NOMAD: Girl Without a World #4 (of 4)
Written by Sean McKeever
Art by David Baldeon
Color by Chris Sotomayor
Letters by VC’s Joe Sabino
Published by Marvel Comics
If Marvel were to introduce just one comic to young females, it would do well to hand them a copy of NOMAD: Girl Without a World. They could even hand out this concluding issue of the four part series since, in my view, each issue has proven to be a strong stand alone success. Things have built up very nicely in this series which, at four issues, you can consider mostly to be a character showcase. But, trust me, there’s a good story here.
Rikki Barnes was once the celebrated teen sidekick to the original Captain America on an alternate Earth. In the superhero comics world, you are suppose to be up on things like, “Counter-Earth” but we can just say here that she’s a “girl without a world,” as the title suggests. So, basically, she crash lands on our Earth and nobody cares. She brushes herself off, enrolls in high school and washes dishes to support the ratty little room she lives in somewhere like Brooklyn. She manages to track down the boy who is the counterpart to her brother on her world. That helps her adjust until he tires to make out with her. And, of course, she is in hot pursuit of the new Captain America here on our Earth to help her make sense of her existential crisis. Do you follow that? It’s okay if you don’t. The important thing is that Rikki Barnes is a compelling character and you don’t have to be a teenage girl to enjoy her story.
It won’t be a spoiler to let you know that Rikki Barnes does find her place on our Earth. In fact, she becomes the leader of the Young Avengers. And she does get to meet Captain America who makes an oh so brief, aw gosh-type, appearance. In between is a pretty little pot boiler of a superhero story involving a sinister group that is out to control young minds. And that is not completely resolved at the end of this series. You can jump to Captain America #602 to catch another glimpse of Rikki Barnes. If Marvel knows what’s good for them, they’ll give her back her own comic book title in due time. And you can always hang on for the collected trade of NOMAD.
