Laura McCarthy reviews Ordinary #1…
“What if everyone woke up with superpowers – and it was the worst thing in the world? When a strange plague gives every human being on the planet special powers, it’s seen as the next step in human evolution. But hope quickly turns to terror, as every war, terrorist attack, every crime, every simple street argument escalates to a truly horrific point. The world is tearing itself apart – every trouble spot becomes a monstrous war zone and nuclear Armageddon looms. The plague must be cured if humankind is to survive. The key lies in the blood of the only human being who didn’t get powers when the plague hit: A downtrodden, recently divorced New York plumber named Michael Fisher. The most ordinary man alive has suddenly become the most extraordinary person on Planet Earth. Giant baseball players, grannies aging in reverse, a talking Grizzly bear. That’s nothing out of the Ordinary!”
Just reading the description for Ordinary, written by Robin Williams and drawn by D’Israeli, could leave any seasoned comic book fan disinterested. We’ve seen this story quite a few times over, haven’t we? All of humanity gains super human abilities, except for Joe Everyman and the entire point of the story becomes this one person trying to find their purpose in a strange new world. It should be absolutely played out at this point. With Ordinary, though, it definitely feels like something different is in store with this series.
Yes, the story does focus on an Everyman – a down on his luck plumber named Michael, but it’s what surrounds him that makes this a series worth giving a shot. Almost none of the mutations we see presented to us can be called “the greatest thing ever”, in fact most of them are pretty horrifying: an old woman de-ages to the point of non-existance, a politician’s fears become visible thought-bubbles, and a child has the literal “Midas Touch”. (That last one left me internally screaming. Everything from his clothes, to the patch of cement he’s sitting on, and the people next to him are golden.) Michael admits as all of this is going on around him that he’s scared, and that is what makes him all the more human. He doesn’t start waving his arms around, wondering when his powers are going to show up, or go on about how awesome this new development is. We see a frightened man that just wants to find out where his ex-wife and child are, and if they’re okay.
The first issue of Ordinary does exactly what a reader wants in a first issue: it builds a story, gives us a relatable main character, and opens up two mysteries. The first one is Michael’s – which ranges from his life to finding out where is family is – and the second is ours as we try to figure out what the heck is going on.
D’Israeli’s artwork is what really sells this for me, though. It strikes a real chord and reminds me of something, but I’m sure I won’t remember what it is until after this is posted. Each character’s personality shines through their design and no one looks exactly identical.
Definitely pick this up if you get the chance, Ordinary is gearing up to become one of the summer’s hottest mysteries.
Laura McCarthy
Originally published May 22, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
