Normal Comix #1

Full size, 50 pages, B&W, published by Verboten Books, Adults Only.   

Sean Madden opens this comic up with a rant against conformity and allegiance to the old school style of comix. This rant isn't part of the overall story, just the artist/writer letting us, the readers, know where this comix is coming from and what it's seeking to achieve. Once that's established we jump right into a strange story about a wheelchair ridden vulgar woman that falls prey to the seduction of a blinded, quadruple amputee, male stripper. Before the old broad knows it, she (and the reader), is pulled into a bizarre stream of consciousness populated by a seafaring bear, smoking birds, fanged fishes, an anal tunneling rat, baby-popping mommas, William S. Burroughs, god, and a bunch of other unusual characters!

Sean Madden manages to weave a continuous tale through a weird landscape of peculiar and completely unexpected plot twists. The artwork is raw and simple but not amateurish. Most of the pages are constructed with typical panel layouts, and while most of those panels are filled with crudely drawn images, some are more detailed and lean toward greater realism demonstrating Madden's ability as an artist. And I'll add that the unpolished style actually complements the story and contributes to the "comix" feel and look of the comic. Most of the lettering appears to be done by hand with a few instances of computer generated type thrown in for effect where it works with the story. All of it is easy to read, but the graphics really tell the story and hold your interest throughout the comic.

Bottom line: this is one really weird comic that makes no apologies! If you're tired of the ordinary and want something completely different, then look no further, you can find it at Verboten Books