Runaways (v. 9): Dead Wrong

Collects: Runaways v. 3 #1-6 (2008-9)

Released: June 2009 (Marvel)

Format: pages / color / $15.99 / ISBN: 9780785129400

What is this?: The Runaways head back to LA and find a new set of adversaries waiting for them, while Chase has to find a job.

The culprits: Writer Terry Moore and penciler Humberto Ramos

When Joss Whedon took over for Brian K. Vaughn as Runaways writer, the choice was logical, and it worked out — Whedon was different, but he brought his own strengths to the title. When Terry Moore was chosen to succeed the glacially paced Whedon, the choice was also logical. But whatever Moore brought to Runaways, it sure as hell wasn’t his strengths.

Runaways: Dead Wrong is easily the weakest volume of the series so far. (Also: For those keeping count, this is the ninth volume. Just because Marvel stops counting doesn’t mean you have to.) In Dead Wrong, one of the Runaways, Karolina, finds the remnants of her race, the Majesdanians, waiting to deal out retribution for her parents’ betrayal of their race. This is not immediately evident because Moore takes a long time to remind the reader that Karolina is a member of the same race as these Majesdanians; the logic is also a bit opaque because despite being a logical, law-abiding race, the Majesdanians believe in the child being punished for the sin of the parent. Except when they don’t, at the end — because bloodthirsty remnants of a decimated race often have 180 degree changes of heart in the middle of fights.

But put that aside for a moment. Moore has the team acting out of character for most of the book. It’s intentional, or so we’re supposed to believe: a spell gone awry. Leaving alone for a moment that the spell that caused the problem for the Runaways had a completely different effect on their opponents, I believe making established characters act out of character is a bad choice for a writer in his first assignment on a new title. It doesn’t instill any confidence, and it certainly doesn’t get the writer into a rhythm with the new characters. But more importantly, the characters don’t feel right, and the characters are what make Runaways important.

There’s a lot that doesn’t feel right. The Runaways find one of their parents’ hidden safehouses, but they don’t think to search for a cache of money and supplies? What kind of criminal masterminds don’t have emergency cash lying around? Why does the house have, instead of normal-but-lethal safeguards that won’t attract much attention, big fuzzy automated demons that destroy all sorts of stuff and practically scream for attention? Given how concerned the neighbors turn out to be, that would be a problem. And why does Moore think I’ll be entertained by radio shock jock Val Rhymin? To get across the characterization, penciler Humberto Ramos draws him as a younger, cut-rate Howard Stern; it’s also painfully obvious he has mind-control powers that Chase is somehow immune to. (And if he’s really so popular, how did Chase get hired so easily by him?) And haven’t I seen the ending to Dead Wrong before? Oh, yes, I did — right here. Didn’t even have the courtesy to change the age range of the characters.

Lesson here, boys and girls, is that heroes will likely be stupid. But aliens will likely be even more dense, so it’s OK.

I enjoyed Ramos’s work with Paul Jenkins when they were teamed up on various Spider-titles; Ramos’s distorted, exaggerated style works with a character as kinetic as Spider-Man, combined with the lack of expressiveness of his mask. However, Ramos feels all wrong for Runaways. In large scenes, the action looks muddled and confused; in the opening fight with the Majesdanians, I had no idea what was going on half the time. Xavin’s frequent transformations meant I had trouble figuring out who he was supposed to be most of the time. When it came down to it, I rarely could tell the difference between Ramos’s Carolina and Chase — and they’re not even the same gender, just the same hair color. It’s just a big mess full of undifferentiated hipsterwear and unkempt hair.

I am a big fan of Runaways, but I’m not such a big fan that I’m going to try to push this fragrant flower on you. Give this a pass. I’d advise doing the same with the next Runaways trade — featuring the shocking secret of Val Rhymin! Gosh! How exciting! — but I’m a big enough of a glutton I might not be able to help myself. I don’t know if I’m going to justify spending some majority fraction of $15 for it, though.

