It's Graphic Time: Runaways Vol 1: Pride and Joy by Brian K Vaughan

Title: Runaways Vol 1: Pride And Joy

Author:  Brian K Vaughan
Publisher: Marvel
Publishing Date:  December 6th, 2006

Pages: 144
Genre: Superhero Sci- Fi Graphic Novel

Series:  Runaways #1 (issues 1-6)

 

All young people believe their parents are evil ... but what if they really are?

Meet Alex, Karolina, Gert, Chase, Molly and Nico - whose lives are about to take an unexpected turn. When these six young friends discover their parents are all secretly super-powered villains, the shocked teens find strength in one another. Together, they run away from home and straight into the adventure of their lives - vowing to turn the tables on their evil legacy.

I first discovered this show on Hulu and loved it so I decided I needed to read the graphic novels. I fell in love with the graphic novel. I love the story, the characters, the art. I haven't read many graphic novels, as it is something I am just now starting to get into. But from the ones I have read, this one is one of my favorites. 

There are 5 kids who have been hanging out with each other for years. Well at least once a year they do, once a year when their parents get together for a charity meeting. The latest get together, the kids accidentally find themselves in an evil lair, watching as their parents sacrifice a girl. This sets things into to motion and these kids find out their parents are evil. This is not their only discovery as they find some of them have powers. One of them is not human. To Top it off, something sinister is happening, they just know and the entire town is under the thumb of their parents. So they runaway. 

So first off, I am a super hero fanatic and a marvel fan. I was not aware of these superhero types though. I know the original story was started then left behind and since has been picked up by a few different authors. I hope that the future ones are as great as this one. I have also read Saga by this author and again loved them. I am sure I will be reading more graphic novels by Brian K Vaughan. 

This is quite a different type of superhero story than what I have seen in the past. I am no expert but from what I have seen, these kids aren't your usual or normal type of superheros. They don't really want to save the world, but they do want to stop their parents. They are young and confused and really don't know what they are doing. I love the naivety of all the characters. Makes it so much more believable. I enjoyed seeing them come into their powers as well as the knowledge of what the world is really like. They have all lived pretty privileged and grounded lives. So this is all new for all of them. 

I also enjoyed the diversity int he characters ant their powers. Each kid is so different from each other, they are a little typical but they all have their own quirks that make them such individuals. The powers are cool, we have a witch, a dinosaur tamer, a strong girl, an alien, and two individuals that don't have powers but finds ways to make up for it. This story contains a little bit of science fiction and fantasy to include just about every type of character you can think of... including a dinosaur.... which is the absolute coolest and I want my own!

I really found myself immersed in this world, I enjoyed every page, every character, and every drawing. It was quite fun and I do have volume 2 just waiting for me.

A great start to the graphic novel world. Kind of like a gateway comic. LOVED IT! 

Born in Cleveland in 1976, Brian K. Vaughan is the Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning writer and co-creator of the critically acclaimed comics series Y: The Last Man, Runaways, and Ex Machina (picked as one of the ten best works of fiction of 2005 by Entertainment Weekly).

Recently named "Writer of the Year" by Wizard Magazine, and one of the “top ten comic writers of all time” by Comic Book Resources, Vaughan’s work has been featured and/or reviewed in countless mainstream media outlets, including The New York Times, MTV, National Public Radio, and feminist magazine Bust, which photographed him for their “Men We Love” issue (don’t ask).
As an undergraduate film student at New York University, Vaughan got his big break as part of Marvel’s Stanhattan Project, a workshop for aspiring comic book writers. In the ten years since, he has written nearly all of the major DC and Marvel characters, everyone from Batman to the X-Men.
In September of 2006, Vertigo released Vaughan’s first original graphic novel, Pride of Baghdad, lavishly illustrated by artist Niko Henrichon. Inspired by an unbelievable true story of four lions who escaped the Baghdad Zoo during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Pride is equal parts anthropomorphic adventure and Animal Farm-like parable about the ongoing conflict in Iraq, and was described as "the best novel so far" about the war by the UK's Telegraph.
Along with his creator-owned work, Vaughan is currently writing The Escapists, a Dark Horse miniseries inspired by Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, as well as a new Doctor Strange limited series for Marvel with artist Marcos Martin.
This summer, the new WGA member/CAA client transplanted his poor playwright wife to Los Angeles, where Vaughan is currently working on the screenplay adaptations of Y and Ex Machina for New Line Cinema, as well as other new creations in film and television.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Illustrator: Adrian Alphona is a Canadian comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' Runaways, which he co-created with writer Brian K. Vaughan.
Slated to be pencilling the second volume of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane when writer Terry Moore took over writing duties from Sean McKeever, Alphona instead chose to leave comics entirely, only supplying the covers for the new series, whilst art duties were handed over to Craig Rousseau. However, Alphona made a return to comics in June 2009, doing art for the Captain Britain and MI: 13 annual.[1] He later drew Uncanny X-Force alongside Ron Garney.
In August 2013, Marvel Comics premiered the monthly series Ms. Marvel, with Alphona as artist and G. Willow Wilson as writer.