cover image The Life of Norman, Vol. 1

The Life of Norman, Vol. 1

Stan Silas. Titan, $10.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-78276-239-3

French cartoonist Silas makes his English-language debut with a light-hearted but twisted tale, charmingly and deftly illustrated. Norman is a budding serial killer whose victims are his elementary school classmates. Inexplicably, he has a tiny purple devil on his shoulder who guides him into crime and away from detection, but Norman is inexperienced at the former and truly terrible at avoiding the latter. The slapstick story is less about Norman, though, and more about the intrigues of his classmates and morally questionable teacher, all of whom are horror-movie stereotypes, reimagined with verve. By the end, themes of class (social not grade school) have been surprisingly well addressed, and Norman has gone through an amusing and ever-tightening gauntlet in his attempts avoid blame for his crimes, but there’s a sense that the mysteries among the townsfolk have just barely been scratched. The art has a moé (cute) aspect familiar from many mangas, but the expressions are malleable, smooth, and delightfully on point, and the coloring adds to the experience. (Apr.)