POINT OF ORIGIN comes to you in its fourth installment with the season premiere of LOST still fresh on the brain. It’s with that in mind we examine LOST (and Y: The Last Man) writer Brian K. Vaughn’s first collection of RUNAWAYS: "Pride and Joy."

[Be aware some of the scans came out a little off since I was scanning them from a hardcover edition.]

Minor Spoilers Ahead.

RUNAWAYS began as a sort of experiment by MARVEL. They created an imprint known as Tsunami, which was host to several new series from up and coming creators. Among them, the short-lived NAMOR by Andi Watson, Skottie Young’s graffiti inspired HUMAN TORCH, and Sean McKeever’s criminally underrated (except by Grant Morrison) SENTINEL. None of these series would see a 13th issue. Save RUNAWAYS, but even that was a close call. We’ll get to that story later.

Vaughn introduces us to the major players one by one as each family prepares to meet up for their annual charity get-together. Briefly, a who’s who:

(clockwise from middle)
Alex, Karolina, Molly, Chase, Nico and Gertrude.

With the gang dying for something to do, Alex suggests they go spy on their parents. Since the only other idea is to play spin the bottle with Chase, the girls all agree to go with Alex. Hidden in one of the house’s secret passages, the kids find their parents clad in costume and referring to themselves as the Pride. Alex’s dad brings a working girl out from another room, and the families begin a ritual of sacrifice.

Think it’s tough being a teenager? How about a teenager whose parents are super-villains? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
“Pride and Joy” centers around the kids trying to come to terms with the type of people their parents really are. They decide to put and end to what their parents have done, though it proves tougher than they first believe.

What could’ve been your average “kids rebel against authority” story is made more than that by the stellar creative team. Brian K. Vaughn is good at his job. What he’s best at though, is giving distinctive voices to all his characters. There are moments where you’ll believe this is actually happening the characterization is so good. Take this scene at Nico’s house early in the story:

And there’s the scene where you’ll instantly fall in love with Molly:

Adrian Alphona is no slouch either. His pencils, while a little young here, bring life to characters the way few others can. Like in this moment where Karolina discovers her powers:

Trust me though, by the time the series hits its stride around issue 8 or so, Alphona’s art really begins to pop off the page, and you can’t imagine anyone else making these characters appear on the page.

Like I was saying earlier, this series almost didn’t make it. Sales were low, as they are with any comic that doesn’t have traditional super-heroes all over it. Luckily for us, fan outcry at even the idea that this series may be cancelled due to low sales prompted the EIC of MARVEL, Bill Jemas, to rethink cancellation. That alone tells you how good this series is.
BKV and Alphona’s creation continues today, even though they both moved on to other projects. Have no fear though, as Vaughn left the series in the capable hands of Joss Whedon.

The first collection is available for only $7.99. You can do without Burger King for one week, and go pick this up at your LCS.  Personally, I can’t go without BK for too long, but I already have this, so I’m eating like the King tonight!

See you next week.

To find a comic shop near you: 1-888-COMICBOOK