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Underground > Comic Books >

Runaways

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I'm Rick Jones, bitch

14:18 / 27.04.05

Is anyone else reading this? So far in volume #2 we've had teenaged kids kicking the shit out of the Wrecking Crew, a support group for former teen heroes meeting in the Phil Urich Green Goblin's cousin's garage, a DoFP-type thing with Hisako from AXM leading the X-Men and some of the snappiest teen dialouge in comics today.

In issue #3: someone makes a styper joke, nobody recognises the guy from Swingers, Darkhawk and Turbo from the New Warriors have a lovers tiff and the lesbian chick from the Runaways hits on Julie Powers.

Best damn book on the market, bar none. BKV has a better grip on kids than Morrison could ever hope for and the plot leaves AXM in the dirt. If you aren't reading this, you really should be.

11:27 / 28.04.05

I got issues two and three, but couldn't find one, and then missed four and five, and some part of me thought, I'll wait for trades, and then another part of me thought, you'll not be buying any more trades for a while, pal!

Is it really that good? It seemed okay for the couple of issues I read.

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

11:42 / 28.04.05

It's really really that good.

ONLY NICE THINGS

11:52 / 28.04.05

I'm warming to Brian K Vaughan... will have a look for this. Is he another novelist-turned-comics-writer?

I'm Rick Jones, bitch

12:31 / 28.04.05

Comics writer all the way, from what I gather.

14:28 / 28.04.05

I'm warming to Brian K Vaughan

this is his best book, IMHO. i've been thoroughly underwhelmed by what i've read of Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man, but this is the bee's knees (though i wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best on the market).

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

10:47 / 30.04.05

I'm liking the fact that he was able to find something new with the series, after having to bring it to a conclusion with the previous run. It was one of the few comics that had a clear conclusion, but has found a new direction to go without losing sight of why it's worth reading.

My only problem with the current series is that he's got too many characters running about, and we're not getting the character development of the title team as much as we are "Excelsior". Still, the fact that he's made a bunch of second string Marvel characters in that team interesting is allowing me to set that aside for now.

I'm Rick Jones, bitch

11:37 / 30.04.05

We are only 3 issues into the first arc.

I think BKV's trying to push the future of the Marvel U here - he's created a great team of wholy original characters, now he's going back and handpicking some of the best discarded Marvel Superheroes from the 80s and the 90s. I think I know how he's working with this one, and I think it's just great. Because honestly, when they're launchig angsty teen girl Warewolf by Night there is something VERY wrong at the house of "ideas". They aren't considering this one for the 7-11 program, are they? Bastards.

22:00 / 27.08.05

Okay. So stopping by Green Brain, my local church, I noticed that RUNAWAYS v1 was made into hardcover. This struck me as odd: I'd read this thread ages ago, and while thought it might bear picking up, I was sure it would be strictly for the softcover trades. So I bought it.

Wow. REALLY surprised. Love the whole neglected-by-superheroes West Coast thinking, and the broad subtleties that the villians take to ensure that. Speaking of villains, the parents feel really old. Like comic characters from a more generic generation... which I feel is intentional.

All in all, wonderfully NEW.

Is v2 good? How long til collected?

madfigs #32, now with wasabi

04:31 / 28.08.05

v2 is just as good (better?) than v1. There have been a lot of clever one-liners, and the last three issues have had excellent endings, especially #6! This is usually the first book I want to read the week it comes out.

The first story arc conveniently ended in issue 6, so expect another manga-sized digest to be out within the next couple months. If you still pick up monthlies, though, Runaways is actually worth getting. It's one of the few titles I read that doesn't seem to be written for the trades.

19:02 / 29.08.05

Maybe we should change the title of the thread to just "Runaways"?

EW just put this book on its Must List this week.

ONLY NICE THINGS

21:05 / 29.08.05

I enjoyed the conclusion of the arc, although we have, I think, two problems - the bait and switch with Doom took too long, and Darkhawk sucks. Otherwise, still enjoying it a lot - it's good superhero stuff, although the presence of Excelsior does mean that continuity has been shoved into it when I really liked the comparative freshness of the characters.

22:32 / 30.08.05

Okay, I need some assistance here - this is the kids with supervillain parents comic, right? I've got copies of the first eighteen issues, starting back in 2003, and have read most of the first origin-story arc, and it's not great. Very little emotional realism in the characters. Has this title been rejigged of late?

m.

