So what happens in Strange Girl this month? Not much. Just that the devil appears and actually seems to be on the right side of a battle for a change. Yeah, it’s true. After all, in a world where demons walk the earth and life is literally a hell due to God’s neglect, then why wouldn’t Satan be a viable alternative? So that makes a reader wonder just how strong our protagonist Bethany really is. Which kind of leads to the other big moment, namely that Bethany loses her virginity, only to have the whole thing turn out to be just as complex and compromised as everything else in her world.
Yeah, this is just another typical issue of this unique and rather mind-bending issue. Writer Remender does his typically interesting job of creating complexity and ambiguity for Bethany in a world where literally nothing can be trusted. This issue seems to begin her journey into Hell to find her friend Bloato, which should be fascinating.
I’m warming to Nick Stakal’s art, though I still miss Eric Nguyen and especially Harper Jaten from the previous volume. Stakal’s art is rather dark and impressionistic, moody but without the really intriguing cartoonish edge that both Nguyen and Jaten brought to the book. Their art at times seemed to be commenting on the story as it proceeded, while Stakal’s art simply carries the story. Still, that’s not exactly a bad thing.
I can’t wait to see what the next few issues bring to Bethany on her quest to Hell.