Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland

Summary: After fleeing from their parents, who are members of an evil league of supervillains known as The Pride, our group of six kids (and their pet velociraptor) have been hiding out in an old cave. When they leave to make a grocery store run, they come across Topher, another teen with (actually legitimately) evil and superpowered parents. They invite him back to their cave, but bringing a stranger into the mix upsets the status quo in more ways than one. Meanwhile, the Pride-controlled police department has contacted Cloak & Dagger, a duo of superheroes, as a means of finding the runaways kids and returning them to their parents.

Review: Good stuff. The kids are learning to deal with each other and their new status as outlaws, as show more well as to use their powers, all of which is interesting to watch, and handled with a nice mix of compassion and humor (I particularly got a chuckle out of Nico accidentally unleashing a flock of pelicans at a convenience store.) The twists and turns in the story are done pretty effectively; at one point I actually yelled "...WHAT?!?" upon turning a page. Finally, I really enjoyed the Cloak & Dagger storyline. Apparently, they're pre-existing Marvel characters, but the fact that I didn't know their background wasn't a hindrance; and their dynamic, plus the way they interacted with the kids, was all really fun to read. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Volume 2 continues in the vein set by Volume 1: action-packed, fast-paced, and funny, with teen superheroes who still feel like real teens. show less

You know why I love graphic novels (beyond the fast read)...just about ANYTHING can happen in a graphic novel/comic. There are no boundaries in the pages of a graphic novel. Vampires? Check. Evil super-villians? Check. Corrupt media and police force? Check. Mysterious superheroes that got their powers via evil drug experiments? Check. I'm waiting to see just what new over the top thing happens in this story.

I really love everything about this series. I love the story, I love the characters, and I love love LOVE the illustrations. Absolutely gorgeous. There’s something about comic books that often grab my attention so much faster and more thoroughly than written novels can. So much action and so much information can be illustrated and communicated in just one panel, and this series seems to do it so extremely well. It’s just so much fun to read these books!

This series combines two of my favourite story types – superhero stories and coming of age stories. What I find really poignant of this series is that all of these characters aren’t just learning who they are as people, they’re also coming to grips with the fact that they have show more super powers (of some sort, I realize some are aliens) and with the fact that their parents are evil (and not in the same way that most kids think their parents are evil).

The one thing I didn’t particularly enjoy was the new kid. Spoiler alert: vampire. The addition of a vampire into the mix was a little… umm. Honestly, it just seemed like they were trying to jump onto the vampire bandwagon, and the new kid really could have been something more original and less overdone. It really just felt like Marvel wastrying to get into the vampire scene with this. Hrmph.

The Bottom Line
Loved this instalment of Runaways. Looking forward to reading the next! Recommended for superhero fans! show less

I've read six digest volumes of the Brian K. Vaughn-created comics series Runaways thus far, and will here consider them as one book. I deserve credit, yo!

The basic premise of Runaways is that a bunch of teens discover that 1) their parents are members of a superpowered league of evil, and 2) they themselves have superpowers. The kids run away (hotly pursued by the 'rents) and swear to right the karmic balance by fighting bad guys of all kinds.

It's a simple premise -- sort of like the Teen Titans, without costumes -- and it works pretty well because Vaughn's adolescent characters are (emotionally) realistic. They bicker and act like brats just as often as they battle the forces of eeeeeevil. And it's neat to see how their powers are show more just extensions of their personalities. The moody goth chick can do magic, but only after she cuts herself; the gay chick feels like an alien, and hey, she IS an alien.

As a whole, Runaways has the feel of a Joss Whedon creation, so it's no surprise that the maker of Buffy has taken a turn writing the series...can't wait to see those issues. show less

Still a fun series, even with the slightly forced crossover with another Marvel property (Cloak and Dagger make an appearance because they were runaways themselves). Having worked together fairly well to escape their evil parents, now the runaway kids end up fighting each other. I'm pretty sure I've identified the traitor in the group, so I'll keep reading to see if I'm right.

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LT Haiku:

Act two strives to give
us more personality,
but still some big fights.

It's good, but maybe a bit too anti-grown-up to be loved by grown-ups.

Also, teens on the run living in an abandoned underground complex are probably going to have sex and do drugs in the dark corners. Maybe not all of them, but some of them.

I want a pet velociraptor.

Ok, this story is pretty awesome, we can see their first encounter with other superheroes but...it doesn't came completely good. The "problem" here is that we saw all of them more like teenagers, the boys/girls thing, can't understand what's happening and how loyalty can be to each others.

In this volumen Gertrude took the lead as the most awesome girl here, maybe she is so into their own problems that she took the entire situation really well focused. She don't need the drama, she need find solution.

I'm still think that the mole is one of the guys, and Karolina is in love of Nico, so probably this situation gonna explote sooner or later