''Nemi'' is a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
comic strip, written and drawn by
Lise Myhre. It made its first appearance in 1997 under the title ''Den svarte siden'' ("the Black Side" or "the Black Page"). At that time, it was a very dark cartoon concerning
heavy metal subcultures. Over the years, Myhre has turned it brighter, though she still frequently publishes strips about serious issues, especially in the larger
Saturday panels. The strip was renamed ''Nemi'' after its
protagonist, a young
goth woman.
Myhre has also illustrated poems by
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
and
André Bjerke
Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...
in the strip.
Publication
Newspapers
In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, the strip was, until 8 January 2016, printed daily in the ''
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
'' newspaper, after translation into English; background images, and magazines the characters are reading often remain clearly in Norwegian. Originally Nemi was published in monthly
extreme music
Extreme Music is a production music arm of Sony Music Publishing. The company creates and licenses music for use in television, film, advertising, and online media. Their library includes music from artists and composers such as Quincy Jones, ...
magazine ''
Terrorizer
Terrorizer is an American grindcore band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel ( David Vincent, Pete Sandoval), Napalm ...
'' before it lost the UK rights due to the syndication deal with ''Metro''. In
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
,
Sweden,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
the strip runs in several local daily newspapers.
Comic books and albums
The strip has its own monthly
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
in Norway and Sweden, with similar (but not identical) content. The Norwegian comic book has introduced several upcoming Norwegian comic artists, and also run foreign comics including ''
Lenore'' by
Roman Dirge, ''
Em'' by Maria Smedstad, ''
Liberty Meadows'' by
Frank Cho
Frank Cho, born Duk Hyun Cho, (born 1971) is a Korean-American comic strip and comic book writer and illustrator, known for his series ''Liberty Meadows'', as well as for books such as ''Shanna the She-Devil'', ''Mighty Avengers'' and ''Hulk'' for ...
, ''WayLay'' by
Carol Lay
Carol Lay (born 1952) is an American alternative cartoonist best known for her weekly comic strip, ''Story Minute'' (later to evolve into the strip ''Way Lay''), which ran for almost 20 years in such US papers as the ''LA Weekly'', the ''NY Press' ...
,
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...
horror classics, ''
Sinfest'' by
Tatsuya Ishida
''Sinfest'' is a long-running American webcomic by Tatsuya Ishida. Updating daily, ''Sinfest'' started as a black comedy strip in January 2000. It covers such topics as American politics, organized religion, and radical feminism.
Overview
It fol ...
and ''
Fables
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral ...
'' by
Bill Willingham
William Willingham (born 1956) is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series '' Elementals'' and '' Fables''.
Career
William Willingham was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. During his father's military career the f ...
.
An album series collecting the strips chronologically has been published in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Apart from Norway, books are published in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom.
Books in English:
* ''Nemi'' (Titan books, 2007, )
* ''Nemi II'' (Titan books, 2008, )
* ''Nemi III'' (Titan books, 2009, & )
* ''Nemi IV'' (Titan books, 2010, & )
Mobile
Nemi is also available on
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
mobile and Android devices.
Main characters
Nemi Montoya
A
goth woman 20 years of age, Nemi almost always wears black clothes (although she does very rarely wear red scarves and gloves, and has a red bath towel), has very pale
skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...
and long
black hair
Black hair is the darkest and most common of all human hair colors globally, due to larger populations with this dominant trait. It is a dominant genetic trait, and it is found in people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. Black hair contains a ...
, and very little in common with most of the rest of the world. She shares her name with a lake in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Lake Nemi
Lake Nemi ( it, Lago di Nemi, la, Nemorensis Lacus, also called Diana's Mirror, la, Speculum Dianae) is a small circular volcanic lake in the Lazio region of Italy south of Rome, taking its name from Nemi, the largest town in the area, that ...
, though this was not known by the author when the character was created, and her surname from
Inigo Montoya, a character in
Lise Myhre's favourite film, ''
The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to:
* ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman
William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...
