| Cerebus #56 (November, 1983) “Something Like an Origin” |
| A young baby is rocketed into space from the planet Arnold by a desperate father, who is then killed by an angry mother when the planet fails to explode! The child lands on the planet Levram, where everyone, except him, has super-powers! normalman, Captain Everything, Nasty Girl, the Ultra-Conservative, and Rotten Kid are all introduced (not bad for only four-pages!). |
| A-V In 3-D #1 (December, 1984) “The Man Called normalman” |
| In the series’ only continuity implant, Captain Everything takes norm, who is considered a celebrity as the only non-powered person on the planet, home to his new government paid-for apartment. norm nobly (foolishly?) turns down Nasty Girl’s advances and wonders if he will ever escape the madhouse that is the planet Levram. |
|
Cerebus #57 (December, 1983) |
| Dr. Deranged is introduced with a serum guaranteed to norm into a super-being. The Ultra-Conservative send the Fanatic Four (Mr. Fanatical, Helpless Woman, the Humane Touch and Lunk) to administer the drug. They fail miserably, of course, only managing to knock norm through a window, directly at the feet of his arch-foe. The title of this four-pager would be emblazoned across T-Shirts (from Graphitti Designs) nationwide. |
| normalman #1 (January, 1984) “The Panties And Capes Syndrome” |
| A great “Three Part Novel” in the tradition of the Silver-Age Superman
comics! The Ultra-Conservative’s plan to turn norm into
a super-being backfires on himself! Meanwhile the Legion of Superfluous
Heroes begin their roll call (will they have to call in the Legion
of Substitute Pets?), Captain Everything gets a plethora of
“perfect” duplicates and we meet Sgt. Fluffy, Agent of S.C.H.U.M.C.K.*
*Stands for nothing in particular. |
| normalman #2 (April, 1984) “…And One Shall Slay Him!” |
| The Marvel-Age is spoofed as the Fanatic Four, having failed in their mission, break up…again! The roll call continues, Rotten Kid fools norm and Captain Everything battles Sgt. Fluffy in an epic hero vs. hero battle so they can team-up! And, in the final reel, norm meets Man-Man (pronounced Mon-Man) and the woman who will change his life, Sophisticated Lady. |
| normalman #3 (June, 1984) “The Pope of Pain” |
| EC Comics are spoofed as we meet the Watchdog and Man-Man’s super-power (ganja breath) comes under the scrutiny of Comics Code Man. The Legion’s roll call continues unabated and Sophie leads norm to the legendary Anti-Physics Probulator. norm steps through to journey into alternate worlds before Cap and Sgt. Fluffy can stop him. |
| normalman #4 (August, 1984) “Crisis On Earth-Twinkey” |
| normalman lands on a world with a cream filled center called Earth-Twinkey. There he encounters the Smelfs, who tell him to look for “The Magic” if he wants to escape Levram and where guest star Hembeck is filming snack cake commercials with E-Man, Cutey Bunny and the Wraith. norm is forced to take a life in a deadly battle, an event that will change him forever. |
| Journey #13 (August, 1984) “normal Times” |
| norm’s travels through alternate dimensions via the Anti-Physics Probulator land him in the past of another world where he meets a frontiersman named Wolverine McAlistaire. Wolverine shows him, by example, that a man doesn’t need super-powers to be a hero; he need only be a man. It is a lesson that normalman would take with him and one that would shape him in all of his days to come. |
| normalman #5 (October, 1984) “Crisis? What Crisis?!” |
| Continuing his adventures through alternate realities, norm lands on Earth-Dismal, a world populated by not-so-funny animals, not the least of which is Mickey Money. norm begins to assert himself as Cap flies through the Negative Phantom Zone to rescue him and return him to Levram…just in time to discover that Sgt. Fluffy has been assassinated! |
| normalman #6 (December, 1984) “normalman, P.I.” |
| Sophie takes over the leadership of S.C.H.M.U.C.K.*
while norm searches for Fluffy’s killer, the mysterious Cephalopod
(look it up) in this Spirit parody. Meanwhile, the roll call gets
up to “W” and Sgt. Fluffy turns up alive…only to get killed
again (some guys just can’t catch a break-but, don’t worry, it’s a
comic, he’ll be back again)! *Stands for nothing in particular. |
| normalman #7 (February, 1985) “Who Killed Sgt. Fluffy THIS Time?” |
| The DNAgents (and other super-teams are spoofed when Captain Everything’s group, the Justice League of Society, battles the Unnecessary A-Men, the Cloned Kids and the Tight Teens (who turn out to all be the same group) and, if that wasn’t enough, the roll call finally comes to an end as norm rockets into space and meets Max, the Magnificent. |
| normalman #8 (April, 1985) “Misery In Space” |
