Ordinary (Issues 1 & 2)
ORDINARY
Writer
Rob Williams
Artist/Letterer
D’Israeli
Publisher
Titan Comics
“Human beings shouldn’t be this powerful...we’ll abuse it” -Dr Tara McDonald.
I received Ordinary and after reading the synopsis discovered that it was about people obtaining super powers...I hate stories about super powers, they usually make me want to launch a boulder into the air and catch it with my head. Unfortunately, I don’t live in the world Rob Williams and D’Israeli have created and don’t possess the necessary powers to commit this absurd act of mutilation but, fortunately for my head, after reading the first two issues I found I rather enjoyed the story released so far. The first thing that caught my attention was the art and colour combination, it is how I imagine New York would look if you just arrived after a long flight and had your drink spiked with acid in the airport lounge. There’s something really attractive about it that I like, it’s vivid and contrasted, it feels as though it shouldn’t work but somehow does. The story itself tells of an unfortunate plumber who goes by the name of Michael, as he stumbles haphazardly from one hostile confrontation to the next in quick succession. In the first issue alone he somehow manages to anger at least a half dozen secondary characters while all around him chaos ensues as everyone in the world becomes a victim of an epidemic that gives them completely random superpowers, everyone except Michael, Michael’s only super power seems to be that he can make anyone he meets instantly aggravated at his mere existence. However, from this aggravation a mix of comedy arises to keep the story fresh and add character to the otherwise down and out protagonist who, may I add, seems to be one of the only people even remotely concerned with the events unfolding. I’ve seen some people do incredible things but if I saw someone turn into a dragon, or if a laughing child was walking around turning people into gold statues then I would likely freak out beyond words and commit myself into an asylum and not go about my day as if it was all normal. I did enjoy reading Michael’s story more than I thought, the subtle satire and inclusion of real world current events and social issues was a nice addition. The events that unfold can sometimes seem separate, as though they are their own individual micro stories rather than a connected series, but by issue two things change and flow a bit more smoothly as Michael embarks on a mission to reach his son in Manhattan. I’ve only read the first two issues but there seems to be a message appearing amongst the wacky and insane elements, it appears as though Michael is an embodiment of us all, we don’t need super powers to be special, we are all special already...or I could just be looking way too much into it, we’ll have to wait and see.
