Rough Trade Friday: Strange Girl

Well, now, it just wouldn't be October if we didn't have a comic featuring a demonic invasion of the Earth, would it? Well, you're in luck! This week's Rough Trade Friday focuses on the sumptuous Strange Girl, brought to us by Rick Remender and Eric Nguyen.

Remender's writing tells the story of a world in which the Rapture occurs, after which God withdraws his protection from the world and leaves it ripe for a demonic invasion to occur. The invasion happens minutes after all the righteous humans are brought into Heaven, and Hell proceeds to reign over Earth for over a decade. As the comic begins, Bethany Black is working in a bar for a demon lord, kept out of the hard labor and slave trades reserved for most of humanity because she has the ability to cast magic (something which is practically unheard of amongst mankind). One day, she and her companion demon Bloato manage to piss off their patron and they decide to make a run for it in order to find a rumored gateway to Heaven. The journey takes them around the country, into the very maw of Hell, and -hopefully- to an eventual destination which involves a lot of white light and harps. Along the way, they encounter homicidal demons, homicidal hillbillies, homicidal soldiers, and a couple of other entertaining characters to keep them busy.

Remender's dialogue and plotlines manage to keep the comic moving along at a brisk pace, with sarcasm and wry humor managing to prevent the overall plot from feeling too dreary at any time. However, there are some genuinely horrifying moments throughout the series and readers are occasionally reminded that this world is a Very Bad Place indeed. Nguyen's artwork manages to serve as a near-perfect match for the comic, largely because his lines and colors are so dynamic and unique.

However, this is one of those series which needs to be started from the beginning, otherwise you'll have absolutely no clue as to what's going on if you pick up an issue halfway through the storyline. Fortunately, the first three segments are in convenient trade paperback formats, so it's an easy task to catch up on what's been going on throughout the series.