22:40 / 30.08.05

Let me add:

All in all, wonderfully NEW...

for Marvel publishing, without using the word "new".

13:13 / 31.08.05

Rejigged as far as restarted at #1, yes.

I suppose if you didn't like the first 18 issues you won't like the rest.

22:45 / 31.08.05

Okay, got it. No, it's not doing it for me. There are some nice ideas in there, but it's not managing to carry it off as a story with any emotional truth, for mine. The supervillain parents are waaay too quick to decide to off their own kiddies, and too unified in their decision to do so, and on the flipside, the kiddies are a bit too quick to go all hero on their parents' badguy arses. The plot of this comic has been allowed to override any other storytelling considerations, such as characterisation. And some of the dialogue is clunky as all get to fuck, which always bothers me.

I did like the Cloak & Dagger two-parter, but mainly just for the art - all the wink-wink B-list jokes were kind of gratuitous.

m.

01:54 / 01.09.05

Well, everyone's mileage varies on comics but I have to say that the speed at which the parents decide to off their kids, and the speed at which the kids decide to go after their parents, was what I liked about this title for two reasons.

The first reason is that, well, don't most sullen and irritable teenagers hate their parents anyways? And aren't the parents supervillians? I mean, these aren't parents of the year, they're slimy, disgusting aliens, arch-fiends, and criminals. For me, this rang true, or at least true enough not to have it get in the way of enjoying the story.

The second reason, and one that really made me love this comic, is: who cares? I can't stand it in a movie or book where you know someone's going to do something anyways, but the author has to have pages and pages of angst just to sell you on the "emotional truth" of the moment. Most people make important decisions pretty quickly, and agonize forever over the unimportant ones (should I run this red light? Yes? No? Okay. vs. Should I call that date back, I mean gee, it was a lot of fun, but am I calling too soon -- in one situation you make a phone call, in the other you break the law and risk death and injury, but one takes a fraction of a second and the other takes hours...days, even). But more importantly: I've read books before. I've seen movies. Here at the start of the 21st century I think most folks are pretty familiar with the conventions of story-telling and so the sooner the conventions are dispensed with the happier I am.

I was actually pleasantly surprised, and happy not to have to read a bunch of rubbishy angst, that BKV dispensed with the hair-pulling in RUNAWAYS. (Aw, gee, they're our parents...) and just cut ot the chase, which is what I pay my money for, anyways.

05:11 / 01.09.05

I don't understand this idea that if you're familiar with what makes a good story, then you don't need to bother with it. That's what I was talking about, rather than some idea that there was a set of steps that had to be followed because they are the rules.

My problem with the reactions of both the antagonists and the protagonists is not merely that they were quick, but that they were pat, and fit neatly into a good us vs. them paradigm (and yes, I know there's betrayal from within both sides, but that's not enough to answer what I'm looking for here), which fits perfectly into the mold of a generic superhero book.

When I talked about plot being priveliged over character, what I meant was that this series has a lot of "and the next step is for B to say 'blah' or do 'yadda' and so they do, whether or not it seems likely or reasonable for that person to do or say such a thing.

As for teenagers always wanting to do in their parents, we didn't see that side of it, really. Our runaways are being put forward as the ones who do the right thing, as opposed to their parents, who are the ones who do the wrong thing. My question is - from where did these kids learn to do the right thing, or even what the right thing is? They've got a hell of a lot of altruism going for them for six teenagers who were raised by supervillains, even if the supervillains were pretending to be all apple pie, because don't you think that the mask would slip maybe just once or twice in fifteen years?

What I would have liked to see would have been more tension from within the ranks of the runaways from the get-go. At least one of them refusing to go along with the plan of stopping mom & dad, or maybe even deciding "cool, supervillains! let's wreck shit!"

m.

11:42 / 01.09.05

Hey, I get what you're saying, and we obviously just differ and neither of us are correct, but I'm happy to bang this around a little more.

First off, you're right when you say that at least one of the kids should resist this kind of "Let's be superheroes!" thing. In fact, Brian K. Vaughn agrees with you and one of the kids does go along, due to peer pressure, while all along planning to do in the whole superhero idea.

