4 issue test #43 - Runaways

We’re going for something a little different this time, Runaways was not a traditional superhero story, it was the tale of a bunch of young children, banding together to keep themselves from becoming like their supervillain parents. Some had powers, some didn’t but over time they became more than friends.

I’m paraphrasing a little, I never read the original Runaways but I was intrigued enough to pick it up when it started coming out. On writing duties for the relaunched title we have Rainbow Rowell, a well acclaimed author of young adult fiction… that I’ve never read. What I do know is this is her first time writing a comic. Kris Anka is on art duties, and he has somewhat more experience in Marvel, starting with X-men and even recently doing art for Captain Marvel. Matthew Wilson is handling colouring and he’s got some serious credit in the industry, with Star Wars, The Mighty Thor and Captain America in his crosshairs at Marvel currently.

I don’t know anything about the characters or their history, and I’ve yet to see the show on Fox so let’s see what kind of first impression this comic leaves.

#1 opens with Nico Minoru, a powerful sorceress trying to light her gas hob but failing, she remembers her past, as part of the Runaways and then as a team with Captain Marvel, She Hulk and Medusa? But that part of her life is over, she has nowhere to go. A fellow runaway named Chase arrives with the body of another, Gert, she has a knife in her and isn’t long for this world if they don’t act.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple for Nico, first any spell requires blood so she cuts her leg. She summons her staff that allows her to cast spells, but she can never cast the same ones twice, so a simple healing spell is out. She summons a doctor to help tend to her and then helps deal with her blood loss. She provides the Doctor x-ray glasses so she can see the internal damage. Nico is also not entirely aware of what any spell she casts does, so everything is a complete guess.

The doctor rules out the knife in being in any of her major organs but there’s so much blood she can’t see, and she’s not a surgeon, she’s a podiatrist, she studies feet. Nico tries to help but ends up casting a spell she’d already done and it rains. With some encouragement from Xhase they find that the knife has penetrated her aorta, they remove the blade but she doesn’t have a spell to fix it, so she ends up replacing it entirely. Nico manages to drain the excess blood but she needs stitches, Nico doesn’t have a spell for it and a hospital would spell a lot of complications. She sends the Doctor away, she wakes up in bed with her girlfriend, still wearing the x-ray goggles. They manage to close the wound but she’s still unconscious. They try and communicate with her using a oujie board and... well that was 5 panels wasted.

So, about Gert being here, apparently Chase had used some time travel tech to try and rescue Gert from being killed, but he arrived too late, only able to grab her body and heal it. They were in a fire and Old Lace, the dinosaur Gert used to control but the control was handed to Chase, was about to drag Gert out but Chase convinced him to carry out his younger self and let him deal with Gert. We see that the spells have worked and Gert is alive but a cat with purple glowing eyes is watching, reporting to someone else via cat telepathy I guess.

#2 opens with events from Gert’s perspective. She’s taken the knife, she’s dying in a fire and suddenly she’s awake and alive, and demanding an explanation from Chase. It’s been 2 years since her supposed death. Gert wants to head back to wherever they hide out, and they take her to what looks to be a mansion, the guest house was knocked down but the mansion has been upgraded, even got wi-fi now. Gert wonders where everyone else is.

I don’t particularly care to explain the events of Avengers Arena, that story that wanted to cash in on the Hunger Games that I never read because I couldn’t be bothered. Thankfully they gloss over it anyway. When they returned home, Nico decided not to return to the team, Xavin had gone to space, Kevin got an offer from the Avengers and Kiara ended up in foster care. Gert doesn’t even know who Kiara is, then Molly’s grandmother showed up, Molly trusted her enough. Karolina then left and Chase was alone.

Gert is upset, she thought they were a family. Chase argues it was her who helped bind the team, which Gert doesn’t agree with. Gert gets a reunion with Old Lace, at least they didn’t lose her. But she then finds out that Kevin died on an Avengers mission, they don’t know how he died, so they couldn’t do the same time-hopping trick they did to rescue her. Tony Stark sent Chase Kevin’s personal items after his death, but he didn’t have the heart to open them, until today. Inside he finds Kevin’s head

Meanwhile we see Molly playing football, sorry ‘soccer,’ she scores a goal and goes to see her gran as cats watch with glowing purple eyes.

