Still catching up on comics purchased last year, so let’s get through December in order to start talking about this year’s comics.

The Boys #37
In which The Frenchman tells his own origin story, and his life in the village of Franglais where everyone calls him Frenchie, his childhood enemy is Black Pierre, and a stale croissant brings about the end of his father (‘Mon Daaaaaaaad!!’). Yes, it’s tongue-in-cheek time from Ennis, told with silliness and fun, to compensate for some of the darkness. Not a great story, perhaps, but all long-form comics must have balances, n’est-ce pas?

Strange #2
I still haven’t adjusted to the art style of Emma Rios – in all honesty, I’d prefer if cover artist Tomm Coker was handling interior pencils as well. It’s not that her art is bad – the basics of telling a story in comic book form is well handled – it’s just that I don’t like style. The story is quite fun – the girl that Strange taught a spell to last issue has continued to use it, as well as trying to find Strange, which leads to them meeting via a dynn. Mark Waid constructs a fine plot, with snappy dialogue and logical ramifications, and makes me glad to see somebody using Strange as a character rather than as a plot device.

Supergod #2
Even though this is more of an infodump than a story in comic book fun, I still find a lot to enjoy in it, such as the phrase ‘Megareactor Buddha’s Spine’. A dispassionate narrator – supposedly chatting to an American counterpart – telling the history of governments’ attempts to create superhumans in the aftermath of what has occurred because of it. Because the narrator is basically talking like Ellis, the voice is entertaining and the disconnect between the coldness of the description and the visuals that accompany it make for an interesting book.