Comic Review – “Runaways Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland”

The second collection of the series in its digest
form is reviewed here.

General Information

Title: Runaways Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland

Author: Brian K. Vaughan

Illustrator(s): Issues 7-10: Adrian Alphona on
pencils, Craig Yeung on inks. Issues 11 and 12:
Takeshi Miyazawa on pencils, David Newbold on inks.
All issues: UDON’s Christina Strain with Brian Reber
on colours.

Original Publication Date: These issues first
published in 2003 and 2004.

ISBN: 0-7851-1415-7

Cover Price: $7.99 US, $12.75 Can

Buy from: Amazon.com
or Amazon.ca

Past comic reviews (including the review of the first
six issues) can be found here.

Premise

The story of six teens who discover their parents are
supervillains continues. This collects issues 7-12
of the first run of the title, in which the Runaways
take in another troubled teen before they meet with
Cloak and Dagger.

High Point

“You know, it says a lot about my life that this
isn’t the strangest thing I’ve ever
seen.”

Low Point

Off-panel conversation while there is nothing at all
of interest in the panel that was drawn. This
happens twice in the last issue.

The Scores

This series still feels original. Even the
requisite guest shot from more prominent heroes uses
the most appropriate heroes (Cloak and Dagger were
runaways) rather than the most marketable heroes.
The motivations and decisions, as well as the
problems (food, gas, etc.) are a lot more tangible
and plausible than some others would come across. I
give it 5 out of 6.

Alphona’s artwork is great, depicting events
clearly and defining a very distinctive look for the
series. Miyazawa’s work is not quite as good.
There’s a much stronger anime feel to his stuff,
including some of the exaggerated facial expressions
from anime and manga, as well as the instances listed
as the Low Point. Sadly, I do not enjoy the manga
style, as the exaggerations strike me as if they’re
aiming for a young target audience. I give it 4 out
of 6.

The story continues to be well written. As
mentioned above, these characters face all the
problems teenage runaways would face on top of the
problems superheroes face when they’re first starting
out. I give it 5 out of 6.

The characterization is very clear, and very
fresh. The defeat of the first main villain in this
set is a shining example of how different this title
really is. The characters are at the core of the
entire story. I give it 6 out of 6.

The emotional response is great. These
characters and stories differ significantly from most
of the titles on the market. It’s fun and fresh. I
give it 6 out of 6.

The flow is great in the first four issues.
Everything moves smoothly from scene to scene and
issue to issue. In the last two issues, we get a
change to an artist who seems just as comfortable
drawing the characters as drawing apartment buildings
and empty streets instead of the characters who are
talking at the time. I give it 4 out of 6.

Overall, despite the artistic glitches at
the end of the set, it’s a strong package that’s
highly recommended, particularly at the price of the
Marvel digests. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Runaways Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland
receives 35 out of 42.

One reply

  1. agreed on all parts…
    one thing to note, volume 2 is nearly impossible to find. i’m not sure why this is. comic shops seem to have a hard time getting them in, it doesn’t show up on amazon except as a hardcover or used. so you’ll have to ask your shop to order it and hold it for you or just get lucky like i did.

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