An Enjoyable, Slightly Dark, Youth-Oriented Graphic Series

books:


	• Runaways Vol. 1: Pride and Joy Brian K Vaughan, Adrian Alphona Marvel Comics, 2004 - 144 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

There Are Rougly One Million Reasons To Read "Runaways"

When I decided to start reading Brian K. Vaughan's acclaimed comic series "Runaways", I did so with no trepidation. I knew Vaughan was a great comic writer, not only from having read and highly enjoyed some of his highly enjoyable "Y: The Last Man" and his fantastic issue in the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight" series, but also from the fact that a negative review for "Runaways" is perhaps one out of twenty. Also, I wasn't put off at all by the fact that Vaughan lists "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", my all time favorite show/comic series, as an inspiration for "Runaways" and the fact that Joss Whedon would eventually take over "Runaways" for an arc later on down the road. If that wasn't enough, Jo Chen is the cover artist.

So were my expectations met when I delved into "Pride and Joy", the first arc of the series?

Yes. The dialogue is fresh and snaps with pop culture references and witty bits of sarcasm are aplenty. Each character gets an extraordinary amount of development for short time we have here (six issues, at twenty-two pages a piece), though it can be argued that they are merely archetypes: Nerd, goth, brain, jock, hottie, little kid. However, I have enough faith in BKV's writing that by the time I read further into the series, the characters will develop past what we've seen so far. Actually, based on a spoiler or so that I accidently read, the characters do in fact mature past what we've seen here.

What we've got here is a story about kids rebelling against their parents, except blown up into a huge situation. The kids here find out their parents are murderous supervillains, and this arc is pretty much coping with the consequences of that knowledge and figuring out what they're going to do next. There are some awesome fight scenes, as drawn by Adrian Alphona, who also has a great hand for drawing the six main characters and putting their personality into their expressions and body languages. The color reminds me of a television cartoon, and that provides a nice contrast with a story that is really a dark tale told through light, snappy language.

And speaking of the dialogue. Sometimes, the dialogue flows so well that it actually gets in the way of appreciating the art. I know that's truly not a negative, but sometimes I just wish there would be a break to take in some of the art. For the next arc, I really have to pace myself with this and take each panel at a time. BKV really knows how to build suspense from panel to panel.

The only real complaint I have here are the portrayal of the villainous parents. There are so many of them (twelve, if I remember correctly) that it is impossible to remember what each of them does, and equally impossible for BKV to flesh them out into more believable villains. This made for a slight problem here; I found some of the things said by a few of the villains while taunting the kids to be cringe worthy. Very stereotypical villain-esque. What I hope happens is that a primary villain comes to the forefront, so he/she would be able to be properly fleshed out.

*NOTE: It is a better buying decision to, instead of purchasing this, buy "Runaways, Vol. 1." It is a huge hardcover and includes the entirety of the first three arcs, plus some "commentary." It costs less than buying the three arcs separately in much smaller, digest sized paperbacks.

8/10

for more information click here

Great start for a new series

Once again, Brian K Vaughn shows that he is one of the most consistently good writers in the business. He obviously has another winner with Runaways, a book about six children who discover that their parents are super-villains. While this book is aimed at younger readers, is definitely has something for everybody.

From what I can tell, the events of Runaways occur within the traditional Marvel universe. However, BKV has written it in such a way that it completely stands on it's own. The six Runaways, along with their murderous parents, are based in Los Angeles. As there are so few heroes on the west coast (why haven't villains realized this?), the story in Runaways evolves without relying on the support of existing Marvel continuity.

Vaughn has created 6 unique characters for this book. What is most impressive is that they are instantly interesting and unique. He develops their personalities quite well through good use of dialog. In addition, he was fairly creative with the origin of their powers. In the world where mutants and genetic alteration are the norm for super hero origins, he could have easily used either of these clichés. Instead, he does a good job mixing it up; a couple of members are mutants, but here is also some use of alien origin, time travel, advanced technology, etc.

Adrian Alphona deserves equal credit for the quality of this book. While obviously influenced by Manga, his work here leaves out all of those aspects of Manga which I dislike. There is a general absence of oversized eyes, and the female characters don't look like thirteen year old prostitutes. Further, he does a fine job of making every one of the characters seem even more unique.

The book comes together rather nicely. It is well written, well drawn, the colors add a very nice finishing touch to the book. Some of that suffers in this digest format, as the art is shrunk down and the paper quality is slightly inferior. However, I think this is more than offset by the drastically lower cover price. If you want to see the book at it's best, definitely check out the over-sized hardcover. If you just want to read some good comics, you can't go wrong with this format.

