Written by: Noelle Stevenson
Art by: Sanford Greene & John Rauch
Publisher: Marvel
The first issue of “Runaways” impressed me. The diverse cast of teenagers felt like actual teenagers, the art was kinetic and the right amount of “busy” and most of all, it was fun. Stevenson focused on a group of characters from “The Victor Von Doom Institute for Gifted Youths” that are made up of misfits and unpopular troublemakers, in other words, a cast that would clearly oppose against the school’s and Doom’s ideals. But the one problem it had was that the issue didn’t exactly present how these characters would fulfill the “Runaways” aspect of the title. There were hints towards the end of the issue, but it’s in this issue that we learn exactly what’s going on at this school and why it’s bad news for its students.
We find our students preparing to take their yearly exam, an video game-like (or for the X-Men fan, this is totally the Danger Room) virtual reality simulator that tests the groups of students that go into it. It’s here that we begin to discover how the schools Headmaster and Doom operate the school and the story truly kicks off.
The plot is intriguing, but the cast and the writing remains the best part of this series. Jubilee verges on unlikable at times but a moment between her and Pixie (and later with Molly) cements her as someone who still cares about those around her. Amadeus Cho shows off his genius and mischievousness various times while his buddy Skaar loyally supports him. These characters all have clear flaws and charming personalities all demonstrated through their actions, something that some writers need more than two issues to accomplish. Almost every character has an interaction with another character that hints at pasts with more depth than we know, whether it’s in a pro or antagonistic way.
The art remains as chaotic as it was the first issue. This is a good thing though, since it’s a youthful sort of chaos that matches the stories tone well. Greene and Rauch know when to subdue the chaos for the very dark moment that happens in the middle of this issue. The art and Stevenson’s writing, grouped with Clayton Cowles lettering and design, combine to make a full package issue. While it isn’t the most amazing issue of all time, I cannot see any flaws in this “Runaways #2”.
