More than decent start
9:27 pm 23 October 2016
Oddly Normal #1 - Otis Frampton, Otis Frampton
Oddly Normal is a half-witch with green hair and pointy ears, none of which make her popular. Not even if her classmate's don't realize she's a half-witch. It does't help that her parents are so over the moon in love with each other that they don't seem to notice what an outcast Oddly is; the sense of loneliness and isolation is, in fact, only sharpened because she's aware of this fact.

I suspect that since we're getting this from ten-year-old Oddly's point of view, her parents are getting the short end of the stick. Their denial that year after year, Oddly can't find a friend to bring home for her birthdays does seem to hint at the neglect that Oddly feels. They do, however, notice when she does something odd when she makes her wish. They plan parties, and keep encouraging her to bring home friends, they buy her presents, and there's no indication that there's abuse. All that is to say, it's hard to say since we see so little of how they treat her. A couple pages of this are Oddly at school, more going home on the bus, and then she's shuffled off to her bedroom while her mother puts the finishing touches on Oddly's birthday party and her father makes his way home from school.

Oddly seem to feel things keenly and thus I find her an unreliable narrator. Not out of malice, but simply because she feels things so deeply it seems to seep into all her thoughts. So far, I found her parents a little flaky, but deeply committed to their daughter - and her happiness - even if they don't seem to be able to help her find friends. I found them, and their backstory, charming, and I wished I'd gotten to see more of that.

Oddly is a little bratty towards her parents, but more of an adult than most would be at her age and given the constant abuse she gets at school. I'm willing to hold off my opinion once we get to know more about her, as I feel that the ending to this and the hint of the next issue indicate that she's going to have to grow up quite fast now and become less bratty because of it in the end. And I'd be more than willing to give issue two a second chance.

Note: the Kindle edition says this is 128 pages for free, but it's not. It's really a little over thirty, and probably close to 28 without ads. I think someone just put down the one in front of the 28 accidentally and oops...
Graphic Novel Comixology read in 2016 ( )