In this review of Mister Nemo #1, Petra finds herself in trouble for what she knows. But thankfully, she doesn’t have to deal with it alone.
Mister Nemo #1
Writer: Mark London
Artist: Alden Kaye
Main Cover: Duncan Rouleau
Variant Covers: Alden Kaye, Mike Perkins
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: July 15, 2026
This review contains spoilers
We start Mister Nemo #1 with a flashback, where a kid is thrown into a room with an older guy. The guy, Moro, informs the kid that they’ve been thrown in a forever site by Unity Ultima. Because the boy’s not allowed to use his own name, Moro dubs him “Nemo”.
In the present, we switch to the Office of Naval Intelligence. Petra comes to her boss with some suspicious findings. As she tries to tell him about this, he brushes off her concerns and sends her home. Only to make a call to get rid of her.
When Petra arrives home, there are already a small team of skull-masked mercenaries waiting for her. They’re prepared to take her to one of the forever sites over what she’s found. But just as they’re about to drag her off, a now grown-up Nemo shows up.
He makes short work of the mercs and brings Petra with him. But the team’s backup is hot on their tails. They manage to escape, as Nemo takes her to his waiting seacraft: the Nautilus.
Once there, he introduces her to his ship’s AI Ishmael, explains that he knows a bit about her life, including the fact that she’s onto something huge with her findings. And soon enough, he recruits her to join himself and Ishmael as they fight Unity Ultima.
In reading Mister Nemo #1, I immediately picked up on a distinctly old-school, classic flavor to the story. Right off the bat, that comes up with Nemo’s character. Given that he’s got a an underwater craft called the Nautilus, it’s clear that he’s modeled after the Jules Verne character.
And fascists have long been a fitting enemy ever since comic books were being put out there. Add to that a heroine with a target on her back simply because she’s figured out a bit too much of the truth, and we’ve got some very familiar elements.
Even with familiar elements, though, what makes something in the adventure vein such fun is the characters going through it, and I think some of the characterization here’s pretty well done so far, particularly Nemo. He’s definitely smart, having built his ship and whatnot himself. And he seems to have that sort of fun demeanor that someone like Unity Ultima probably hates. He might even be just a teensy bit crazy, given that cheerful grin he gives in the second to last panel when he tells Petra that they’re off to save a serial killer’s life. And of course, she reacts like any normal, sane individual would.
Makes me eager to see what their overall dynamic will be like.
I’m also very curious about the years between when Nemo was thrown into the forever site as a boy and him as an adult, having basically given the “locked up here forever” concept the finger. His motivations, of wanting to prevent others from dealing with that sort of ordeal, make total sense. I’m hoping future installments unfold his backstory a bit more, because I’d love to see how he went from point a to point b.
The artwork in Mister Nemo #1 was solid and worked for the story. The color’s not too dark, but not eye-strainingly bright, either. And the action sequences are pretty well-done. As for the lettering…dig the fact that Nemo’s proper introduction as an adult has its own typeface to show that, yup, he’s a big deal, here.
I do feel like the story so far may be the strongest aspect, but the art works well, as well.
Final Thoughts
Mister Nemo #1 brings out a few familiar tropes, seen through a modern lens, and delivers what’s sure to be a fun, conspiracy-laced adventure. It’s an attention-grabber of an introduction, and I look forward to seeing the path this story takes as it goes on.
