Best Friends Forever

The Runaways are a family again! But a family needs a guardian, and the only Runaway who’s got her life together is in middle school. And, even for a kid like Molly who likes her classes, that can be fraught with peril. Meanwhile, there’s a new arrival as the gang welcomes Karolina’s girlfriend, Julie Power of Power Pack! Having an experienced adventurer around will be useful when one of the universe’s most fearsome villains invades the hostel! But some of the Runaways have mixed feelings about Julie’s arrival. As Molly contemplates a supernatural deal that must have a downside, one of the team suffers a fate worse than death. Really! And will the Runaways’ greatest foe be. . . well-meaning outsiders who want to help them?!  

The Runaways have just finished reuniting their family, but there’s still work to be done. They have forgotten how to act as a team. To top it off, now that most of them are adults, they have responsibilities and need an income to afford the expensive equipment necessary to repair their technologically advanced robot friend, Victor. Most importantly, they need to maintain peace among themselves if they want to remain a family. 

Maintaining a superhero lifestyle is challenging for everyone. Chase needs to get a job, no matter how tedious, or else they’ll go broke. Thirteen-year-old Molly, the youngest member of the Runaways, needs a legal guardian, so the Runaways must contend with Child Services. Gert, recently resurrected by time travel and now younger than her friends, is struggling with the disconnect she feels between her body and her mind. Victor knows the person he aspires to be, and while he’s currently without a body, he doesn’t want anyone building him a new one, for fear of what he could become. Karolina has a lovely girlfriend, Julie, whom she cares for, but it doesn’t seem as though Julie feels the same way. Even though Nico rebuffed Karolina two years ago, and Karolina has a girlfriend, Nico must contend with growing feelings for Karolina and how it will affect the fragile dynamics of the group.  

The Runaways are an inspiring and relatable group of teenagers struggling to find their way in the world. The characters continue to be uniquely brave, and all are dealing with different dilemmas. Rowell takes equal time to develop each character and how their superpowers grow and change. The story is entertaining and endearing, with twists at every turn and a sweet ending.  

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 beautiful illustrations that highlight the characters’ best features and fantastical, magical battles. The panels vary between close-up and wide shots, designed to capture the scene and the expressions of the characters perfectly. The dialogue and sound effects are engaging, emerging from their own panels and overlaid onto others. Although events that occur simultaneously are depicted, they can occasionally be confusing when determining where to look based on the page layout. However, this doesn’t distract from the wonderful and detailed artwork on each page.  

Readers who enjoy ragtag teams, wholesome family connections, and creatively strange conflicts will love the deep emotions, magical spells, and comedic mistakes in the second volume of The Runaways. This graphic novel teaches independence, hope, and love in a relatable, extraordinary, teenage language. The Runaways are all trying to figure out how to define home when they’ve never had a good example of one, but they need to figure out who they are as people first. Overall, this is a beautiful story with a sweet message: growing up is a part of life, and while it’s overwhelming, it’s also quite marvelous.  

Sexual Content  

• In a flashback, Karolina attempts to kiss Nico, but she rebuffs her. Their lips get close, but they never actually touch.   
• After Victor confesses dark secrets to Gert, they kiss. Gert is illustrated gripping his neck, with her hand in his hair, and Victor is blushing as their lips touch. The story moves on without any more panels dedicated to them. 
• About to leave for a charity ball, Nico pulls Karolina in for a kiss. Nico’s hand is in Karolina’s hair, and Karolina’s hands are on Nico’s waist. Pink stars are drawn around them. One larger panel shows their whole bodies, and a panel below zooms in on their faces, highlighting where their lips touch. The story ends before they go any further.  

Violence  

• While at home, a villain attacks the Runaways’ house, causing it to shake and dust to drop from the ceiling. The Runaways are depicted in motion, some flying to face the threat outside while Gert protects Old Lace and Victor from any debris.  
• Dr. Doom wants Victor’s head, and the Runaways defend him. Punches are thrown, and some of the kids are hit by Dr. Doom and fly backwards. Ultimately, no one is hurt, and the whole thing is a misunderstanding that they solve.  
• After Julie, Karolina’s girlfriend, accidentally eats a magical cupcake intended for Molly, the Runaways go to confront the culprit. Molly’s friend, Abigail, gave Molly the cupcake so they could be friends forever, but it de-aged Julie instead! When the Runaways go to Abigail’s house, Abigail reveals her true colors as a morally ambiguous immortal who appears to be thirteen.  
• Angry that the wrong person ate the cupcake, Abigail throws a tantrum and attacks the Runaways with her martial arts skills. Punches are thrown, and at one point, Abigail finds a fencing sword, but no blood is drawn, and no one is hurt.  
• Victor travels back in time with Gert for some rest and relaxation. He confesses that he “murdered Vision’s son.” Confused, Gert asks him why, and he explains that his robotic body was malfunctioning. They only talk about it, and there are no illustrations of the death or violence.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None 

Language  

• Language is tame, but words like stupid, idiot, and hell appear frequently. 

Supernatural  

• This is a graphic novel about superheroes, most of whom have supernatural powers. There is magic or mentions of magic on nearly every page. For example, one of the main characters, Nico, is a witch.  
• After rescuing Molly from her mad scientist grandmother, the Runaways need to find a way to keep Child Services off their backs. Nico casts a “legal adoption” spell. Her staff glows golden, and sparks shoot towards Molly. Molly glows pink for one panel, and then it fades. It is assumed that the spell worked. 
• Karolina is an alien with powers. “She has abilities she still doesn’t understand — but she knows she needs sunshine to stay powered up.” When she uses her abilities, she glows all colors of the rainbow and can fly.  
• Julie “can fly faster than the speed of sound.” When the Runaways think they are under attack by Dr. Doom, Julie flies to the rescue. It is unclear if she has other powers. 
• When Molly’s on a playdate, her best friend, Abigail, reveals that she’s “thirteen, [she’s] always been thirteen.” Abigail offers Molly a magical cupcake that would prevent her from growing up. The cupcake looks completely normal, so when Molly brings it home and leaves it out, Julie eats it and turns into a thirteen-year-old. There is no illustration of the change. The Runaways return home to find Julie, and they eventually reverse the cupcake’s effects. 
• In a flashback, Abigail is playing in a park in 1964 when a goddess appears. Touched by Abigail’s innocence, the goddess creates the cupcake to give to Abigail and disappears by conjuring a rainbow road and running off. There is no depiction of the spell.  
• Stressed out about their present and needing a vacation, Gert and Victor hijack the time machine and go to California in 1868. The only indication that they did time travel occurs in two panels: the first, a field with nothing in it, and the second, where the time machine appears with white lines around it and lands on the grass.  

Spiritual Content  

• None  

by Kate Schuyler