I was fairly excited about reading Joss Whedon's take on the Runaways, my current favorite comic title. While it wasn't bad, it wasn't as good as I was expecting.

The Runaways are on the run again, back in New York now that they no longer have a hideout in Los Angeles. They agree to commit a criminal act for the Kingpin in exchange for his help. This leads them into a battle with the Punisher, ninjas, and a giant winged creature. The device they were sent to steal turns out to be a time travel component for the Leapfrog. Trapped in the past, they become involved with the superpowered groups battling in New York City.

First of all, the art is gorgeous as usual and Joss has no trouble keeping the kids in character. The problem lies in the story, or lack thereof. Basically the entire plot is the Runaways go back in time and then they come back. Sure, they pick up a new team member, Chase and Nico both get upgrades, and Vic falls in love, but a lot of the action takes place offscreen. Hopefully in further issues these subplots are explained a bit more. I'd love to now how Nico started levitating. ( )

Merideth says: The Runaways, without a homebase following the events of Civil War, agree to steal an artifact for the Kingpin. The 'overdrive' item was built by the Yorkes, parents of the deceased Gertrude. Inserting it in the Leapfrog transports the team back to 1907, where they become involved in a three-way war with gangs of rival 'wonders'.

I was very disapointed in this book. It didn't move the Runaways story forward, and seemed like a placeholder in a (typically) strong series. Whedon does an excellent job with teen angst, so you'd think that this series would be a natural fit for him, however, he seems more interested in creating new characters than developing the ones he's given. A whole host of turn of the century heroes & villians populate this title, but since we've never met them before, it's hard to care. Whedon does orchestrate momentous events for Nico and Chase, but they happen off camera, which is not only frustrating, but it makes the entire story more difficult to understand. One thing that is extraordinary about this title is the artwork, which is beautiful and realistic without being cluttered or overworked. ( )

http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/20... ( )

I absolutely love this series. I think Joss Whedon did a great job in keeping with the series' plot line and I hope he guest-writes some time in the future again.

P.S. I liked the Punisher cameo and the continuing relationship with Chase and Gert.

Written as this is by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy and Firefly and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along blog and the first writer on Astonishing X-Men, I find myself disappointed. It's not that it's bad, of course; he does seem to have a good grasp of Brian K. Vaughn's characters, so that both dialogue and character moments are well-wrought--in particular, the Karolina/Nico dynamic is nicely pushed forward as both girls find themselves frustrated with their boyfriends. It's just that the title is a little too apropos: the whole plotline ends up being pointless, so I end up just not caring.

Sure, the requisite "someone joins or leaves the group" happens (I won't say which, but will note that it does leave the group a little closer to the nicely female-heavy demagraphic that Vaughn started the series, something which made the series stand out from a feminist perspective by making the Bechdel test more easily passed) and there are some shifts in the dynamics of the romantic relationships, but most of the interesting things Whedon brings up here--the re-introduction of Gert's parents, the superpowered New York street gangs of a bygone era--seem to be questionable in the extreme as to the degree of their long-term meaningfulness.

The book actually ends up being about a character introduced just for the purposes of this arc, and while her tale is certainly poignant, and carries with it a characteristically Whedonian punch, I'd much rather be reading Karolina's or Nico's story. ( )