Milligan brings Girl to its unexpected and fantastic finish.

In some ways it’s the least visually outlandish issue of the series. Fegredo is confined to a very realistic rendition now. The result is something a little more visually engaging than the other issues. Because the reader finally knows exactly what Fegredo’s supposed to be drawing so he or she can appreciate it better.

Milligan comes up with a great narrative for the issue—it takes place over a couple days—and he still manages to surprise the reader every few pages. Once he sets up the last issue, he still has a couple more revelations in store for the reader and for Simone, the protagonist.

Simone, a first person female narrator written by a man, is one of the strongest female comic book characters I can think of. Milligan doesn’t just masterfully write a comic, he masterfully writes a person.

Milligan delivers an outstanding issue. One of the greatest things about Girl is how unpredictable he makes the narrative. But it’s more than just coming up with a great cliffhanger to this issue, it’s coming up with a great resolution to the previous issue’s cliffhanger.

In between, Milligan fills in a bunch more about main character Simone’s life. He doesn’t spend a lot of time implying history, more giving her a revealing situation to move through. The final revelation (of this issue)—which Milligan even foreshadows, before playing with the idea of foreshadowing it—forces the reader to reexamine Simone.

Still, with an issue left, Girl is still somewhat up in the air. Milligan’s second issue is even better than his first, so I’m very anxious to see what he does in the third.

Fegredo excels again, making the people outlandish but real. Not to mention his fantastic panel design.

I suppose there is a little sensationalism in Girl. It takes place in a town called Bollockstown and there’s a lengthy dream sequence and a couple mammals going out a window and plummeting to their deaths.

But Milligan makes the whole thing feel everyday. The comic’s about a–you guessed it–girl named Simone. Her family’s awful, so’s the town and she’s fifteen and stuck there. So her self-awareness generally hinders more than helps.

Though this issue ends on a big moment, the rest of the issue is rather quiet, even when she’s doing something loud. It opens in a flash forward, about two weeks after the majority of the issue; I’m guessing the series will fill in the difference. It’s a big open, but even it’s a little quiet.

Fegredo’s artwork is wonderful, giving Simone’s reality a lot of grim, but occasionally showing comfort.

It’s a great read.