Rating: (1 of 5)

Runaways, v. 8: Dead End Kids

Collects: Runaways (v. 2) #25-30 (2007-8)

Released: January (2009)

Format: 152 pages / color / $15.99 / ISBN: 9780785134596

What is this?: The young heroes find themselves transported back in time a century and struggle with the culture and villains to return home.

The culprits: Writer Joss Whedon and penciler Michael Ryan

When last we saw our heroes — almost two years ago for those who, like me, read the collected editions but are too cheap for the hardcover — Iron Man and his goons had just busted into their headquarters, saying some nonsense about registration.

This story doesn’t pick up from there. I have no idea how that played out. If you want those answers, go to Wikipedia. (And yes, I’m a little peeved Marvel offers no references. When you release stories in collected form, it doesn’t hurt to direct readers to previous efforts. If they think they’re missing a volume, they might stop reading the series altogether.)

Instead, Runaways, v. 8: Dead End Kids picks up with the kids in New York, about to strike a deal with the Kingpin for protection. He has them steal an object for a client, which causes them to run afoul of the Punisher, ninjas, and eventually the Kingpin himself … before things get even worse.

Writer Joss Whedon seems a perfect match for this title. Young, sassy protagonists, strong female characters, sexual identity and authority issues … yep, they’re all here. It doesn’t give Whedon the chance to cast Eliza Dushku or Nathan Fillion, but other than that, great fit. His customary style of dialogue fits perfectly with the characters, and the plot is fantastic: the kids go back in time a century and find out superpowered violence and gangs are not just a product of the post-war world. Whedon even manages to tie the time-travel plot into the characters’ back story, which is impressive and fun. In fact, I would like to see more of that early 20th century powered world, populated with “Wonders” such as the Swell and the Yellow Kid (yes, that Yellow Kid). The climax of the story seems to rule it out, though.

The dialogue and characters of 1907 New York are so enjoyable, as a matter of fact, that they conceal some severe weaknesses in the plot. The hinge on which the story swings — two non- or low-powered characters living for much more than a century — seems farfetched. Nico’s subplot, in which her powers are expanded, is improbable, and the plot isn’t given enough space to make it believable.

Whedon gets the characters, for the most part, which is always a concern when a new writer takes over for a series creator. Whedon also emphasizes that the past is a different country, showing the reader how they do things differently there — sweatshops, child brides, lower standards of sanitation. One relatively sympathetic character from the past, Klara, freaks out when she sees two female characters kiss.

Whedon’s style is not for everyone. It can be grating, even for someone who enjoys it. Do people really talk like that, all of the time? It’s hard to believe. Yet the humor and wit do win out over the dialogue’s implausibility. Sometimes the jokes are a little tired: making fun of the Kingpin by having him interrupt a serious monologue with a chocolate bar, for instance, or playing up the effects of Molly punching the Punisher a little too much. The 1907 Adjudicator is a superior parody of the Punisher, in any event. And for God’s sake, would it have killed Whedon to get the issues out on time? (It could have been the artist’s fault, I know. But his Astonishing X-Men had the same problems.)

I can’t really put a more definitive finger on what bothers me about Michael Ryan’s artwork; although I don’t like it, his style fits the title very well — modern, slightly manga, lean and glossy. On the other hand, sometimes his work is a little too manga for me to take seriously; for instance, he uses the comically oversized sweat beads on characters’ temples at moments of stress. And there are moments of art dodginess as well, as when the Kingpin displays a hand with five fingers but no thumb. However, I suppose I have to give Ryan tentative approval.

As a whole, Dead End Kids is a mixed bag — engaging plot, great characters, occasionally overindulgent, with plot holes that should have been caught and an art style I don’t quite appreciate. The delays work both for and against it — anticipation built to such a height can never be achieved, but readers are thankful to get something. But that missing reference to what the hell happened after Iron Man burst into their headquarters is what really sticks in my craw and keeps me from overlooking the story’s flaws and seeing an essentially enjoyable story.