''. It underlines Nemi's "outsider" status within Norwegian society and suggests that she may not be naturally raven-haired. This is confirmed in one cartoon where a childhood friend fails to recognise her without her "blond curls"—implying her hair is not only dyed but also
straightened; however, the several comics showing Nemi as a black-haired child with her long hair in
bunches
A woman with long pigtails and braids.
In the context of hairstyles, the usage of the term pigtail (or twin tail or twintail) shows considerable variation. The term may refer to a single braid, but is more frequently used in the plural ("pi ...
also possibly suggest that she may have at least once tried to fit in with normal society. She has a black dragon tattoo on her left shoulder.
Character
Nemi is a "tough girl" with an attitude, not afraid to speak her mind and more often than not in confrontational ways: blunt rejections of would-be
one-night stand
A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...
s at the
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
are not uncommon. At the same time, she can be very sensitive: a devoted animal activist, she is against killing anything, including
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s, of which she is very fond. Nemi is
nominally vegetarian, though she will occasionally indulge in seafood; her true passion is for chocolate and Coca-Cola, and she finds fault with people who prefer Pepsi over Coke. She can also feel very alone at times. She is afraid of growing up, and loathes
blonde
bimbo
Bimbo is slang for a conventionally attractive, sexualized, naive, and unintelligent woman. The term was originally used in the United States as early as 1919 for an unintelligent or brutish man.
As of the early 21st century, the "stereotypic ...
s (''vide'' a cartoon in which she insinuates that Tim is nothing more than a replaceable penis for his new blonde-bimbo girlfriend). Her fear of growing up is reflected in her appeal to readers through her childlike qualities and innocence, as well as her sense of fun.
Nemi has great difficulty keeping down a job due to her inability to sleep at a decent hour and wake up in the morning; her most steady form of employment is babysitting for her responsible and grown-up friends. Not surprisingly, childlike Nemi gets along very well with children but her dark sense of humour and grim fairy tales often traumatize them (although, it is more common that the parents are traumatized when hearing what the children have been allowed to read). Occasionally, she works in music stores at the counter but usually is fired pretty quickly after various altercations with customers over the corrupt morals of popular stars. In ''Nemi III'', it's revealed that Nemi grew up fairly poor and was bullied at school; this is where she gets most of her cynical and insecure traits from that would hinder her in adult life. Growing up poor also affected her ability to manage money as an adult, as she would rather spend her money than save it or pay her bills.
Lifestyle
She listens to
heavy metal music, and has a number of friends in those subcultures who dress similarly. She is often unemployed or employed in temporary jobs, where she often gets fired for her
temper
Temper, tempered or tempering may refer to:
Heat treatment
* Tempering (metallurgy), a heat treatment technique to increase the toughness of iron-based alloys
** Temper mill, a steel processing line
* Tempering (spices), a cooking technique where ...
(such as beating a customer who asked for a CD of
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
for her daughter, instead of the
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
CD Nemi had suggested).
She is fond of holidays in warmer countries, but when at the beach she uses top-grade
sunblock cream to avoid
tanning
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
, which would severely damage her carefully cultivated surface image. Nemi suffers from strong
allergic
Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic der ...
reactions and has advocated exterminating
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...
trees, on the grounds that "we kill off thousands of species every day anyway".
She likes to visit the pub, often with her friend Cyan, where she often gets drunk.
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
is however not a main theme of the comic. However, as a consequence Nemi has a lot of
casual sex
Casual sex is sexual activity that takes place outside a romantic relationship and implies an absence of commitment, emotional attachment, or familiarity between sexual partners. Examples are sexual activity while casually dating, one-night ...
, and often wakes up beside complete strangers. In spring 2011, she became enamoured with a beefcake boyfriend whom she converted to vegetarianism with a single look. Her boyfriend, Grimm, is now a huge part of Nemi's life and the two are regularly featured together in the (UK) strip, sharing and discussing off-beat topics. The strips in which they appear can be said to mirror the strips that only feature Cyan and Leo.