Karolina Dean has managed to settle into college, with a therapist giving her tips to handle what’s she’s been through and how her parents were. But it kind of all comes to a head when the Nico, Chase, Gert and Old Lace arrive outside her dorm. They tell her what’s happened and want to get them back together but Karolina refuses, she’s happy where she is. Gert runs off, struggling to cope with the idea that they would do this. Chase runs after her with Old Lace following, leaving just Karolina and Nico.

Nico understands her position and is happy for her, but she’s begun to consider that she’s not happy, she’s still scared and frankly, she doesn’t have a better offer right now. She knows Karolina won’t come and leaves, Karolina having to repeat her mantras. Outside, Chase says he doesn’t think Victor’s dead, he is a robot after all. He reckons he might have a shot of fixing him. Gert starts crying, wondering what she’s gonna do if the Runaways aren’t even a thing. She’s still younger than the rest of them and with Chase, it’s hard to reconcile them as an item when the age difference is now even higher. Nico arrives and says they’ll go get Molly, see if she’s happy. In an annoying 2-page spread that needs to be turned on its side, it’s very much suggested that Victor is alive and hearing what they’re saying.

Meanwhile the doctor from the first issue is coming down the stairs to someone is shadows calling out for Molly.

#4 opens with Victor, for whatever reason, despite awakening in the last issue, he’s playing dead to the others as they head off to Molly. She’s happy as she eats an apple and provides another sample to her nurse grandmother and you might’ve put 2 and 2 together and realised who she is. At the very least though, she’s friendly, welcoming the rest of the team when they come. Maria hugs everone and they’re invited in for grilled cheese.

Chase brings out Victor’s head, but Molly’s grandmother is happy to help, she gives out her sandwiches but Gert says she doesn’t accept them from strangers. Well, long as you don’t mind starving. Molly shows them her room and Gert asks about them getting back together, Molly says she’s not leaving, she likes it here. Nico tries to console her but it doesn’t work, Nico consoles her feelings with one of the cats.

Victor may be able to hide from the others, but he didn’t hide from Molly, she saw him roll his eyes. She likes him, comparing him to a barbies which is equal parts disturbing and… no, just disturbing, I think. Victor says he’s playing dead because when everyone finds out he’s awake, he’ll have to start making his own choices. Gert is about to head into the van but Chase is off to radio shack to find parts. Molly’s gran takes a liking to Old Lace, offering cat-food which the dinosaur gladly excepts. She and Gert talk and that talk ultimately leads her to deciding to stay with them.

Having re-read all 4 issues I’ve come to the conclusion that I really like this book.

Bringing Gert back from the dead being the plot-line for the first issue is an interesting one, it gave us a bit of a chance to know Chase and Nico, since the plot-lines that followed in #2-4 would all revolve around Gert adjusting to her new life and what her team mates have moved onto. But at the same time, with only a couple of exceptions at this stage it allows them to reunite the entire team. Bringing in Gert’s parents’ time travel technology was a good choice to bring her back, and the mistake allows it have only a minimal impact on continuity.

Nico used to be the leader of the group, but like many great leaders, it wasn’t by choice and when things began to fall apart, I do understand her leaving the group. At the same time, the burdens of her life haven’t gone away, and I imagine experiences on Murder World didn’t help. That and she’s going through spells like wildfire if the first issue was anything to go by.

Chase is the tech head of the group. He’s the one who hod-rodded the technology to travel back in time to rescue Gert, who he’s clearly still in love with. I can tell it’s heart shattering for him when she tells him they can’t be an item any more thanks to the age gap, there’s no dialogue, it’s just how he acts and his expressions. He focuses instead on trying to fix Victor, but we’ll see in later issues how that turns out.

Gert’s character is really the centre of this arc, her being brought back from the dead as well as 2 years into the future forms some interesting character moments, as she discovers how everything has changed, people have moved on and/or died and things aren’t how they were in her view only days ago. I look forward to seeing how this turns out.

The art is also pretty good, but we’ve got 2 industry experts on art duties, I’d expect nothing less. Characters seemed on model, the backgrounds all looked colourful and they stand out nicely, the pencilling… I’m not much of a judge of art, all right? I only really mention art if there’s something blatantly wrong with it.

#1 8/10

#2 8/10

#3 8/10

#4 8/10

Average 8/10

Runaways is, in my view, worth reading, and it could do with a few more readers, so don’t let it get cancelled, please?