Come Away with Me

The Runaways are still recovering from their superhero adventures, and as a result, their trust issues have worsened. All of them blame themselves for what’s happened, including thirteen-year-old Molly. She visits Krakoa’s website for more information on their sanctuary for super-powered individuals. The Runaways barely have time to recover from Doc Justice’s manipulations when two X-Men from Krakoa show up at their door, claiming to have emails from Molly that imply she needs rescuing.

The X-Men, named Wolverine and Pixie, try to take Molly to Krakoa by force, but the Runaways rescue her. The whole thing turns out to be a misunderstanding, but they realize that if the emails didn’t come from Molly, they came from another mutant in trouble. The Runaways do not trust adults, but they always come to the rescue of kids in danger. So, they team up with the X-Men to find the lost mutant.

After fighting crazy monsters, traversing through a strange dream world, and making peace amongst each other, the Runaways and the X-Men find the mutant. The X-Men take the mutant to Krakoa, where she can learn her powers in a safe environment. Yet, the Runaways still have problems, and it doesn’t look good.

Chase has been sneaking out to meet a mysterious girlfriend — one who looks a little too much like Gert. Victor and Gert aren’t a couple, especially since Victor trusted Doc Justice despite Gert’s warning not to. They don’t know how to resolve their issues. Karolina is still weak from Doc Justice’s attack, and she doesn’t know how she fits into the human world. Nico is struggling with her staff yet again, and she’s beginning to worry that bartering away a piece of her soul with each spell may not have been a good idea. The Runaways are splintering more than ever. Will they stay together, or will they prove that nothing good lasts forever?

The Runaways are strong, inspiring, and relatable protagonists who are struggling to solve problems that may not have solutions. This volume focuses on each member and takes on a more defeatist tone as the Runaways struggle to stay together. Throughout the whole series, each member has struggled with their identity. This issue culminates in realizations for all of them about where and how they fit into the adult world, which is something every kid has to figure out eventually. This last volume in the series lacks cohesive subplots, and it feels like a weak conclusion to the series. The tone is consistent throughout, focusing on self-doubt and identity; however, the story is disorganized and leaves the characters without a satisfying conclusion. It’s worth reading to see how the characters overcome their challenges and how they fight with the X-Men, but it’s a disappointing finish.

The sixth volume of The Runaways is divided into six issues, each of which continues the overall narrative while providing insight into the development of each character. The narrative focuses equally on each member of the Runaways. The narrative is simple and easily comprehensible. However, it’s a Marvel comic, which means it contains numerous Marvel references. These references can make the story confusing to those unfamiliar with Marvel. The plot in this volume is somewhat fractured, and there are too many moving parts that distract from the main themes and storyline.

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. 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 detailed artwork on each page.

Readers who enjoy rescues, fun characters, and complex family dynamics will love the unique magic, witty superheroes, and poignant struggles that the Runaways face in the sixth volume. This graphic novel emphasizes themes of hope, independence, and responsibility through well-developed and realistic characters. The Runaways have always had trust issues, but now they must figure out how to trust themselves, and it’s a very interesting journey to follow. Overall, this is a bittersweet story with a tragic message: sometimes problems are insurmountable, and even the best-laid plans fall apart.

Sexual Content

• After saving a mutant in trouble, Chase sneaks out of the Runaways’ hideout to meet up with his girlfriend. They share a kiss, hands wrapped around each other, taking up a whole page in a single panel.
• While kissing, Chase experiences a flashback to explain who his girlfriend is. Before saving the mutant in trouble, a version of Gert from the future shows up, trying to save Chase from the future. She claims she’s still in love with Chase and kisses him. Before anything more is shown, Chase snaps back to the present, where he’s kissing Gert from the future.
• After the present, Runaway Gert has a particularly rough day at school, Victor catches up with her and apologizes for the events with Doc Justice. They have an emotional conversation, and then they kiss, cupping each other’s faces. They break the kiss and continue walking home.
• In the Runaways’ moment of peace after saving the troubled mutant, Nico and Karolina share a kiss, both cupping each other’s faces. They are interrupted by aliens outside.

Violence

• After the events with Doc Justice in the previous book, Molly sent an email to Krakoa, inquiring about their haven for mutants. Then, two X-Men show up at the Runaways’ door looking for Molly. They think Molly needs extrication from an abusive situation, so one of the X-Men, Wolverine, immediately starts swinging at the Runaways with his adamantium claws. Doombot and Molly work together to stop Wolverine, and no one is hurt.
• While trying to save a mutant in trouble, the Runaways and the X-Men encounter giant monsters and fight them off. There is a lot of punching and some spraying of blood, but no one is grievously injured.
• While future Gert has a flashback, she remembers her version of Chase becoming a supervillain. He is depicted with metal fists aflame and wearing a superpowered suit. He is in an apocalyptic wasteland, surrounded by debris and a world on fire.

Drugs and Alcohol

• None

Language

• None

Supernatural

• The Runaways are a superhero team; therefore, most of the members have supernatural or magical abilities. They primarily deal with supernatural or magical crises, so there are depictions of supernatural content on nearly every page. As an example, the cover page depicts Karolina glowing in multiple colors and floating in space. Karolina is an alien who can fly and change colors.
• When Gib, the newest addition to the Runaways, wants to go to high school, he transforms from a clearly non-human being (with green skin and horns) to a human form. There is no spell spoken or magic depicted. In one panel, he looks like a monster, while in another, he looks human.
• When two X-Men show up at the Runaways’ door looking for Molly, one of them, Pixie, starts flying. Pixie has fairy wings on her back, pointed ears, black eyes, and the ability to cast magic spells. She does so several times in this graphic novel. When she says a spell, pink whorls appear around her.
• Nico is a powerful magician with a magical staff. She casts spells numerous times in the graphic novel by speaking commands, and the staff follows her commands. Golden light surrounds her when she does so. After saving the mutant in trouble, Nico admits to Karolina that she made a deal with the magician living in the staff. Nico explains, “My ancestor trapped him in the Staff, or turned him into the Staff, I guess. He’s the one who made up the stupid rules. . . we renegotiated the terms.” In return, Nico agreed to give up a part of her soul.
• While the Runaways team up with the X-Men to look for a mutant in trouble, they accidentally slip into a mass hallucination. In one panel, their bodies are partially invisible, depicting a passage between two realms – the real world and a dream world. In that dream world, they fight horrible monsters by casting a lot of spells. When they escape, they discover that the alternate world and the monsters are a hallucination designed for them by the mutant in trouble.
• In a flashback, Chase reveals that he’s been dating a version of Gert from the future for quite some time. Multiple times in the novel, she tries to transport Chase to the future to save him from his fate. When she does so, she is depicted with glowing purple gloves and purple lightning flickering around them.
• In a break between saving the mutants and the Runaways’ next crises, Gib is depicted surrounded by pink lightning and sparkles, eating the soul of a dead rat. This happens in several panels as he seems to have a group of cats that do his bidding, dropping off several dead rats with souls for Gib to absorb, then leaving.
• After dealing with their most recent crises, the Runaways experience a moment of peace, only to be interrupted by an earthquake and the landing of an alien ship in their backyard. Aliens from Karolina’s home world reappear to take her home. They also have multicolored skin and are capable of flight.

Spiritual Content

• When Gib, who is not human, wants to go to school with Gert and Victor, Chase protests, saying, “You look like something the Book of Revelation threw up. You can’t go to high school!”

by Kate Schuyler