Nemi's room in the apartment is almost always a mess, and she has an uncontrollable passion for
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...
.
Politics
Nemi does not state a clear political preference, but is opposed to
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, Norwegian
whale hunting
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry a ...
and hunting in general,
fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
,
smoking restrictions (although depictions of her smoking have declined dramatically in recent years), the Norwegian agrarian party
Senterpartiet and in general
the Establishment
''The Establishment'' is a term used to describe a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization. It may comprise a closed social group that selects its own members, or entrenched elite structures in specific institution ...
. The
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...
content is mostly passive resistance (in one cartoon Nemi disrupts a
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
hunt by singing loudly to scare the moose away), but other cartoons appear to rather simplistically condone violence against
scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...
s conducting research on animals, e.g. one in which Nemi tries to teach a laboratory
mouse
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
how to swing a
baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...
(though this could be seen as very much a child's way of thinking of the subject). In another cartoon Nemi berates a boyfriend for disagreeing with her on this issue, the punchline being that he is apparently not fit to be regarded as a human for doing so. Nemi is also a
pescetarian
Pescetarianism (; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegetarian diet. Pescetarians may or may not consume other animal products such as eggs and dairy products. Approximately 3% of adult ...
.
Culture
Nemi's heroes are
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
,
H. P. Lovecraft,
André Bjerke
Jarl André Bjerke (30 January 1918 – 10 January 1985) was a Norwegian writer and poet. He wrote a wide range of material: poems (both for children and adults), mystery novels (four of them under the pseudonym Bernhard Borge), essays, and arti ...
,
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
,
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
,
W.A.S.P.,
The Phantom Blot
The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving The Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon characters Mickey Mouse, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto (Disney), Pluto, Goofy, and ...
,
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
and
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
. She also has a passion for
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
s, and hates
reality show
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
s such as
Big Brother, with the exception of
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. She regards "
modern art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...
" as simply a manifestation of insecurity by would-be intellectuals, who secretly know they have nothing original to say (''vide'' a cartoon in which Nemi visits a modern art exhibition with Cyan and Tim). Nemi has vehement opinions about the arts, especially music, and an enthusiastic willingness to destroy art she deems unworthy, as when she asks a bartender to lend her a CD by
The Corrs
The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Car ...
, presumably to burn herself a copy of it, and then sets it on fire instead. She adores, among others,
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...
,
Laibach
Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue ...
,
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...
,
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
,
Tori Amos
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
,
[Metro UK, Aug 28th 2008.] The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...
,
Red Harvest
''Red Harvest'' (1929) is a novel by Dashiell Hammett. The story is narrated by the Continental Op, a frequent character in Hammett's fiction, much of which is drawn from his own experiences as an operative of the Pinkerton Detective Agency (fic ...
,
Nicole Blackman
Nicole Blackman (born November 30, 1971) is a New York City–born performance artist, poet, author, and vocalist.
Literary career
Blackman is involved in the North American goth, spoken word, and transgressive literature scenes.
Blackman self ...
, Lamented Souls, Use Me,
Warrior Soul
Warrior Soul is an American rock band, formed by lead singer and producer Kory Clarke. Clarke started the band on a bet from a promoter at New York City's Pyramid Club, after a solo performance art show called "Kory Clarke/Warrior Soul". Clark ...
,
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
,
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991 Darkthrone embraced a black metal style influenced by Bathory and Celtic Frost and became one of the leadin ...
,
Slayer
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
, and Alice Cooper (as mentioned above). She once met the "Showman" Alice Cooper character from ''
The Last Temptation''.
Other characters
Cyan is Nemi's best friend. She has
cyan
Cyan () is the color between green and blue on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 490 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue.
