As an artist and animator, Otis Frampton has been instrumental in making fans of comics and geek culture laugh with projects like How It Should Have Ended and ABCDEFGeek, as well as a host of other projects which you can find through his own website here.
But this fall, Frampton wants to do something a little different. He wants to show you another world, of his own design. That’s where his latest writer/artist project “Oddly Normal” from Image Comics comes into play, which arrives in shops on September 17th. “Oddly Normal” is an all-ages fantasy book about an outcast girl whose world gets turned upside down one particularly lonely day.
I sat down with Frampton to learn more about the world of “Oddly Normal”, his inspiration, and his love for the cartooning art form.
“Oddly Normal” is a decidedly all-ages story about the trials of a girl born from a mother from a fantasy world and a father from the “normal” world. What gave you the initial inspiration for “Oddly Normal” and what made you decide to follow that instinct?
Otis Frampton: I’ve always loved stories about magical lands. Oz, Wonderland, Narnia, The Kingdom of Wisdom from “The Phantom Tollbooth”. The inspiration for “Oddly Normal” came from a sketch I did in my sketchbook of a sad little girl. I wrote the words “oddly normal” next to her and the idea for the story of a girl stuck between two worlds/cultures grew from there. Also, I liked the idea of using the words Oddly Normal as a proper name and started from there.
Most of those kinds of stories center on characters that have no connection to the magical land, though. They’re basically swept up into an adventure in a strange world and that’s about it. I wanted my main character to have an intensely personal connection to the new world she’ll encounter, so I basically made her mother an immigrant to the real world and that’s how Oddly makes her way to the land of Fignation.
The main character, Oddly, has trouble fitting in thanks to the perceived oddities that come with being a half-witch. This is something I imagine a lot of readers, young and older, might relate to. How are you approaching this with that in mind? How do you personally achieve relatability with a concept that’s rooted in fantasy?
OF: Everyone feels like an outsider at some point in their lives, it’s universal. I think the key to telling that kind of story in fantasy is to set up the premise and then not hammer it too hard.
Also, it’s important not to make certain elements too cut and dry. Oddly Normal thinks she is an outsider because she has pointed ears and green hair. But what really sets her apart is that she’s sullen and glum and not very outgoing. My job as the writer is to take Oddly on a journey of discovery about herself and make it fun and visually interesting for readers along the way. I’m a very character- and story-focused writer. So if you strip away all of the fantasy elements, it still works as the story of a ten year old who thinks she doesn’t fit in. That’s how you can achieve relatability in genre storytelling, I think.
I appreciated the way that “Oddly Normal” didn’t shy away from the realities of being an outcast. Are you conscious of keeping a balance between humor, light fantasy, and somber emotional moments? Do you favor one tone over another?
OF: Thanks! I think all three are necessary in a story like this. The fun for me happens when those elements are played out in the same scene. Turning on a dime tonally creates surprises for readers, but it can be tricky to do without feeling artificial. I think I like doing that more than anything else as a writer, especially when even I don’t see it coming, when the characters are seemingly acting on their own as a scene plays out in my head.
I don’t favor one tone over another, no. I think stories with one tone tend to be dull, be they comedic or dramatic. You’ve got to mix it up or it just feels monotonous.
Continued below
“Oddly Normal” displays a strong grasp of “fairy tale”-style prose. You’re very much spinning the tale of Oddly Normal and her melancholy world. Do you let the strength of the writing dictate your art, or does the art come first to inform the prose? What is your process like?
OF: The writing always comes first for me, at least where story and character are concerned. But there are definitely times when the artist is in control for certain scenes. I liken it to the difference between a screenwriter and a director. The screenwriter is concerned mostly with story structure and dialogue. But when the director gets on set and starts blocking out scenes, it can influence the story being told. I often find myself adding or removing dialogue once I get into the drawing stage, because visuals can sometimes carry weight that makes dialogue unnecessary. I’m editing dialogue until the page is complete, which is one reason why I letter my own pages and do my lettering in Photoshop along with everything else.
The writer in me is on the job until the very end of the process.
What has been the most surprising or personally rewarding thing about the writer/artist process of working on “Oddly Normal”?
OF: I love when a character says or does something that I don’t feel like I wrote, when they say or do something that surprises me. A moment like that even led to me figuring out the ending of the series, the big mystery of the story. I was writing a scene with Oddly and her Great Aunt ,and Auntie did something that took me off guard as the scene played out in my head. I didn’t know why she would do what she did. The character actually behaved in a way that led me, the writer, to explore the “why” of her actions. When I did, I figured out the answer to the big mystery presented in the story.
I love when that happens. If a writer can surprise him or herself, then the reader will be surprised, as well.
Your art style, if I may say so, is expressive and cartoony, but is able to convey the loneliness and misunderstood nature of Oddly’s character so well. Yet at the same time, you’ve shown a great capacity for humor while keeping a similar style. Does your own art ever surprise you with its versatility?
OF: I’m a big fan of “toony” comics. Thankfully, they seem to be making a comeback lately!
Yeah, It’s tough to balance tone in a cartoony visual style. Jeff Smith is my guru where that is concerned. His work in “Bone” is masterful at balancing tone while maintaining a cartoony visual style. There’s a moment at the end of issue #1 of “Oddly Normal” that I’m very proud of in that regard. It starts with Oddly at her lowest point, she’s emotionally drained. But the very next page has a moment of pure slapstick and I’m proud of how it feel like a natural tonal shift.
Who inspires or inspired you as an artist? (I noticed a little nod to the “Fantastic Four” in there.)
OF: Yep, there’s a nod to the “Fantastic Four” in there, a big one. Oddly’s favorite comic book series is called “Forces of Nature”, about a super hero family. Watch for them to show up later in the series.
As an artist I’m mostly inspired by cartoonists. Jeff Smith, Berke Breathed, Skottie Young, Charles Schulz, Bruce Timm, Jack Kirby, Darwyn Cooke, Kazu Kibuishi. But my comic work is also very influenced by films, especially animated movies. I want my comics to look like animated movies on the page.
What makes comics the best medium for telling this story?
OF: It’s the best medium to tell this story because I am capable of creating a comic book as a one-man-band, from writing to art to lettering.
I loved comics as a kid, but kind of drifted away from them in junior high and high school, when my ambitions turned to becoming a film director. During my very brief stint in the film program at a local community college, I got back into comics. In fact, I walked into a comic shop for the first time in years the week that “Spawn” #1 hit stands and Image was making their big debut, and I was once again hooked on comics.
Continued belowWhen I started drawing again I started to drift from film because it was easier for me to tell my stories on the page than it was to do the same thing with the limited resources I had available to me in the world of filmmaking, which was still analog at the time. One of the things I like best about working as a writer/artist in the digital age is that I can be writer, set designer, cinematographer, director, editor and have it all play out on the page in full color. Film isn’t the auteur medium, comics is.
That being said, if I was capable of making an animated TV series all by myself you may have gotten a different answer!
So do you have plans for how long you’ll tell stories in the world of “Oddly Normal”?
OF: I have material written for about 50 issues. The story is finite, though. There is a definite end to Oddly’s story and I know what it is. I estimate it will take about 75 to 100 issues to get there.
Before we go, give our readers one strong reason why they should ask their retailer to preorder “Oddly Normal.” What do you hope it brings to the comic-reading world?
OF: “Oddly Normal” is an all-ages comic in the truest sense. It’s a story that can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. I’m writing the kind of comic that I like to read. So if you like “The Wizard of Oz”, “Harry Potter” and “Mosters Inc”, please give Oddly a try!
