Oddly. Normal.
Two words that stick out like sore thumbs when you place them next to each other.
One of the gripes I (as well as some of the other writers on this site) have is that most of the comic books published today are published for our demographic: old(er). Sorry, tongue firmly planted in cheek there, ladies and gents who write or read the articles on Biff Bam Pop! – but it’s true. Won’t someone think of the children (at least, more often then the major comic book publishers do these days)?
And that’s where Oddly Normal, the comic book, raises its hand and waves it frantically from the back of the grade five classroom.
Follow me after the jump for a short show and tell session.
Oddly Normal #1
Written & Illustrated by: Otis Frampton
Published by: Image Comics
The Oddly Normal series has seen the light of day before in the form of various published volumes from roughly eight 8 years ago – which are now on the difficult side to find. And that’s what makes Oddly Normal, the new monthly series from Image Comics (creator, writer and artist Otis Frampton, considers it his version 2.0), so exciting. Those that read the series once before, get to experience it in a slightly different take and reading it incrementally. While those that have never read the series before, get to experience all the fun for the very first time – and that’s magic!
Magic, just like the main theme of the Oddly Normal.
You see, Oddly Normal (she of the fairly odd name), isn’t your normal 10 year-old. Sure, it’s tough for her to make friends. Many other kids her age have the same problem. But her troubles are slightly bigger: She’s got green hair for one. Pointed ears for seconds. And, although her Dad is from earth, her mother is a witch from a magical land called Fignation!
So yeah, adventure is definitely in order. Especially when Oddly makes a disastrous birthday wish and must now travel to Fignation to solve the mystery of her missing parents!
There’s something in Oddly Normal for any comic book lover of any age – but it’s specifically great to see a title on the store shelves that suits kids (and the kid we all used to be).
You may recognize the name and work of creator/writer/artist Otis Frampton from the How It Should Have Ended series of popular web shorts. They depict animated “edits” of how recent (and old) pop-culture films and video games well, should have properly ended. You can find the Man of Steel version embedded below.
In the meantime, make the run to your local comic book shop and pick up Oddly Normal #1 and feel that sense of childhood comic book magic again!
