It's weird. It's hilarious. And I loved every page of it. Here’s the thing about Norman, it has flaws. It’s not perfect. The thing about it is that even when it stumbles you still want to read it. You still have this itch to talk about it and share your experience with friends. Hell, I read the thing twice because I just wanted to. I honestly sat on writing this review for the longest time because part of me just wanted to enjoy the experience of Norman… any comic book that can provoke that much thought and joy… well I’d say it’s flaws are actually flawless.
The story kicks off with a little boy out in the woods looking to sell raffle tickets for school. He’s lost so he begins talking to himself and through this exposition we learn that he’s new to town and isn’t enjoying his new class. His bike gets a flat as he runs over some barbed wire, but wouldn’t you know it there’s a friendly house on the left that repairs bikes and buys raffle tickets. Yup, it’s this kid’s lucky day… or is it?
We don’t see any more of that little boy as we assume our title character Norman takes care of him if you catch my drift. The next day at school we meet the little boy’s classmates and his drunk eccentric teacher that begins bullying the students for the raffle ticket money. At this point it becomes clear that the raffle is just a scam, but the kids are too dumb to realize that. When the teacher gets to the missing boys desk she finds a note that’s poorly written and reveals that Norman really did kill that fucking kid!
The story only gets crazier from there, but it’s brilliantly all connected. At times it won’t seem like that. It will come across like creator Stan Silas has just moved on and forgotten the story he was originally telling, but really the story and world is massive and Silas found a way to connect them all.
Silas’ script is hilarious. The children don’t act or talk like kids, but at the same time they don’t act like adults. It’s a weird mix that works quite well for the story because again it’s weird. It’s good weird though. In particular I like the “poor girl” as she was completely clueless to how she was perceived and she’s the only character that seemed to scare Norman.
The art work has an animated feel to it both in the line work and coloring. The kids all have disproportioned heads with big eyes giving them a distinct style, but otherwise they’re all very realistic in structure and movement.
The coloring is fantastic. This is a horror comedy, but it’s not dark and gritty. Instead it’s very clean and the coloring is vibrant and childlike. It’s very Saturday morning cartoon, but that only adds to the charm of the story. The coloring really is wonderful and one of the best aspects of the book.
I don’t know when there will be more Norman to read, but I do know that I want more Norman to read. Hell I want more Stan Silas to read in general, that’s the type of book this is. If you’re demented or like things like Lenore… which I guess also makes you demented, then check out Norman. I’ll be here when you need someone to talk to about it when the itch hits.
Score: 5/5
Norman: Book 1 Writer/Artist/Creator: Stan Silas Translator: Ivanka Hahnenberger Letterer: Gabriela Houston Publisher: Titan Comics Price: $19.99 Release Date: 3/15/15 Format: Hardcover; Print/Digital