Broken Frontier

Otis Frampton walks you through his new Oddly Normal graphic novel, Oddly Normal: Family Reunion, released this week through Viper Comics.

The solicitation for the issue reads:

Oddly Normal is back for more adventures! When Ragnar's father returns home with plans to use Oopie in his scientific experiments, turmoil engulfs Fignation. Only Oddly and the gang can save the day with the help of a mop, some magic and more than a bit of luck. The American Library Association called Oddly Normal Volume 1 "One of the Top 10 Graphic Novels For Youth in 2006"!

"Oddly Normal: Family Reunion" is a direct sequel to the first book. It begins just weeks after the events of the original story and is essentially a tale about family and the various ways that we perceive the idea of family. But it is also a revenge story and anyone who has read volume 1 knows who may be seeking vengeance on out heroine. But they're in for a surprise, because Mr. Gooseberry has something different in store for Oddly this time around.

Many of the events of this book were set up in book 1. I spent a lot of time in that story planting little narrative seeds in the hope that I would be able to expand on them in future tales. And in Family Reunion, I'm able to do just that. Hopefully readers will pick up on some of these details.

PAGES 1 & 2

The main purpose of the first two pages is to re-establish the world and character of Oddly Normal. I do this by mirroring the opening of the first book. But it's a funhouse mirror version of the first book's opening sequence. In this book, the opening takes place in Fignation, the fantasy world where Oddly now lives, and the bullies she enocunters reflect that. Sergio did a great job re-creating the original sequence for this story, and the character designs he came up with based on the scripted descriptions I gave him are wonderful. I loved the "Pistachio Nut" character he drew so much that I added him to two other scenes in the script.

   

PAGE 6

This is where Oddly meets Tommy Tsunami, one of the new characters in the series.

Oddly Normal is so dependent on dialogue (too dependent, sometimes) that it's nice when I can let the images do the heavy lifting. I especially love when I can use "acting" of the characters to reveal emotion. Sergio did a great job of portraying a young girl's embarrassment in this sequence. And I especially love that last panel where we see all four of the kids and can know what they're all thinking just from their expressions.

 

 

 

PAGE 11

This page is part of the introduction to Ragnar and Reggie's father, another new character (although he is mentioned and seen in a photo in the first book). In this sequence, their father is telling the kids the story of his encounter with a mysterious stranger in Fignation's Endless Winterland.

This was the page that got me really exited about coloring the end of the book. I was having fun with all of that snowy imagery and since the big climax occurs in a snowstorm, I knew I'd have a blast with it later on in the production of the book.

 

 

 

PAGE 14

This page doesn't show anything important or narratively exciting . . . it's just one of my favorites from this book. Again, I love when images can carry the load and Sergio really created some great "getting ready for the day" imagery. I especially love that second panel. It's exactly what I saw in my head when I wrote the script and it perfectly captures Oddly and Oopie's relationship, which is one of the central relationships in the book.Panle 2 is probably my favorite drawing of Oddly that he has ever done.

 

 

 

 

PAGE 46

I'm highlighting this page because of Sergio's amazing design of the hover car. I described it in a general way in the script; a hover vehicle with four pods each containing their own seat. He took that simple sentence and ran with it to full efect, drawing the page you see here. He really outdid himself, and in doing so he helped the story a lot, because there is now a great contrast between the vehicle that these heroes use and the mop that Oddly flies on in the climactoc sequence to follow.

I've found that one of the primary joys of collaborating with another artist on your book is the surprise one receives when the imagery surpasses your expectations. This page is an example of that. And I had a blast coloring his line work for this page!

PAGES 52 & 53

I'm proud of these two pages because they incorporate something you rarely see in comics; foreground AND background action. I have a background in theater and I try to incorporate theatrical elements into the "blocking" of my stories. Once again, Sergio pulled it off wonderfully, giving the pages a sense of depth and staging the two narrative elements in a way that they play together seamlessly.

   

PAGE 65

This is the first real "action shot" of the story, and it's sixty-five pages in to the book. I spend over half of the story just setting up the big action climax, but when the action kicks in, it goes on for about thirty pages. This book is very different from the first one in that regard. Hopefully, fans will appreciate the differences and not find themselves wishing I had simply repeated a formula established in book 1. Sequels can be tricky things. But I think Sergio and I did a good job making this story unique and fun.

 

 

 

 

PAGE 84

The last page I want to talk about features one of the emotional climaxes of the story. I really wanted a specific expression on Reggie's face for those last two panels and Sergio really came through for me. He drew Reggie with a slight, knowing smile and captured the intent of the script perfectly.

I know I spent most of this commentary praising Sergio's work, but I can't say enough about his contribution to this book. I'm very pleased with the results of our work and I hope that fans will feel the same when they read "Oddly Normal: Family Reunion". I also hope that they'll continue to follow the series . . . Book 3, titled "Oddly Normal: Fignation Times" is currently in production with new artist Jessica Hickman supplying the visuals. See you in 2008!