This volume only collects the first six issues of the series, so it generally deals with the teams origin. Now that this necessity is covered, I expect the book to be much more fun in future volumes. While being aimed at a younger audience, it is written in a manner which should appeal to super hero fans of all ages. Definitely check it out.

for more information click here

Great book, but spring for the Hardcover collection.

Well drawn, well written, all the prerequisites for a good comic, but be warned, these volumes are digest sized (think the old TV guide or manga books). Not that this is a bad thing, it's compact and easily concealable, but if you want something full sized spring for the Hardcover Collections. I bought this volume and two days later ordered both available hardcovers. Besides last I checked Vol. 2 was sold out on Amazon.

Runaways Volume 1

In this first volume of the smash-hit series, Runaways, written by award-winning writer Brian K. Vaughan, which has now attracted the likes of Joss Whedon, we are introduced to a bunch of young teenagers who have little in common and don't like each other that much. Every year they are forced to hang out together as their parents meet secretively for some charity event, it is thought. Except this time, things are a little different. The kids are older, starting to take an interest in the opposite sex, which they immediately do, and their curiosity is insatiable. They decide to finally find out what their parents are exactly up to. Using hidden passages in the house they sneak up on their parents and discover two important things: 1) Their parents are super heroes, and 2) Their parents are not super heroes, but actually super villains.

Vaughan presents a very interesting and unique dynamic. The teens immediately work on running away from their evil parents and along the way discover unique powers that they possess. It is an enjoyable and ideal story for young teens or teens of any age who are looking for something in the vein of Teen Titans; but it is also a very enjoyable story for adults also. It marks the continuing tangent that Marvel has taken of late in looking into the early lives of their super heroes.

For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com

for more information click here

An Enjoyable, Slightly Dark, Youth-Oriented Graphic Series

I'm middle-aged, but I enjoyed volume one of RUNAWAYS. It's not as if there's anything grandly new here. If you've read comics at any point in the last 30+ years, you'll get the "been here, read this" feeling. What's nice is that the young people do have contemporaryish patter. You get your multicultural stuff, your hippieish-vegan entries, your "young people must save the world..again" groove that seems to satisfy the need of young readers to feel heroic and superior to their parents. The Generation Gap is alive and well in RUNAWAYS.

Still, it's got a nice pace, action, dark deeds, heroic deeds, and the bickering you'd expect among teens. Plus a pre-teen who adds the added dimension.

In this opening bound volume, we get to meet the families of Villains/Heroes--that is, the parents are villains and the kids will be heroes who decide to break from the familial units and band together to stop the evil plans of their moms and dads. That, in itself, is a huge conflict. Think about it: Would you be willing to fight your parents to the death? Hmmm. I don't know. Sounds tough to me. And that's good. Anything that adds an emotional and conflictive dimension to a story is a dramatic plus.

So, kids find out who parents really are, learn things about themselves they never knew (ie, each one has a power/gift/specialty), and, yes, they become RUNAWAYS. Of course, running away from supervillains isn't easy. They have ways of making you show yourself, ways of tracking you, ways of making running away extremely stressful. And that's good, too.

I like the digest size volume. I am vexed that amazon doesn't have the digest size volume two: Teenage Wasteland. Geesh. Now I have to traipse to the local comic store and scout for it. Or order it. Why is volume 2 so hard to find?

Well, be warned. While volume one is a pleasant graphic novel read, you may have a bit of a headache getting to the next installment in this form.

Mir

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

All young people believe their parents are evil ... but what if they really are? Meet Alex, Karolina, Gert, Chase, Molly and Nico - whose lives are about to take an unexpected turn. When these six young friends discover their parents are all secretly super-powered villains, the shocked teens find strength in one another. Together, they run away from home and straight into the adventure of their lives - vowing to turn the tables on their evil legacy.

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

My (Ever-Growing) Graphic Novel Collection AKA You're NEVER Too Old!
25 Currently Running Comic Book to TPB Series Worth Reading
My Seventh Graders' Favorite Books
Comic fan on you x-mas list?
GLBT Comics

joy

The Theater Experience Tenth Edition
Things Fall Apart: A Novel
The Joy Luck Club
The Sound and the Fury
The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, One Volume, Expanded ...

search for books
runaways vol, joy, pride, runaways

Impressum / about us