Merideth says: Karina and Xavin return to Earth, and Alex Wilder’s former role-playing group re-form the Pride in this 6th volume of the Runaways series.

Alex Wilder, former leader of the Runaways, and a traitor, honed his tactical skills in online RPG’s. A few of his former friends from these games get together, along with post-mortem instructions from Alex, and resurrect him. Something goes wrong however, and the group actually brings Geoffry Wilder forward into the future. Meanwhile, following a diplomatic incident at their wedding, Karina and Xavin return to earth and rejoin the Runaways. By hacking into Victor, Geoffry manipulates both the New Pride and the Runaways into an attempt to restore his power.

I love the Runaways, I love Brian K. Vaughn, I’m very upset about what happens to Gert in this book. The return of Karina is a nice surprise, and hopefully, Xavin will get his arrogance knocked out of him shortly. This book continues the excellence of previous volumes, and sets up the next arc nicely. (cross-posted from MeriJenBen) ( )

This particular trade may have the world's most deceptive cover. The Runaways are playing happily in a green field, oblivious of all their cares. The insides could not be more different.

We start in media res with our youngest member captured by an evil man with the power to turn others into stone. However, showing her own strength, bother literal and figurative, she frees herself--only to get grounded!

That's just a filler piece to the main event, which features the return of one of the Pride, who has designs on the children who killed him. Duping some online roleplayers in a completely believable manner, he forms a new Pride and sets out to destroy the old one from within. Just as things look bad, we have another surprise return. Rushing into the fray, the Runaways must stop our killer from making a sacrifice. But can they? Or will their youth and relatively inexperience lead to tragedy for all involved?

Each time I think Vaughan has put the kids through hell in this trade, it gets worse. He does an awesome job of the bait and switch, and all the character development we've seen over the series comes into play. It's what happens when, like Stan Lee in the old days, Peter David on Hulk, Robert Kirkman on Invincible, or even JMS on Amazing Spider-Man (for good or for ill) today, one writer gets to stay on a title longer than a trade paperback's worth of material. Ideas can flow and ebb as subplots blip to the surface and back down again. It makes for good stories, not just flashes in the pan, and I really wish DC and Marvel would pay more attention to that.

Now, that doesn't mean there aren't some problems. Vaughan gives a 1980s black man dialog more befitting a "dude" from the 1970s and shortcuts one plot line in order to get all the players in place. This is also a problem here and there with the kids's banter, which often sounds a bit too much like what an adult thinks teen banter is like. However, the fact that Vaughan gives us a "Gwen Stacy" moment in this book--young heroes dealing with the fact that, had they acted better, a death can be prevented--is comic book storytelling at its best.

At this point, the book gets mashed into mainline Marvel continuity, so I feel as though, even with more issues to do, that this is the swan song for this team. It sure was a good way to go out, and I can unhesitatingly recommend this series up to this point to any comics fan. (Library, 12/07)

Trebby's Take: Highly recommended! ( )

Karina and Xavin return to Earth, and Alex Wilder’s former role-playing group re-form the Pride in this 6th volume of the Runaways series.

Alex Wilder, former leader of the Runaways, and a traitor, honed his tactical skills in online RPG’s. A few of his former friends from these games get together, along with post-mortem instructions from Alex, and resurrect him. Something goes wrong however, and the group actually brings Geoffry Wilder forward into the future. Meanwhile, following a diplomatic incident at their wedding, Karina and Xavin return to earth and rejoin the Runaways. By hacking into Victor, Geoffry manipulates both the New Pride and the Runaways into an attempt to restore his power.

I love the Runaways, I love Brian K. Vaughn, I’m very upset about what happens to Gert in this book. The return of Karina is a nice surprise, and hopefully, Xavin will get his arrogance knocked out of him shortly. This book continues the excellence of previous volumes, and sets up the next arc nicely. ( )

http://youresometa.blogspot.com/2008/... ( )

Collects # 12-18, 2006.
I cried, my favorite Runaway dies! I probably wouldn't have cried, except it's that special time of the month where I cry at the drop of a hat, but when they died, I really cried.

From the back cover: " The return of the pride! The secret super-villian society is back, but this all new group isn't made up of the Runaways' evil parents. Who are these shadowy players, and what do they want with the Marvel Universe's next generation? Plus: When the youngest member of the Runaways is separated from her teammates, Molly Hayes must survive a night alone on the mean streets of Los Angeles! The eleven-year old mutant girl soon hooks up with a new group of runaways, but is their mysterious leader a hero or a villain?" ( )