Runaways: Pride & Joy, #1 -- Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona

From Brian K. Vaughan's Introduction:

I always thought there was something slightly suspicious about the way adult comic writers had protagonists like Spider-Man and Batman revere their guardians. I mean, if Uncle Ben or Dr. and Mrs. Wayne had lived to see their children turn seventeen, Peter and Bruce probably would have ended up hating them, the way so many kids grow apart from their parents around that age. To me, it felt like grown-up comic creators were subtly suggesting to their young readers that true heroes always respect their elders and blindly follow their teachings.

And so, he created Runaways. 

Every year, six couples get together for a meeting about their "charity" conglomerate, and every year, their six kids are forced to spend a massively boring evening hanging out with each other. This year, they decide to entertain themselves by spying on their parents... and discover that their parents are actually human-sacrifice-happy super-villains, complete with super-villain-y costumes and a super-villain-y group name: The Pride. 

In this first issue, we're introduced to our six soon-to-be (I assume) crime-fighters:

Alex Wilder: Gamer, fan of superheroes, and son of the couple who are hosting the meeting, Alex's behavior in this first go-round suggests that he's got leadership potential.
Gertrude Yorkes: Brainy and sarcastic, high school sophomore Gert is basically a purple-haired, teenaged Janeane Garofalo.
Chase Stein: Lacrosse-playing C-student. We meet him just after his father punches him in the face, but, as Chase says, "you're a nerd who punches like a girl".
Molly Hayes: At eleven, she's the youngest and most seemingly innocent of the group.
Karolina Dean: Wholesome daughter of a Hollywood power couple, Karolina is either extremely interested in do-it-yourself fashion, or she's got a crush on...
Nico Minoru: Newly-super-hot Nico leans towards black nail polish and classic sci-fi, and, if my suspicions pan out, may soon find herself in a love triangle with Karolina and Alex.

Artwork? The faces are really expressive and provide super non-verbal communication, but for me, the standout stuff was in the detailing—it allowed me to enter the world, rather than just read the book. Examples: the interiors of the houses and the clothing (civilian and costumes) all give clues to the personalities/interests of the inhabitant/wearers, and many of the books in the super-villain library have titles like "GLOOM" and "BIG BOOK OF EVIL".

Storyline? Runaways is more YA-geared than most of the comics I read (for some reason, I tend towards horror, crime, and hyper-violent/profane stuff...), but I'm kicking myself for not having started this one sooner, as it's to be right up my alley: a disparate group of teens prone to witty-yet-believable banter are forced to team up to Take Down Evildoers. (In other words, Buffy fans should take note.)

This was a great pilot episode, in that there's no info-dumping or stilted dialogue—which, considering the number of new characters/identities, is extremely impressive (and possibly flat-out amazing). Instead of a big info-dump, we get a group of characters who don't know each other all that well, so they base their assumptions on appearances and minimal information... which is what the audience is forced to do. So, as the reader, you identify with the characters on a situation level. Everything about this book suggests a confidence in and respect for the reader, which is always a happy-maker.

Keep going? No question: yes.