Comic Review: ‘Ordinary #1’
Written by Rob Williams | Art by D’Israeli | Published by Titan Comics | Format: Paperback, 32pp
It is just another day for Michael. He has overslept. He is late for work. The local thug Haka, is demanding the money Michael owes him again. Just another normal day. Then things, in the comic named Ordinary, take a strange turn. Everyone starts to change. The day becomes significantly less ordinary as people gain super powers, change into weird forms and spread chaos across the city. Everyone is affected. Everyone that is, except Michael.
Ordinary is a funny comic. It had me laughing out loud multiple times. Written by Rob Williams and D’Israeli, the main character Michael is definitely a great underdog for this story. Following Michael through the city as he desperately tries to come to terms with what is going on creates a very entertaining read. One of my favourite scenes in particular is when he sits down in a bar with his friend, who has of course turned into a bear. Some of the powers in this story think about being strange and then charge headlong into the ridiculous, for example a news reader with super shiny teeth. This is the icing on top of a very exciting cake. Don’t think of this comic as being your standard superhero tale, it is far from it and provides a refreshing twist on the expected.
The artwork in this comic sets out the ‘ordinarity’ (that’s a word I made up specifically for this review) of Michael very well. It depicts him as smaller than the rest of the characters, and always hunched, which really helps push the fact that he is small and almost insignificant in nature, not really someone would expect to be the hero of a story. The selection of powers in this comic are also drawn very well. Some of the panels I just had to stop and look at, just to see the mad variety of powers happening across it whilst Michael moved around.
If I had one thing to say against Ordinary, it is that the lettering seems particularly small and, even though I am pretty sure my eyesight hasn’t failed me yet, there were moments were I found it tougher to read what was going on. Having to stop and start did kill the pacing of the comic a little bit, but it was nonetheless a very enjoyable read which I would definitely recommend.
Ordinary #1 is out now from Titan Comics.
