Runaways, Vol. 1 by Brian K. VaughanMy review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
I always knew I'd like comic books (I really enjoy serialized entertainment; it's why I prefer TV to movies: the long story arcs, the fully developed characters, etc), but I have been hesitant to try them because comic book communities seem so daunting and insular. X-Men has always been a comic series that intrigued me, but at this point there are like six million issues. How do I know where to start? But, with this comic book being so recent and so handily packaged in bound volumes and being available to me without necessitating a visit to a comic book store (also daunting and insular) and so well-loved by and then written by Joss Whedon, I had to try it. And I loved it.
Runaways is the story of six kids who find out that their parents are super-villains (although, as is always the case with truly interesting villains, you might decide they aren't so evil after all; my opinion? Oh, yeah, they're definitely villains.). After witnessing their parents committing a pretty heinous act, Alex, Nico, Gertrude, Molly, Chase, and Karolina decide to run away from their parents and then take them down. Along the way, they discover various super powers of their own and action, adventure, comedy, and romance ensue.
Runaways, however, is more than a superhero story and it's more than a good versus evil story. It's a story about being a teenager, about family, about loyalty, about friendship. It just happens to be set against a fantastical backdrop. Karolina, for example, on discovering a secret about her own identity has a very normal reaction: let's not tell anyone I'm a freak, okay? Molly, the youngest of the group, struggles with the idea that the people who love and care for her can at the same time be hateful and uncaring toward so many others. And her parents do sincerely love her. All of the parents love their children and like all parents they are just "trying to do what's best for them." Only the Pride (as the evildoing parents call themselves) aren't trying to get their kids to eat their vegetables. And this motley crew of teens (oh, come on, motley crew? I couldn't resist it!) has to defy authority in a way most teens don't even have to contemplate. This isn't staying out after curfew; this is ruining or maybe even ending your own parents' lives.
As you will probably see time and time again in my reviews, I'm a sucker for a good examination of parent-child relationships and this is a good one.
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