Runaways Vol. 1: Find Your Way Home by Joe Caramagna, Kathleen Wisneski, Kris Anka, Matthew Wilson, Nick Lowe, Rainbow Rowell Published by Marvel on May 1st 2018
Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 136
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
GET READY TO RUN!
The "IT" book of the early 2000s with the original cast is back - Nico! Karolina! Molly! Chase! Old Lace! And, could it be? GERT?! The heart of the Runaways died years ago, but you won't believe how she returns! Superstar author Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor & Park, Carry On) makes her Marvel debut with fan-favorite artist Kris Anka (ALL-NEW X-MEN, CAPTAIN MARVEL) in the series that will shock you and break your heart! Did Chase and Gert's love survive their time apart? Have Karolina and Nico's feelings made their friendship impossible? What emotional landmines lie in wait to DESTROY the Runaways?!
COLLECTING: RUNAWAYS 1-6
Lynn’s Review:
Graphic novels are not really my thing. I gave up on the first one I tried, but had better success with the Ms. Marvel volumes. But honestly, I cannot get into the whole non-linear-ness of the graphic novel. Trying to figure out which panel is next in sequence is very off-putting. But I was intrigued by Runaways, mainly because of Rainbow Rowell involvemnt. I’d read the phone book if she was writing it (and we still had phone books!).
Needless to say, going in, I knew absolutely nothing about this series except what I gleaned from the synopsis. They are teens. There’s a dinosaur (?!?). It’s in the Marvel Universe. That pretty much sums up what I knew. I will say I felt kind of lost at the beginning, not knowing the back story from the other volumes. But the back story is revealed throughout the novel. By the end, I understood most of what was going on.
I really enjoyed Mr. Anka’s drawings. (And yes, I did just realize he also drew the Ms. Marvel volumes. What can I say. I don’t really follow the whole graphic novel world!) I purchased the special edition that had cute variants and a couple pages of the characters in different fashions. Totes loved these pages!
But what really kept me reading was the emotional connections between the characters. I could really empathize with Chase’s decision to save Gert. Why Nico is on her own. Or why the band broke up in the first place. So great. And so typical the work of Ms. Rowell, drawing me in!
The back of the special volume had Ms. Rowell’s initial character descriptions and the breakdown of the first story. And I kind of wish that I’d read those first. Both helped clear up some questions I had. They were also a lot easier to follow with my lack of graphic novel reading skills.
I thoroughly enjoyed Runaways Vol. #1. And I’m ready for volume 2. If you like Rainbow Rowell novels, check this out! If you don’t like Rainbow Rowell, we can’t be friends. But you should check this out anyway!
