Runaways Review

Okay. You may or may not know it but for a while now Brian K. Vaughan has been a favourite comic scribe of mine. I first got introduced to Vaughan in his run on Y the Last Man (which is fantastic by the way). So needless to say I wanted to see what else he was up to.
Then I heard about Runaways. Well I heard about it late and only because Joss Whedon, writer and creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was taking over the project. So naturally with that news I was more then a little intrigued.
So what is Runaways exactly? Well basically the premise is this. Its a group of teens 17 and younger, they discover that their parents are evil and in fact crime lords. So naturally they run. Which is good, cause then the title would seem a little pointless.
Anyway the plot seems simple enough, but this book is so much more than a bunch of kids on the run from the law. Its humor, pop culture and well crafted story lines. When I read the final issue of the first hardcover where Rebel without a Cause was quoted, I think that's where it hooked me.
The second volume was just as entertaining. Even more so perhaps. A lot of the situation that Vaughan puts his characters in are typical "teen issues" but with a twist. The characters deal with sexuality, love, leadership and finding true family. Which when you think of it, is really kind of surprising given that this book was originally aimed at a younger audience.
The character of Molly Hayes may be one of the youngest Marvel characters that i can think of in recent memory. Aside from maybe Franklin Richards (~shudder~). However Molly is at least tolerable. In fact funny at times. In the third volume that starts by hearkening back to Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist you begin to understand why this character appeals to people.
I guess my favourite aspect of the book is the encounters with other Marvel characters and how its played up. Vaughan pulls out the obscure references with a couple of Cloak and Dagger appearances. Of course a few more of the main stagers show up as well. However even the heroes reinforce the theme that adults are not to be trusted.
Overall Brian's Run (pardon the awful pun) on this book was entertaining. Mr. Whedon's seems to be just as good so far. The one knock on this series would be the Art. It didn't really grasp me but then it was originally aimed at younger kids, so its at least understandable. The only other thing I could think of is, that it reminded me a lot of Buffy at times (which isnt really a knock).
At any rate this book is at least worth checking out. However, don't go in expecting Y the Last Man. There's no Monkeys here (so far).

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