I’ve been looking forward to the next volume of Norman. The first volume was a hoot and starred a child serial killer; his idol being Jason from the Friday the 13th movie series and his murders being hilarious. The first volume wasn’t perfect, but it was so entertaining that it was hard not to love. The second volume finds our class, now made up of only six students, heading to a logging festival with their teacher so that she can retrieve a baby she abandoned years ago. The class doesn’t want to go on the trip, but for some reason they’re forced to. Familiar faces appear and Norman is Norman.
What’s disappointing about this volume is that Norman ends up feeling like a supporting character in his own book. Granted we can’t spend all our time with him, but he hardly does anything and only has a handful of funny lines. In particular, when he’s running for his life with another student and he trips them for calling him funny. Hilarious. There’s also a reveal of a monster on the loose and it’s teased twice, but never shown or followed up on (and I’m not talking about the one that was revealed). I suppose that will be in the next volume, but it really could have helped the story in this volume.
There’s still some good gags and jokes in this volume, but overall there was way too much talking and all the character’s love to info dump on us. Ultimately, the story feels very short and yet you will feel tired after reading it there’s so much dialogue.
The art continues to be great. I love how the sexy teacher constantly looks like a drunk. Also the blood in this book is always amazing and on par with Mortal Kombat at times. Blood shooting out of a decapitated baby… hilarious. The artwork is always the strongest aspect of this series and the kills are great… even if I’m completely desensitized to them.
I wish I had more positive critiques for this book, but it was honestly a bit disappointing. The first volume of Norman made me laugh and entertained the crap out of me, while this second volume feels like a watered-down repeat of the first volume. The book is called Norman, but really it’s not his book and nowhere is that clearer than in this second volume. Too bad, he’s a hell of a character and would be far more interesting to follow on his own. Oh and please explain his demon friend already… it’s very strange for the story to never acknowledge this aspect of the story and expect the reader to continue on without explanation.
Score: 3/5
Norman – Book 2 Writer/Artist/Creator: Stan Silas Publisher: Titan Comics Price: $14.99 Release Date: 9/30/15 Format: Hardcover; Print