Nowhere Men Vol. 1 is an initially confusing but ultimately interesting comic about a world where scientists are the equivalent of rock stars. The four central characters are a Beatles-like quartet called World Corp. and the book patches together scenes and faux-magazine articles and book excerpts from various periods in their careers.
In the story’s present, the four are old men, and part of the plot plays out in the hillside mansion of World Corp.‘s remaining leader, Emerson Strange. The mansion features prominently in a duo of two-page wide frames, one at night, and later one during daytime. While the mansion looks somehow futuristic, the architecture is quite old.
Hilversum Town Hall in 2005. Source: Mfrasca at English Wikipedia
While other influences can’t be ruled out, the design reminded me most of the town hall of Hilversum, a place in the Netherlands where I lived for six years. The building, completed in 1931 and designed by W.M. Dudok, is part of a prominent modernist style in Dutch architecture, and one I’m quite fond of. Despite the age of the style, the progressive design fits well in the comic, especially in its attempts to reconcile retro-futurism with contemporary sci-fi.