Rating: (3 of 5)

December Marvel Solicits

Speaking of Marvel’s December solicitations, here are the books I’m thinking of getting, which means that these books will probably be reviewed on the site:

• The aforementioned Runaways, v. 8: Dead End Kids, although they don’t call it v. 8. How long has it been since v. 7? Forever? (Actually since April 2007. Somehow it took more than a year and a half to publish six issues.) I suppose getting Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog was worth some of that wait, but geez, Whedon — have you heard of a deadline, or is that something that only the other Marvel writers have to deal with?
• X-Factor, v. 5: The Only Game in Town. Peter David is doing quite well with this title, and I’m eager for another volume. My review of v. 4 is coming up in a few weeks. I’m a little peeved there seems to be no plan to reprint X-Factor #25-7 — or if there is, I don’t know what it is. [EDITED: I see now it’s part of the X-Men: Messiah CompleX TPB. I thought TPB was entirely made of backup stories, but I see now I was thinking of Endangered Species.] Once there was a time when it would have been unthinkable that I would have been so out of touch with the status quo of the X-Books, but now, there’s nothing strange about it at all.
• Amazing Spider-Girl, v. 4: Brand New May. I keep buying the TPBs from the Amazing Spider-Girl, but I can’t read them until I catch up on the original Spider Girl series, so there won’t be a review for quite a while. Marvel hasn’t published a digest in a year. They will have published three of Amazing TPBs in that time. From June 2006 to October 2007, they published four Spider-Girl digests. Don’t leave me hanging, Marvel!
• Powers, v. 12: The 25 Coolest Dead Superheroes of All Time. Another volume of Powers. I’m assuming this one will be published as scheduled; other collections from this series keep getting delayed because Oeming and Bendis can’t be bothered.

What about you readers out there in the Sub-Etha Network? What will you buy? Do you have recommendations for reviews? I can’t promise I’ll actually buy them, but I might find a way to get the books to review it (interlibrary loan is a wonderful tool).

Ooops (Part 1)

Review of Agents of Atlas coming later today, but here's something I came across while reading Marvel’s December solicitations. The entry for Runaways, v. 8: Dead End Kids includes this:

The kids start running in a different direction. Superstar JOSS WHEDON (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ASTONISHING X-MEN) and rising star MICHAEL RYAN (NEW EXCALIBUR, NEW X-MEN) take the Runaways to the Big Apple. While there, they make surprising allies and even more surprising enemies. This is the cannot-miss book of 2007!

The emphasis is mine, of course.

That makes it such a shame that this book is released in 2008. Also, ironic that the book itself missed 2007 entirely. But, hey! Excitement! By the time I get this book, it'll probably be two years past its prime!

(Crossposted from my personal blog Jenny Saqua)

Runaways, v. 6: Parental Guidance

Collects: Runaways v. 2 #13-18 (2006)

Released: October 2006 (Marvel)

Format: 144-page digest / color / $7.99 / ISBN: 0785119523

I always look forward to the next volume of Runaways, and Runaways, v. 6: Parental Guidance gives me no reason to change that.

Writer Brian K. Vaughan has created and sustained a teen drama mixed with superheroics that doesn’t disappoint. In Parental Guidance, Vaughan wraps up the “new Pride” storyline he began in Runways, v. 4: True Believers. Everything comes together as the team falls apart,¹ picking up all the bits and pieces from True Believers and Runaways, v. 5: Escape to New York and wedding them into a moving finale.

In the first story, Molly gets a chance to shine as she’s thrown into a group of pre-teen runaways and immediately has to become their leader in a rebellion against the Proctor, the Fagin-like adult controlling them. Molly, shown at her most mature, immediately after reveals her childhood vulnerabilities. It’s not unmissable, but it is entertaining with an ending that is moving without being precious.

The rest of the book reveals the mystery of the new Pride, which is out to take vengeance on the Runaways. The new Pride is more clever than powerful, but they still manage to be more than a match for the heroes. The Runaways’ problems come almost as much from themselves as the New Pride,² with the new Pride exploiting their adversaries weaknesses. Vaughan doesn’t sacrifice characterization for the sake of plot or a joke — although it helps that his characters are meant to be witty and clever with the blind spots of teenagers.

