ANIL RICKLY here folks...CBM's own comic freak - indie, DC and MARVEL...hell...once it rocks, I will read...if it doesn't...I'll still gander in-depth...
Coming at you today folks...on hot news that Marvel's Runaways may be pressing forth...and with the Twilight craze coming abound, I'd like to provide some insight into this teen angst and coming of age book, created by writer Brian K. Vaughn and Adrian Alphona on the lovely pencils. And if you guys want to see some of the best cover art in the universe...these covers by Jo Chen are so gorgeous...it ain't funny.
Today, I'm going over RUNAWAYS volume 1...as this book is an underground cult fave but not that popular...so I'm trying to convert followers to this book...as it is really a brilliant read...and one we can all relate to as teenagers at some point...
From top left, we go clockwise -
a)The lovely young 16 year-old blonde is Karolina Dean (Ash Tisdale maybe?)...and her parents seem from the ET plane, and her powers boast flight, concussive blasts and force fields, manipulating solar energy and emitting lasers...
CODENAME: Lucy in the Sky...she is a sensitive, caring lesbian...hell yeah!
b)The young African-American is 16...Alex Wilder (Methinks Tahj Mowry)...an amazing logistic strategist as he, and his parents, have no superpowers...the leader of the group and care-taker...with no CODENAME
c)We now have 17 year old Chase Stein (I see Hunter Parrish), who is the team's Johnny Storm, in many ways...a loose cannon and hothead, he is a great polit/mechanic as he inherited these skills from his genius inventor parents and engineers. He is always vigilant and non-trusting of outsiders...
d)We now have 15 year old Gertie Yorkes (Maybe Allie Grant), has parents who love time-travel and with her gift of a telepathically linked Dinosaur, in the pic background, lovely named 'Old Lace'...Gert is a ball-buster and is eerily philospohical...
CODENAME: Arsenic
e)Onto Molly Hayes, an 11 year old mutant with superhuman strength and durability (Adair Tishler)...innocent brute who lights this book up pleasantly...
CODENAME: Princess Powerful or BRUISER
f)Finally, Nico Morinaru is 16 (Brenda Song)...and has the ability to cast magical spells with her Staff of One...
CODENAME: Sister Grimm
Plot -
This group of teens discover a dark secret...their parents are a team of Supervillains...called 'The Pride', and when the premise of an innocent young sacrifice sends them into chaos...they seek to bring their villainous parents to justice...and hope to redeem their family names...while trying to survive. Sounds cliched? Not really...sounds a whole lotta fun...and as the team embarks to find what made their parents villains, why they went the dark path...and how to stop them...well we get a whole lotta twists and turns.
There are lovely romantic subplots, and the kids hustle from hideout to hideout...seeking their own misled youths, and this itself doesnt play out well...as they encounter some hungry kids along the way...but their parents own LA and so cops and robbers galore are after them...
They navigate the catacombs of the corrupt city while decoding their parents' checkered pasts...linked to an ancient sect that have apocalypse and such in mind...and we see that perspective, loyalty and love for one's family...makes or breaks you? This volume shows that 'What's right and what's wrong' maybe a thin line walked...called Perspective...
On this journey, we see them discover their own natures and powers...as well as what makes their parents tick...and why they became villains?
The endgame is magnificent...and Brian Vaughn, who did well on 'THE HOOD' and saw him break into Marvel Mainstream, makes these kids rock on several levels and they jump from tree to tree...and along the way...some familiar heroes...and not so familiar ones...pop up!
Their interactions, care and love for one another...and the fact that they now have to be a family, whether they like it or not, makes a giddy gaudy read...but one thing for sure...all chips are always stacked against them...and they don't win their battles...they survive them...and what else is their to do? They do what they do best...Friends, rest assured...they are the best at what they do...and what they do best...is RUNAWAY!!!
The climax is one that reeks of 'WTF...HELL NO!!!' and keeps you glued to the pages...non-stop therapy, thrills and excitements...and laughs...this book takes us on a rollercoaster ride...and this is just VOLUME 1...if you think you had it crappy as a teen...you aint seen nuthing yet!!!
This Book...ooohhhh yeahhhh....it's good folks...GETS A SWEET 9/10...
AND IF A MAD-NUTS CRITICAL PANNER OF DC AND MARVEL COMICS BREAKS HIS STRINGENT VIEWS TO TELL YOU THIS BOOK ROCKS, HEED ME PLEASE...AND CHECK IT OUT...SO WE CAN VOICE OUR OPINIONS...AND THE SMALL GLIMMER OF HOPE THAT THEY LISTEN TO US FANS WHEN MAKING THE MOVIE...CAN SHINE BRIGHTER THAN EVER!!!
Stay tuned soon...VOLUME 2 REVIEW SOON!!!!
Love, Peace...and TnA...ex Anil Rickly