Friday, August 4, 2017

Runaways Vol. 2 Teenage Wasteland

Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland

Runaways Vol. 2 Teenage Wasteland picks up right where the first volume left off- the kids are in hiding and their parents are trying to track them down. However one of the kids is apparently a mole, having left a note for the Pride that they are loyal to the parents. But who is it? The bulk of this volume deals with the aftermath of the kids leaving their haven- the first time they run afoul of a vampire and the second time they run into Cloak and Dagger. Both times the kids are struggling to use their powers- at one point Nico ends up summoning pelicans of all things to foil a robbery- and the humor from the first one continues also.

I liked this one a little less than the first one, and the timeframe of the book is a few days, so not a lot happens, but it's still an interesting story. You have the advantage of the Marvel universe as a backdrop, so you can have vampires or whatever strange foes you want, but at the same time the Avengers are not coming to save the day. It's a street level story far removed from the usual hero stuff. The highlight of this one for me was probably the two part Cloak and Dagger story, which I thought was done well- it was interesting to see some of the kids shunted off to the Darkforce dimension, another plane of existence that has a long history at Marvel.

But getting back to Runaways. The vampire storyline was kinda good and we continue to get hints that Molly is actually very powerful- her mutant abilities are just starting to manifest and she saves the day a few times. As the youngest member of the group (she's eleven) that's an interesting dynamic. I like Gert's psychic velociraptor, and the fact that Karolina is from another world is also an element I hope they delve into. There's a lot of potential here, and I have suspicions as to who the mole is - but time will tell.

9 comments:

  1. I love this series to bits! I read it a while ago but I still think back on it fondly - and yes, I loved this volume for the Cloak and Dagger storyline! Of all the Marvel characters that could have made an appearance, I truly did not expect to see the two of them, but it was fun :D

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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  2. Ooh love the cover! And summoning pelicans, haha, I love it.

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    1. I know, right? Pelicans?? There are some nice humorous touches...

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  3. Oh no, bummer that this one wasn't quite as good as the first. I'm very intrigued by Cloak and Dagger though -- I've never actually heard of them before. Their show looks awesome!

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    1. I wasn't very familiar with Cloak and Dagger either! And I think the show looks kinda good?? And yeah these are okay...

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  4. These books just weren't for me. I found them too angsty for my personal liking, but perhaps I just read them at a bad time. That being said, I can't wait to see the tv series adaptation! :) Are you planning on watching when it comes out?

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    1. I can understand that, because frankly they've been a little disappointing for me too. I guess I was expecting more, especially given the hype over Saga? I'll probably read a few more but I'm on Vol 5 now, and IDK- they're just okay.

      I am going to check the show out though. :)

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  5. I've not really ventured in to Marvel comics, I seem to be working my way through Images catalogue but I have seen this about - will maybe have to check out the first volume.

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  6. I remember loving the Runaways comics way back when I read them and so I'm glad you're enjoying them even if this volume isn't quite as good. I remember the comics got worse at times. I can't remember at what point I got annoyed by it, I thin k it was when the art style changed.

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