Marvel's Runaways

As I delve into a semi-reliable mecca of comic books, I'm currently reading a few of the more critically acclaimed series of the past few years. Runaways is another series by writer Brian Vaughn whom I gushed over the other series he penned, Y: The Last Man. It is a good diversion from the mass amount of text I read in that series.

Basic premise: Six teenage children find out that they're evil supervillains. Eventually they discover powers of their own, (many of which inherited by their parents) and they embark on an adventure to stop their parents and possibly save the world at the same time.

There's plenty of action for people who crave it as well with a witty enough dialogue that Vaughn is known for. The art is great and I always like the concept of superheroes without costumes. The only problems that I have is that the series doesn't have an ultimate goal for the Runaways. Vol 1 was to stop their parents, but for a team with so much potential, it seems a bit generic. Especially considering that the villianous parents seem like C-List villains. The ongoing Vol. 2 has small little adventures held within, but the up coming season finale is very detatched from what's really going on.

This isn't to say that it's entirely bad, but it's just not that compelling. With other writers, even if they just write a series based on small adventures, they stand better alone than Vaughn's Runaways. A lot of it seems formulaic, and in the case of Runaways, the dialogue is a bit repetitive of his style. It's almost like he wanted to do the same writing style but in a different setting. But that is a limited judgement since I have yet to read any of his other works.

But what I like the best about the series is how it humanizes superheroes, not just the main characters themselves, but even guest appearances by Captain America, Spiderman and others. It reminds me of the JLA that features the comedic likesof Guy Gardner, Flash, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle and etc.