It's no secret that I think Runaways are the BEST graphic novels out there. These two did not let me down. Seriously, if you haven't read this series - do it. I can't believe that I waited this long to read these last two.
Ok, so the major initial arc was all tied up (...was it?) in the big, glossy, pretty Vol. 1 compilation, and now we have the manga-sized poorly-bound, but who cares 'cause, yay! there's more, stories! The big challenge here was whether Brian K. Vaughn could start a whole new, equally compelling storyline. Yeah. He could.
Our heros have again run away. This time not from their nefarious out-of-the-picture supervillian parents, but from the foster care Captain America left them at the end of the last. They have taken it upon themselves to battle the encroaching criminals (mutant and otherwise) taking advantage of the vacuum left by the absence of The Pride (the evil parents for those of you who STILL aren't in the loop. And yes, I'm nagging). Getting in their way are some former teen superheros who want the kids to have the childhood they scorned. I'm not versed enough in the Marvel Universe to know about these new guys, but I'm guessing that they've back stories somewhere else. Anyway, they are fairly inept (to comic results) when it comes to catching our wily teens, but the well-meaning bunglers (who call themselves Excelsior) have a mysterious benefactor... Not only do the runaways have to constantly elude Excelsior, in a shocking event Gert appears from the future with a dire message...and that's Volume 4: True Believers.
Volume 5: Escape to New York. The slightly disturbing superhero Cloak (whom we've met before) calls on the Runaways to help him out back in NYC. He's been framed for the assault of his partner Dagger (get it?). All the superheros are out to track him down, and that makes proving his innocence difficult. He hopes the kids will be able to maneuver unseen. Cameos by Wolverine, Iron Man (who will apparently be played by Robert Downing, Jr. in the Iron Man movie, which I guess is old news I knew nothing about. But then, I've never heard of Iron Man, so...), Captain America (is it just me, or is CA rather annoying? We learned in the last volume that he has bad breath.) and best of all, Spider-Man. Very fun! There was a guest artist for the first two eps. of this volume. I didn't have any problem recognizing anything, but there was definately a change in feel for me. The edge rather came off; I think that some of what makes this series unique disappeared. But it's probably just me.
Marvel says that Vol. 6: Parental Guidance will be "in stores" on the 25th, but I don't see it on Amazon, B&N or iPage, so here's hoping. Maybe I should just start getting a hold of the actual comics...especially since the future brings Joss, remember?
2 comments:
I know nothing about the books, but Meg & I have started Funny Farm...Dan said it was addicting and I should have known better than to start it...
If you want backstories on other Marvel heroes, a good place to check is the marvel directory.
They don't have everybody (particularly newer people) but what they have is surprisingly in-depth.
Okay, this was a pretty geeky post, but I used to collect comics back in the day, and I was a particular fan of Marvel (at least until Image hit the scene, towards the end of my tenure as a comic collector)
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