Review: Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

Title: Paper Girls Volume 1
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Publisher: Image Comics
ISBN: 1632156741

I hadn't heard about Paper Girls until fairly recently and I have to say that it's one of those comics that isn't getting the attention it should, despite it being written by Brian K. Vaughan of Saga fame. It's one of those comics that has a great plot, interesting characters, and a central mystery that kept me reading throughout the entire first volume. 

The series's premise is set in 1980s America and centers around a group of 12-year-old girls, all of whom work as newspaper deliverers. We're introduced to the girls by Erin, who has just started her route and is invited to join the other three girls after they rescue her from being harassed by a group of older boys intent on causing mischief. From there they end up getting involved with some strange looking aliens and end up finding that their entire town has disappeared. 

We're given a little bit of explanation here and there as to what's going on and the nature of the aliens is explained by the end of the first volume, however we're left with far more questions than answers. Just enough information is imparted to keep it from getting too frustrating, which only makes things far more interesting. I have to say that even after zipping through the first volume I'm still not sure what's going on, although I keep wondering if it's a similar situation to Stephen King's Langoliers. 

Art-wise, this is great and throughout it I kept thinking that the character design reminded me very slightly of Frank Miller's art style in The Dark Knight Returns. In particular, the character design for Mac reminds me heavily of the character Carrie Kelly, Miller's Robin. It's not super strong, but it's enough to where I wonder if Miller's Carrie was a bit of an influence on Mac's character or design. 

Character-wise, Vaughan and all did a good job. There are a few moments where the characters are a bit jumpy in how they're established, where their emotions don't really come across as strong as they should. A key example of this would be a scene in Mac's home between herself and a family member, where an emotional moment just doesn't feel as solid as it should, given that they were somewhat antagonistic towards each other only a page or so earlier. It's not so bad that it stands in the way of the story, but we know that Vaughan is capable of so much more. 

Overall this was a fun read and Paper Girls is something I can easily see myself purchasing and re-reading in the future. It's just a little surprising that I hadn't heard of this until I saw it on Netgalley, especially given that it's being written by someone involved with one of the most popular indie series currently running. Hopefully this will be rectified at some point in the future. 

4/5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)