Artist Adrian Alphona does an excellent job as always; it’s an indictment of the comics industry as much as a compliment to Alphona to say he can consistently draw women with body types somewhere between “anorexic” and “orca.” He can also go from relatively realistic to the fantastic world of the Gibborim, the giant angels who backed the first Pride, with ease. Unfortunately, the digest size has consistently muddied his artwork — any darkness seems to come out as too dark, obscuring the subtleties of Alphona’s work.

All this, plus an emotional ending I won’t spoil — this is about as good as it gets.

Rating: (5 of 5)

Runaways, v. 5: Escape to New York

Collects: Runaways (v. 2) #7-12 (2005-6)

Released: September 2005 (Marvel)

Runaways is one of the best titles Marvel is publishing today, the story of six LA teenagers who find their parents are all supervillains. (As the characters continually ask, “Aren’t all parents?”) The series is reprinted in the digest format, which is considerably smaller than the comics it reprints and considerably cheaper as well.

Escape to New York has two storylines in it: the two-part “Star-Crossed” and the four-part “East Coast / West Coast.” Takeshi Miyazawa provides the art for the first storyline; it’s technically well done, but it’s a bit more cartoony than I like in a comic about a group of orphans who live in near poverty. It’s also jarring to see the characters drawn in a different style than regular series artist Adrian Alphona, who has been drawing the series since issue #1. Miyazawa, who filled in for two issues of the first volume, makes the characters look more generic; it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference between Chase and Victor, and Gert, who’s supposed to be at least a little overweight, looks just as impossible svelte as the other characters. Alphona is excellent as always, although shrinking down the artwork for digest size muddies it a bit. I especially like his Pusher Man, a pimpin’ drug dealer with oversized techno gauntlets.

The trip to New York in the second storyline allows writer Brian K. Vaughan to get snarky about the rest of the Marvel Universe, sometimes almost directly so. (At one point, when asked if the team is new, resident witch Nico says, “New York, New Wave, New Avengers … ‘new’ is just another way of saying old.”) It’s very funny, although sometimes it takes the reader out of the story. Vaughan also writes Spider-Man’s dialogue ten times better than J. Michael Straczynski.

Vaughan’s characters are almost always witty, although they usually come across as teenagers rather than small adults. As in any series with adolescent protagonists, the angst-filled love triangles and unrequited feelings erupt everywhere; hormones are so thick you’re almost surprised when Alphona doesn’t pencil them into the art. Additionally, Molly, the pre-teen, feels more like a child than the others.

Still, for some reason, “East Coast / West Coast” is an unsatisfying storyline, in which New York superhero Cloak asks the kids for help proving he didn’t attack his partner, Dagger, and leave her in a coma. I didn’t particularly care for the Cloak & Dagger elements, which is strange, considering how big a Cloak & Dagger fan I am. Cloak forces them into helping him, and given the rocky relationship the kids have had with him, I’m surprised they didn’t put up more resistance to the idea. Also, interacting with the Avengers seems like a fun idea on paper, but Vaughan seemed mainly to use them as punching bags and to reject them. The latter is a good idea, but the Avengers don’t get to make much of a case.

“Star-Crossed” is also unsatisfying, partially for the art and partially because the teens — particularly Karolina — seem to offer as much resistance to the alien visitor’s ideas as they do to Cloak. Their fight is lackluster at best. Perhaps this, coupled with their lack of a fight against Cloak, is Vaughan showing the kids wearing down after all their time on their own, but I’m not sure. Because of the lack of conflict, the team dynamics are almost teen soap opera — not that it’s not enjoyable, but it’s more enjoyable in the midst of a more engaging conflict. Also, despite Chase’s barbs, newcomer Victor seems to be fully integrated into the team, taking away some of the intrateam conflict.

Still, I’m excited to read the next digest; the teaser at the end, showing the new Pride plotting the teenagers’ downfall, makes me eager to see them fully revealed, and I’m itching to see whether Vaughan ties up some of the loose ends he left in Escape to New York or if he lets them dangle.

In the end, even a slightly unsatisfying digest of Runaways like this one is better than most of the rest of Marvel’s product.

Grade: A-