In many ways, The Norm is a classic comic strip, it just happens to be in comic book format. There's some continuity, in terms of continuing characters and a certain continuing obsession on the lead character's point with dating, technology, travel and other stand-up comedian standards, but the general sense one gets is that you can jump in and out at anytime and have no trouble getting the strip. Like most comic strips, The Norm is hit and miss, but for every clunker of a strip, Jantze provides one that cracks me up. In addition, Jantze has come up with a really nifty little format, including notes on each strip (or some vaguely related) topic beneath each strip, giving the sense of a sort of ongoing dialogue with the creator (in the voice of his character... weird) while reading, a unique touch that makes The Norm stand out from the other "strip" comics on the market.
It's kind of ironic that these early days of The Norm strip, from his single days, resonate better with me, given that I'm married with kid. However, I think Jantze's take on marriage is quite different from mine, and while Norm's single life doesn't always ring true to me either, I find a lot more in common with the character when I think back to my single days. The way Norm keeps coming back to his ex-girlfriend and a breakup is a hilarious little bit of continuity between strips and reinforces Norm's obsession without really introducing it into the strips themselves, and while Jantze's observations of men/women politics are often a little oversimplified, there's usually a grain of truth and almost always a laugh.
The Norm is at its best, though, when Jantze is focusing on Norm in the workplace. Maybe it's just because I've done my time at trade shows (both as participant and booth worker), but the stories of taking freebies you don't need or desperately trying to get rid of freebies so you don't have to carry them back had me laughing out loud. Actually, I also quite enjoy when Jantze is writing observational humor that reads like the kind of thing Jerry Seinfeld turned into a career. It's true that just about every comedian has some sort of riff on airline travel, which makes it all the more impressive that Jantze's airline humor was pretty original and funny. The observations about windows and shades on the plane were particularly clever.
Something sort of odd about The Norm is that it's about a fictional character, and yet it seems like an autobiographical story. Jantze writes these captions beneath the strips that sometimes refer to what's going on in the strips and sometimes to the drawing of them, blurring the line considerably between whether Norm is a fictional character or just Jantze's alter ego. Honestly, I find myself reading the book most of the time thinking that I'm looking at experiences and observations from Jantze's life, which can be a little distracting. On the upside, though, this does make me connect with the character more, as the stories and characters feel real.
Though the newspaper comics page is more often than not a loss these days, books like The Norm prove that the comic strip is not a lost art. Jantze has terrific comic timing, an endearing (if sometimes frustrating) lead character and plenty of material, making The Norm a lot of fun to read.