| normalman and his new-found friend, Max, the Magnificent, run afoul of Lord R. Nader, a truly two-dimensional villain as Star Wars is spoofed and a wraith like Wolverine McAlistaire guides norm through his trails in outer space. Meanwhile, back on Levram, the powers that be want Sophisticated Lady to run for the Presidency…but she has other plans. |
| normalman #9 (June, 1985) “normalman Has Gaul” |
| norm travels back into Levram’s past where he meets the time traveling, Countess of Monte Crisco and unwittingly sets in motion the domino effect that will result in Levram being populated by a world full of super-beings! Asterix is spoofed and when norm returns to his own time Sophie is forced to admit that she’s known what “The Magic” is all along. |
| normalman #10 (August, 1985) “normalman For President” |
| norm runs for the Presidency of Levram, gets drunk and is visited in a vision by Cerebus, who tells him that “The Magic” is Sgt. Fluffy’s Ruby Slippers (oh, my!). After a telling debate with the Ultra-Conservative, norm wins in a landslide and nominates Sophie as his Vice-President. But what part will the Countess play and whose side is she really on? |
| normalman #11 (October, 1985) “The Prez’s Old Clothes” |
| President normalman discovers WHY the women of Levram find him so irresistible, enjoys Nasty Girl’s powers, then spends the night with Sophie (the dog) and, ultimately, resigns the Presidency as the Countess makes her move on Captain Everything and norm secures the Ruby Slippers. American Flagg is skewered and insanity continues to ensue. |
| normalman #12 (December, 1985) “Love Stinks!” |
| Solo vignettes (all with the same title) as Cap confesses his love for the Countess (who claims to love norm), Sophie is drugged into hating norm, Rotten Kid and the Ultra-Conservative prepare the Quasi-Magik Responsometer for detonation and norm runs into Man-Man in a bar, who tells him how to make the Ruby Slippers work (click your heels together three times and chant…) |
| normalman 3-D annual #1 (February, 1986) “There’s No Place Like Home” |
| The Ultra-Conservative detonates the Quasi-Magik Responsometer, which resurrects Sarge as Dark Fluffy who then proceeds to destroy Levram. Meanwhile, using the Ruby Slippers, norm returns to the planet Arnold where he’s reunited with his mother. When the Countess makes her move and gains possession of the slippers, norm calls in Captain Everything, who brings Sophie with him to Arnold. The Countess’ final fate is sealed, norm and Sophie get married, Cap becomes the first super-hero of Arnold and all’s swell that ends swell…or is it? The series comes to its conclusion in glorious 3-D (by the legendary Ray Zone) and Valentino vows never to return to his creations again. (It lasts for all of five years). |
| Epic Lite #1 (September, 1991) “normalman Goes Hollywood” |
| normalman gets optioned for a television show…and he’s not real pleased about the prospect especially when he discovers that the big wigs want to change his story, tie-up all of his rights and basically, ignore him. And, when he balks, they decide to change the show’s name and proceed without him! Sounds like Hollywood to me! |
| normalman-Megaton Man Special #1 (August, 1994) “Lest No Bridge Be Unburned!” |
| At last, Captain Everything meets Megaton Man as the world’s stupidest heroes join forces with the Beanworld’s Mr. Spook and the Flaming Carrot to become Mega-Quad-Zillionaires in the Splitting Image Universe, seek spiritual enlightenment and otherwise skewer everyone and everything in the entire comic book industry. All this plus cameo appearances from more alternative characters (by their original creators) than you can shake two sticks at. |
| normalman 20th Anniversary Special #1 (July, 2004)
“Captain Everything-Super-Star!” |
| Cap gets his very own comic book and drags norm along-first to a disasterous store signing and then to the San Diego Comic-Con, where they run into all sorts of unsavory characters, Cap dies (but gets better) and, ultimately gets a complete make-over!! |
| normalman-The Novel (September, 1987) |
| Reprints everything normal from Cerebus #56 through the normalman 3-D Annual-and we do mean everything! Covers, back covers, convention ads and strips, miscellaneous crap-why, we even reprinted all of the stories! Published by Slave Labor Graphics as their very first trade paperback (in glorious black ‘n’ white). We believe I was the inspiration for Marvel’s Essentials line (even if they deny it…or don’t know of this book’s existence. Why let details obstruct opinion?) |
| Amazing Heroes #92 (April 1, 1986) |
| Comics’ reviewer, R.A. Jones looks back on the entire normalman
series, with quotes from ye author/artist. Also, Mark Waid
(before he became M*A*R*K W*A*I*D and would actually, you know, talk
to people*) interviews Jim about his plans for the then up-coming
Myth Adventures (which the less said about, the better). *Don’t get yer panties in a bunch, Mark’s a good sport, he can take it. |