Written by: Otis Frampton
Art by: Otis Frampton
Publisher: Image
Oddly Normal is an all-ages comic with a story. Ten years ago, Oddly Normal was a webcomic which was later published as a four issue mini-series by Viper Comics, and later, a collected volume. After attempting to continue the story in two additional volumes, Frampton’s publisher was no longer able to produce the volumes for him. Oddly Normal was then dropped until 2012 when Frampton created a Kickstarter campaign in order to go back and start the entire series from scratch, publishing it the way he intended to originally. A year and a half after Frampton’s campaign was funded, Image Comics picked up the book for publication, and now here we are.
Oddly Normal is a half-witch with a weird name, green hair, and pointy ears. Oddly’s mother is a witch from the country of Fignation, a magical land where witches apparently reside. Her mother was sent to the United States as a reporter in order to write a story about the life of the “average Human.” While on the job, she met and fell in love with Mr. Normal and never returned to Fignation. Now, Oddly is ten years old and life is the pits: she’s a weird-o, she’s bullied at school, and her parents just don’t understand.
Frampton does a great job of introducing the reader to Oddly and her life. Oddly is telling her own story here, as if she were speaking in to a diary camera on a reality TV show. This first issue covers all of the first issue bases: we meet our characters, become familiar with the setting, get a little backstory, and are finally introduced to the first conflict. The story is simple and easy to follow, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. We are invested in Oddly from the moment she is introduced to us (first by the names her bullies use for her, and then by her real names). Oddly just wants to be normal and fit in, so she’s an easy character to relate to.
The art in Oddly Normal has come a long way from its origins. Frampton’s drawings from the original web comic were very cartoony, complete with oversized feet. Now, Oddly Normal is a lot more stylized, though it maintains a sort of cartoon, all-ages aesthetic. Frampton’s drawings are detailed, and Oddly stands out in most of the pages, as she’s a little bit more colorful than everything going on around her.
This is a solid first issue. It’s age appropriate, but still entertaining for people of all ages. The dialogue is clever, the art is appealing, and Oddly Normal is a protagonist almost anyone can relate to. As the comic continues, I think we will see a lot more action as Oddly gets in touch with her witchy roots, and I am looking forward to it.