Also, I still think that the kids are more motivated by "wow! cool! I hate my parents" rather than any kind of genuine altruism. Let's face it: at least when I was a teenager I would have done anything to shaft my parents, and if I had been able to become a celebrity on top of that? Done! What kid would turn his/her nose up at this opportunity?

I've only read the first two volumes (in digest format - thank god! the format of the gods!) but so far the kids have some good instincts, but they mostly seem to treat the whole experience as a way to get back at their parents and a way to act out in real life the power fantasies they had all along. Although we don't spend too much time with the kids before the plot kicks in, it's pretty clear that one's a computer game junkie (and he likes superheroe games), one thinks she can save the world through public protest, one's a goth, and one is a sports-head. If those aren't a bunch of kids who are ripe to start playing superhero, I don't know who is. I mean, they're living out power fantasies already but they have no power.

12:57 / 01.09.05

I've found Runaways to be really fun, well-told, fresh superhero entertainment. I don't think it's absolutely riveting or brilliant, but what it is a solid fun book. And given how hard it is to create new characters that really work/are engaging and interesting in the superhero world, I think BKV has come up with some good stuff here.

That said, the lastest issue features Swarm (the villain from the 80s Sat. morning "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends" cartoon). Hilarious. Although the art looks a bit rushed in the guest-art by the guy who draws the Mary Jane comic, I think (whose art was always great on SIDEKICKS, his indie comic, but whose Marvel art always looks rushed - maybe it's the inks? or maybe it's just actually rushed?)

16:52 / 27.01.06

Runaways news from Comics Continuum:

>> * Marvel Comics' The Runaways Vol. #1 HC, collecting all of the issues #1-18 of the series' first volume, has made the Top Ten list for Best Books for Young Adults for 2006, as named by the American Library Association. Runaways is the only graphic novel to make the list.

Marvel is offering a new X-Men/Runaways story as part of Free Comic Book Day offering.

Matthew Fluxington

18:48 / 28.01.06

I don't think it's absolutely riveting or brilliant,

Yes, but this is where you'd be very wrong. As far as I am concerned, this comic is really in the highest percentile of mainstream comics from the past 30 years, and it's really tragic that so few people seem to notice or care.

Regrettable Juvenilia

20:12 / 28.01.06

"I call this move the Spider-Roll! Geddit? Little sushi humour for you there folks!"

Why won't they give Brian K Vaughn a job on a Spider-Man title full time? Oh, right, because Spidey is all about SADFACED ANGST and THE SPIDER SPIRIT INSIDE, zzzzzzz.

Phex: Dorset Doom

20:52 / 28.01.06

I would also like to register my love for Runaways. The recent Spidey appearence was, like Mr. Shaftoe says, a welcome change from the recent stuff (I haven't read any Spiderbooks since I was a kid, I considered picking it up recently until I read, on this forum I believe, about Spiderman biting a guy's head off and Aunt Mae going to Latveria in Iron Man armor.) Apart from the brilliant dialogue all round there was the part where they see Spidey as just another member of the adult superhero establishment, oh, and the set-up for Molly aka Bruiser aka Princess Powerful kicking the crap out of Wolverine. Then having a nap.
Runaways is the saturday morning cartoon nobody has the balls to make. It's really wonderful stuff and if you haven't got it yet then, um, you should. If you have some spare cash or something. (Clearly I haven't picked up BKV's gift for dialogue).

21:12 / 28.01.06

Well, I personally wouldn't call people whose comic book opinions I disagree with "wrong," but that's just me. And hey, I thought it was tragic that Kyle Baker's Plastic Man didn't get the love I thought it deserved. However, I do give Runaways a lot of praise and have bought it since the restart (I got a few scattered issues of Vol. I).

Am I the only one who finds BKV's Runaways a bit influenced by Joss Whedon's TV shows, specifically the style of some of his dialogue, his one-liners, etc.? (And I like Joss Whedon's writing, his comics and TV shows) It could be just me that sees this apparent influence, and the influence may not actually be there at all if one were to ask BKV if he's a Whedon fan...

Fly Peco nails it, BKV would write a terrific Spider-Man monthly.

P. Horus Rhacoid

21:41 / 28.01.06

Am I the only one who finds BKV's Runaways a bit influenced by Joss Whedon's TV shows, specifically the style of some of his dialogue, his one-liners, etc.

