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By Brian K Vaughan, Adrian Alphona & Craig Yeung (Marvel)
ISBN: 0-7851-1684-2
The third chapter in the saga of six teens on the run from parents who have been revealed as an evil coalition of mutants, alien, sorcerers and super-criminals kicks the tale into high gear as the youngsters stop escaping and start attacking.
In a positive flurry of activity, the Runaways discover the reason behind their parents’ acts, find the traitor in their own midst, save the world and even clear the way for a sequel — should sales warrant –Â in the best manner of bubblegum drama. There’s even room for plenty of fighting and vast bunches of snogging.
I am a weary old man and it’s ever so easy to be disparaging about a new(-ish) genre-form tailored to the young, hormonal, middle-class and socially advantaged, be it comic books, TV, clothes or music. Yet I’m fairly sure that my unease with much of the fodder aimed at these consumers is the old one of lacklustre creativity rather than merely cynical commercialism.
Soap operas are generally considered to be the ass-end of drama everywhere, and yet can often transcend their base origins to produce work of outstanding quality, shattering depth and lasting worth. And more so in comics where we’ve had this very argument for decades over not just the content but even the very form of our medium. I think I’m still just waiting for it to happen.
Runaways – at least by the end of this book – comes very close. For something that’s a hybridisation of so many strands that’s actually not such a bad thing. I’d advise you to read them and decide for yourselves.
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