In the subtractive color system, or CMYK color ...
hair worn in bunches, and a lot of worries (apparently being especially afraid of spiders and death; ''vide'' the recurring nightmare cartoon). She usually functions as Nemi's
conscience
Conscience is a cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual's moral philosophy or value system. Conscience stands in contrast to elicited emotion or thought due to associations based on immediate sens ...
and reality anchor, or the other way around: the two basically take turns playing the
Straight man
The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...
or
comic foil
A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...
for each other. Cyan works a nine-to-five shift in an office in a mid-level but low-paying position and often brings her work home with her; she spends much time planning her future and struggling to be a responsible adult, much to Nemi's disdain. She had a one-night stand in Prague and gave birth to a girl in 2017.
Grimm enters Nemi's life early in 2012 (British strip) and is now Nemi's
live-in boyfriend who shares some of her
goth ideas but is down-to-earth and sensible, and endeavours to return Nemi to the real world when she strays too far. A fireman, he is a muscular giant of a man compared to Nemi and Cyan (bearing a strong resemblance to
Peter Steele
Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), known professionally as Peter Steele, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and composer of the gothic metal band Type O N ...
), but gentle and non-abusive. He is also instrumental in steering Nemi away from chocolate when he can; however, he does indulge some other fantasies. He comes across in current strips as a caring cohabitant unlikely to stray (Jan 2013).
Ophelia is another friend of Nemi and Cyan. She is an artist, and usually miserable. She is overweight, has long grey hair and wears a long brown dress.
Tim used to be Cyan's
boyfriend
A boyfriend is a male friend or acquaintance, often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is romantically or sexually involved.
A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, suitor and sweetheart. The analogous female te ...
. A
punk-metal fan with a green
mohawk Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
*Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people
*Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...
, he plays in a mediocre band, and has no permanent job but financially relied on Cyan and lived with her rent-free for quite some time. Tim and Cyan had a pretty bad relationship (''e.g.'' him suggesting their sex life was boring, prompting Cyan to put him in the hospital with a black eye and a broken arm) until eventually he dumped her for a blonde. Subsequently, his presence in the strip was sharply reduced to make way for Leo, Cyan's new boyfriend.
Leo was Cyan's boyfriend, a much more responsible alternative to Tim, and works in
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
. Cyan and Leo formerly live together and have what Cyan refers to as a "grown-up and committed" relationship (which means they own a wide-screen plasma television together). Unfortunately their relationship ended in 2015.
Nemi's Dad is one of the main influences on Nemi's life as it is. He's a goth who hides his face behind a shiny black "
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
" hairstyle and is partial to
Wumpscut
Wumpscut (stylised as :wumpscut:) is a gothic influenced electro-industrial music project from Germany. It was founded in May 1991 by Bavarian disc jockey Rudolf "Rudy" Ratzinger (born 3 June 1966).
History
Rudy Ratzinger is the creative force ...
and reading comics (much like Nemi). He and Nemi's mother divorced at some point and he later remarried, much to Nemi's disdain. However Nemi's dad and Evilina have long since divorced. Nemi's dad is currently in a same-sex relationship. He often makes Nemi feel like a little girl.
Evilina is Nemi's dad's second ex-wife, a stereotypical stepmother from hell with a very snobby attitude, plenty of money, and a standard for hygiene and cleanliness. Evilina wears fur (which Nemi objects to) and speaks in a loathing icy tone most of the time; she seems to enjoy pointing out the flaws in Nemi's life and leaves the usually outspoken Nemi too insecure to speak back.
The cartoon also features a large number of friends, family, short-term boyfriends, and Goths.
Nemi in the United States
The Nemi books are available for sale in the United States, one of which has the foreword by
Tori Amos
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
.
In episode 3 of the US TV series ''
Defying Gravity'', the character of
Steve Wassenfelder is seen having a Nemi cover hanging on his wall.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack was released by
Nocturnal Art Productions in 2001 and a screensaver was included on the soundtrack.
Track listing
References
External links
* (in Norwegian)
* (in English)
Rights: Strand Comics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nemi (Comic Strip)
1997 establishments in Norway
1997 comics debuts
Comics about women
Feminist comics
Norwegian comic strips
Comics set in Norway
Female characters in comics