BKV does drop a Buffy reference in volume 1, so it seems likely.

Speaking of which, though- has he calmed down with the pop culture references at all? I enjoyed Vol. 1- enjoyed it quite a bit- but it was undermined to a large extent by the fact that he felt the need to namedrop pop culture on practically every page, in a particularly ham-fisted way. It was incredibly distracting- basically it seemed like he was trying too hard. "Look at me, I'm cool because I like The Prisoner!" I think Vaughn's a good writer but he has a few tics like that which really annoy me.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

02:42 / 26.04.06

Bump!

Is anybody reading this in single issues? How often do these wonderous manga-sized trades come out, because I'm half-way through "Escape to New York" and I want more. More!

It has its tics, but they loosen up a bit as the story progresses. I'm worried about the duplication of efforts occuring between Runaways and Young Avengers, and I hope they distinguish themselves a bit more in the future, although that'll become more apparent in the Civil War stories, I suppose.

Incidentally, Vision 2.0 and Victor Mancha...the Sons of Ultron? I'm really hoping they do something with that.

I like the use of Cloak and Dagger in this second encounter with the Runaways, mostly because they don't use the B-list jokes as much and the runaway element of the Cloak and Dagger mixes well - the Runaways have another legacy, in a way, with characters like C&D - and they're not bound to the Reagan-era War on Drugs mentality.

23:09 / 19.05.06

I'm reading it in single issues. And GASP...someone dies soon! In a few issues or so.

08:54 / 20.05.06

On a whim, I recently bought the first digest of this. And then had to hunt for a week to find #2, and then had such trouble finding #3 that I bought 3,4,& 5 the next place I saw them.

Wonderful reads, full of life and largely devoid of so much baggage and bullshit. Really refreshing, I recommend them to anyone who has ever enjoyed a comic book.

I, for one, don't want to read them in issues, or in big stuffy hardcovers. I love the portable, disposable digest size.

18:44 / 07.06.06

I have all the latest issues but am dreadfully behind on all my comic book reading...did someone DIE!!!!! yet?

( I guess SPOILERS if someone answers this titanic inquiry )

07:41 / 25.07.06

Well, FW, they did now. =(

Runaways #18 came out last week, but I didn't get a chance to pick it up until today. As promised, a member of the team did, in fact, die.

Is anyone out there still reading this? I want to commisserate.

Phex: Dorset Doom

08:02 / 25.07.06

Yep, I'm still reading and always will be.
Let's pour a forty on the kerb to remember....

(What if you found out your parents were SPOILERS?)

Gertrude Stein (2003-2006)- daughter of time travellers, future leader of the Avengers (unlikely), now setting her telepathic dinosaur on angels.

08:31 / 25.07.06

Actually, that's the feminist. Gert's last name was Yorkes. Chase's last name remains Stein.

Was Future Gert named Gertrude Stein? Hmm.

ONLY NICE THINGS

09:28 / 25.07.06

I'm still reading it, and still enjoying it, although I feel that more could have been done with Alex's father as a villain - by making him older than the Runaways but too young to be any real signifier of the father figure, I think an opportunity was lost. Also, there's a problem putting together an emotional connection here - Alex is pretty much ipso facto not one of the Runaways, and his father at that age lacks an emotional connection as well, to teenaged Alex or to the Runaways.

So, that was a bit of a problem for me. And I'm mildly hacked off that they have now given Chase a superpower, or if you'd rather a tame dinosaur, but either way.

Most, importantly, however.... Gert! Tiny clever Gert! It's been a bit annoying watching her getting sidelined as Chase's boyfriend, for want of aything better to do, and I have... issues with a burgeoning Nico/Chase drama. It was a nice change to have, even briefly, a relatively angst-free relationship, as it was to have a properly geeky heroine. So, I felt this storyline was a bit of a detour, and I feel trepidation that we'll go into melodrama rather than soapy teen fun from here. We'll see, though... I've still been impressed by the writing, and Victor's gamer smackdown was great.

Phex: Dorset Doom

09:54 / 25.07.06

Actually, that's the feminist. Gert's last name was Yorkes. Chase's last name remains Stein.

Funny how my brain works sometimes. Funny in that 'some things are so tragic you can only laugh at them' way/

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