Find Your Way Home

The Runaways used to be more than a team; they were a family. After they lost one of their own, Gert, they all went their separate ways. Living on their own, each person is trying to figure out how to put their lives back together, which is difficult when your parents are supervillains and you have no one who understands.  

Fed up with the division, Chase Stein, hacker extraordinaire, hijacks a time machine and goes back to save Gert, bringing her to Runaway magician Nico’s doorstep. This time, the old members are able to heal Gert, but she wakes up to a new world where her found family is in pieces and she’s still sixteen – two years younger than the rest of them. Determined to recover what they lost, Nico, Chase, and Gert embark on a journey to reunite the team and save each other.   

Using their powers and Gert’s pet dinosaur, Old Lace, they find the other three members of their team: Victor, the robot who is now a disembodied head, Karolina, the alien college student who lights up like a rainbow, and Molly, the endlessly enthusiastic and invincible thirteen-year-old.  

None of the Runaways feels completely at home in their new lives. Victor feels lost, and a part of him is relieved that he’s getting his family back, but he doesn’t want to revert to the person he used to be. Karolina is finally happy at school with a girlfriend and her own life, but she’s torn between staying at college and leaving behind her old family forever. Molly lives with her loving grandmother, who dotes on her. But when the Runaways show up at her door, Molly’s grandmother seems a little too interested in them, and her cats are a little too strange.  

The Runaways is a graphic novel divided into six main parts, each focusing on a different team member. At times, the panels are disorganized, making it difficult to know which panel to read next. This makes it easy to read the panels out of order, negatively affecting the flow of the story. Additionally, since the story is part of the Marvel universe, the beginning of the story has exposition dumps. However, this still leaves a gap in the context, which will make the story confusing for those unfamiliar with Marvel.  

This graphic novel is filled with beautifully illustrated magical battles and fantastical creatures. Each page has approximately six panels, although they vary slightly. The dialogue is designed to engage, featuring simple vocabulary and bubbles that escape their panels, interacting with the next ones. This gives the story a realistic feel. The action lines are usually incorporated at the bottom of the panels, perfectly captioning and capturing the movements happening above, so as not to overwhelm readers. Some pages are dialogue-heavy, but the overall flow is good and doesn’t allow these pages to distract from the rest of the story.  

Readers who enjoy superheroes, outcasts, and creatively strange adventures will love the wacky powers, fierce determination, and wholesome energy of The Runaways. The well-developed characters are uniquely inspiring, so anyone can root for them. Each member of the Runaways is trying to find their voice, their independence, and stick by their moral principles in a world without positive role models to guide them. Overall, this is a wonderful story with a sweet message: family can be found anywhere, regardless of your blood, background, misdeeds, or freak flags.  

Sexual Content  

• When recruiting Karolina back onto the team, Nico attempts to kiss her, but Karolina pushes her away. They used to date, but Karolina currently has a partner. Their lips don’t actually touch, but they get very close. 

Violence  

• The story begins with Chase appearing at Nico’s apartment, carrying their friend, Gert, who has a stab wound in the middle of her chest. The illustration depicts a dagger plunged into Gert’s chest with blood spilling around it. However, Nico saves Gert.  
• Before this comic begins, “Victor was killed by the Vision’s late wife, Virginia.” Since Victor is a robot, he’s still able to function, even though he only has a head. In every scene, he’s depicted as a head with some wires sticking out, but no blood or human insides. 
• While rescuing Gert and Molly from Molly’s grandmother’s house, the Runaways battle and use their powers against Molly’s grandmother and her cats. There are punches thrown, most of them against the cats, and the cats claw and scratch Gert. There is no blood, and no cats are harmed.  
• Molly’s grandmother orders the cats to attack Molly’s friends telepathically, and they collapse to the ground, hands on their heads in pain. Molly talks her grandmother down and no one is grievously injured.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

• While trying to figure out where to go after leaving Chase’s house, Nico mentions that “being a mopey goth is just like drinking: it’s just depressing when you do it alone.”  

Language  

• Words like stupid and damn appear frequently. 
• The acronym WTF appears a couple of times. 

Supernatural  

• This graphic novel is about superheroes. Most of the Runaways have magical or superhuman abilities, allowing them to fight crime. “Nico Minoru is a very powerful magician. But her magic doesn’t come easily.” She carries a magic staff that allows her to cast spells.  
• When Chase appears at Nico’s apartment and asks her to save Gert’s life, she does so with magic. Frantic, trying to figure out what spell would work, she casts several of them, including summoning a doctor, making it rain, and manifesting X-ray goggles for the doctor. The illustration depicts bright colors swirling around Gert’s and Nico’s bodies with each spell, and the staff lights up.  
• Chase has access to technology that allows him to time travel. Gert was killed two years before these events, but Chase time-travels to save her. As Chase describes how he rescued Gert, he mentions that he “just reached out to [Gert’s pet dinosaur, Old Lace] through [their] old psychic link and told her to haul [the past version of himself] out of there, so the [current version of himself] could take Gert [to the future to be saved].” 
• When Gert and Molly are staying at Molly’s grandmother’s house, Molly warns Gert to be careful with what she says. Gert is confused, but Molly explains that “[her] Grandma gives her cats powers—just like she gave [Molly’s] parents powers.” Molly’s grandmother’s cats possess telepathy, allowing them to read minds and spy on people. When doing this, they are depicted with red, glowing eyes. 
• Before Molly leaves with the Runaways, her grandmother reveals that she’s cloned Molly’s mom and given her powers. Molly’s mom enters the room and exhibits these powers. Her eyes turn red, and red lightning leaves her mind, trying to hurt them. The Runaways escape through an open window.  

Spiritual Content  

• None 

by Kate Schuyler