Runaways 2: Best Friends Forever

Rainbow Rowell and Kris Anka continue their fantastic Runaways revival series with a gorgeous second volume. Between Anka's amazing artwork and Rowell's great characterizations of the group this is one of my favorite titles from Marvel in recent years. When Karolina's girlfriend Julie Powers comes to visit it creates a whole new slew of drama and feelings for the members of the group (specifically Nico) especially when Julie accidentally falls victim to a spell meant for the group's youngest member Molly Hayes. Meanwhile Gert continues to struggle to find her place in the present day; with her signature style and attitude now being co-opted by modern hipsters and the love of her life having grown up without her she is in a weird state. Thankfully she has a new kindred spirit in Victor Mancha who is still just a head following his "death" during the Vision series. Victor was never my favorite character in the original run, but Rowell does wonders with him here (Victor plus a Roomba makes for one amazing scene). Overall, this is a must buy for any Runaways fans.

I was so thrilled to see the return of the Runaways gang, and the first two volumes in the new series have lived up to everything that made the original series great, and then some. These characters are so authentic, so strong and flawed and insecure and beautiful and true to who they are, even as they continue to grow and strive to do better for each other. They're the friends you never want to say goodbye to once you've climbed inside their world. Their challenges never feel fabricated, like "drama for the sake of drama"-- they are who they are, and they all have to make hard choices as they face the slow inevitability of actually creeping toward adulthood. Volume 2 in particular gives fans an amazing gift in the development of one particular relationship (which I will not spoil), and again it just feels so authentic. It never feels like anything happens "because the writers said so." If you are someone who loves comics where the action goes hand in hand with the strength of the relationships and the character development, you want this series. Like, really really.

I enjoyed the first volume a lot and thought it showed a lot of promise for where they're taking the characters, and this second one was even better. The last couple issues felt like they were written specifically for me--I love so much how Rainbow Rowell is writing Gert, and between that and the beautiful, satisfying payoff for a years-long slow burn romance, I'm totally in love with this run and I hope it lasts forever. It's funny and sweet and delightfully weird, and Kris Anka and Matthew Wilson are doing such amazingly gorgeous work on the art. (The outfit designs in particular are so cool and so perfectly specific to each character and blow me away every issue!)I subscribe to this comic at my local comic book store, but I went ahead and bought the trades too so I could share them more easily. And I'm so glad I did, because it was really fun getting to read Rainbow's script for issue #11! It's so clear how much she loves these characters and how well she understands their inner feelings.

Molly's always been the smallest, youngest, and most innocent of the Runaways, forever a cute kid with a collection of funny hats. Far from being bothered by being the baby of the group, it's a position where she's always been supremely comfortable . But if being the cute kid is a huge part of your identity...what happens when you grow up? Molly faces anxiety about losing her identity, as well as a surprising and twisted new villain, in an arc that builds on character traits established in Runaways' phenomenal original series.

I am absolutely loving these new Runaway stories. Rainbow Rowell does such a great job developing each character that I fell in love with them all immediately, and Kris Anka’s artwork is so evocative and moving. I would recommend Runaways to anyone who will listen. It’s a great story and by far my favorite series from Marvel.

Brilliant art and story.I love the characters change of clothes and the great compositions & colors. The new look of the comic is great.I really enjoyed the story. It was a great reboot for the classic comic. Definitely recommend!

What an amazing continuation. Every character continues to grow and the depth of affection the creative team has for them is palpable. With each volume the stories get more charming, the jokes get funnier, and the stakes get higher. Excellent.

Molly is great and like seeing her the most normal of lives. Victor has it pretty tough facing the world and himself while being just a robot head. Also weird that they couldn't beat a doombot.

Rowell continues to tell a great story that explores new conflicts while building on the old. Anka's art is a perfect fit and amazing as always. There's also a fill-in artist who offers a slightly different visual take.Overall a great continuation of Runaways that'll have you desperate for the next volume.

I was a bit hesitant to pick Runaways up again after it had been shelved by Marvel for so long, but Rowell and Anka have brought them back swinging. As witty and gripping as I remembered the original run.

Story is great and love the artwork and the humour.

Captivating characters, amazingly entertaining stories, overall very very good.

Love the quality! Really happy with this purchase.