despite the fact that it's set in an alternate world, where Rikki - Nomad - sidekick to Captain America, tries to find this world's Cap, only to get caught up in drama at her high school. Not your typical high school drama, as this time a bunch of students get politically involved and try to get their voices heard. It's basically what happens when social justice warriors go too far. Except of course they're being controlled by an evil guy, proving that they are, in fact, sheep, despite what they might think.

The most interesting thing about this is the appearance of Black Widow, who encourages Rikki to reclaim her mantle as Nomad. Other than that though, it's a pretty mediocre book. It doesn't even explain how Rikki ended up in this parallel universe.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a three or three and a half star, but I rounded up because I enjoyed it.

The main problem here is that they do little to explain how Rikki got to the 616. They don't even do a helpful for more explanation see blank. (For those wondering you should read Onslaught: Reborn [Thank Wikipidea!]) Sean McKeever does little to help people who didn't read Heroes: Reborn. This is the main problem with this series that McKeever is so unfriendly to new readers?

That aside. I really like the art on this series. I think that he has the perfect style for teenage heroes. The females aren't overly curvy. The males aren't ridiculously muscly. It's slightly cartoony but still refined.

I also like Rikki Barnes here. She never really clicked as Bucky in her first appearance and I would have been okay with never seeing her again, but I am glad to see her now. She has potential to be a really great character.

[Phobean · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had hope, but it was dashed. As not-quite fan of superhero comics, I was drawn to this book because I once read a series called Nomad about a man who was Captain America's sidekick all grown up (and disgruntled.) That man was the caretaker of a child he named Bucky, I guess after himself as Captain America's sidekick. That child is not the protagonist of this book. This book is well-illustrated but, other than one decent plot twist, it didn't hold my interest. Which, sadly, is the usual with most superhero comics. Oh, well.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rikki Barnes is a classic teen hero, a partner of Captain America from another world trapped in the Marvel 616. She assumes the Nomad identity, fights some crime, teams up with the Young Avengers, and stops a secret empire brainwashing students. Typical teenager stunts, but the stakes get pretty high. With cameos from Sam Wilson, Bucky, and Natasha Romanov in support of Rikki's entry into the Cap family, this book is a lot of fun. I would recommend it to fans.

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book to introduce girls to a kick butt teen female super hero. Even with an astronomical amount of back story (the counterworld stuff) missing it was still really interesting. I had never heard of the female Bucky so it was a whole new character. I liked her interaction with Black Widow and how she knew something was wrong at the school. I was a happy girl.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read most of the “Liefeld Universe” Books. [it was fun]
This is a turn on those books.
Bringing one of the characters to the 616.
It works for me. Good story.

With appearances by Falcon, Black Widow and James Buchanan Barnes-Captain America.

Not sure what Marvel will do with this character [if anything].

I guess all I can say is a fun read.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 2 out of 5]

Demasiadas páginas para un relato que, aunque bienintencionado, repite muchos esquemas básicos de la manera menos efectiva, y hace agua en otros menos comunes, como cuando se habla de "política" en comics de superhéroes. El dibujo no es feo pero tampoco hace que ascienda mucho el puntaje general.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed. It jumps back and forth between one world and another without much warning, and I had no idea at what point in time some scenes were taking place. The story was a bit pathetic too, to be honest.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid. Concise. And culturally relevant. An enjoyable passing of the torch to a new generation of heroes.

[victoria.p · Rating 4 out of 5]

♥Rikki♥

I enjoyed this a lot, and found the ending moving.

[Eric Orchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This totally took me by surprise. One of the very best superhero comics I've read.

[heyiread · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is basically the opposite gender of Bucky Barnes?