Comic Info
Comic Name: Runaways (Volume 1)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Adrian Alphona
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2005
Runaways (1) #3
Reprints Runaways (1) #1-6 (July 2003-November 2003). Alex, Karolina, Gert, Chase, Molly, and Nico think their parents are strange…every year they gather and the kids are forced to hang out. When the kids witness their parents sacrifice a girl, they learn that their parents are all members of a villainous group called the Pride and set out to stop them. The Pride has ties all over the country, and the kids are on the run. Now, each of the children is learning that they have gifts like their parents and that they must learn to use them if they want to stop the Pride.
Written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Adrian Alphona, Runaways Volume 1: Pride & Joy collects the first run of the series. It was released as part of Marvel’s Tsunami line (which included Human Torch, New Mutants, Sentinel, Venom, Inhumans, Sentinel, Namor, Emma Frost, and Mystique (also by Vaughan) and meant to appeal to more manga based readers.
Runaways kicks off strong under Brian K. Vaughan. Vaughan was already writing Y: The Last Man at this point and considered a pretty hot writer. The series has a Buffy the Vampire feel and makes tons of pop culture references (it does even reference Whedon and Buffy in other volumes, which is ironic because Whedon did end up writing Runaways 8: Dead End Kids).
Runaways (1) #4
Vaughan does a good job making likeable main characters. All the characters in this series are new and without any cameos by “real” superheroes (Captain America gets name checked when the characters aren’t able to reach the Avengers), and Vaughan isn’t able (and probably didn’t want to) rely on the Wolverine appearance to boost sales. The kids sometimes come off as a bit bratty…but I always enjoyed Power Pack so this is nothing compared to the Powers kids.
Adrian Alphona does a nice job with the art. He really does push the “manga” style with the character designs. He also has a bit of Terry Moore look and ended up working with on Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. It is often a bit simple, but it works with the characters.
Runaways is a fun series. If you are a fan of Brian K. Vaughan however, you might be a bit disappointed by it. Runaways doesn’t push the boundaries like Saga or even Y: The Last Man which are both aimed at adults. I almost wish that Runaways had been an “adult” comic starring kids to see where he would have gone with it (maybe a toned down version of Veitch’s Bratpack), but I can also appreciate a solid team book for a younger audience. Runaways Volume 1: Pride & Joy ends on a bit of cliffhanger and is followed by Runaways Volume 2: Teenage Wasteland.
Related Links:
Runaways Volume 2: Teenage Wasteland
Runaways Voume 3: The Good Die Young
Runaways Volume 4: True Believers
Runaways Volume 5: Escape to New York
