normalman

On a planet of superhumans, one perfectly ordinary baby was rocketed away to safety — only to land on a world filled with nothing but superheroes, making him the sole powerless, normal person there. Created by Jim Valentino, normalman debuted in Cerebus #56.

Born in the pages of Dave Sim's landmark Cerebus in 1983, normalman is a gleefully Bronze Age creation from the indie comics underground — a character whose very name announces a comedic, self-aware sensibility perfectly at home in the irreverent world of Aardvark-Vanaheim. Jim Valentino's creation went on to headline his own series, proving there was real staying power in that deadpan premise, with a publishing presence stretching all the way to 2024. Along the way he's shared adventures with a wonderfully absurdist cast — Captain Everything, Sophisticated Lady, Wolverine MacAlistaire, Sgt. Fluffy — names that tell you everything about the gleeful genre parody this character inhabits. For fans of independent comics history and the scrappy, imaginative spirit of early '80s self-publishing, normalman is a genuine cult treasure worth seeking out.