Chase Stein is a player and a homemaker in Runaways No. 21

How Far Is the Road Ahead?

In fact if the series has any flaw right now, it’s that the focus may be too much on character development. While Runaways has always dealt more with its cast than the “plot of the month,” their strongest arcs always had simmering subplots. Rowell demonstrated this well with her first 18 issues. Yet after the end of the Gibborim, the subplots have dealt with aftermath at best, which can leave the book seeming a little more meandering or unfocused than it deserves to. Did the creative team expect to be canceled by now, considering Marvel’s usual trigger finger, and thus have to plot a tad on the fly?

Image by Marvel Comics

Andres Genolet has had a tough task of leaping onto a book defined by Kris Anka, but he’s hit the ground running. Chris O’Halloran tags along on colors, and the same high standard for art which existed on the book previously remains. Genolet, much like most of the Runaways artists, has a great sense of fashion and emotive expression. The sequence where Karolina saves the kid is especially thrilling, and may also bare tiding for where her arc may wind up.

Image by Marvel Comics

With some titles being on the chopping block this spring, it may be wise to take stock of this. Runaways‘ sales are fairly low; in fact the only series which sell worse are those whose main markets are in the “young adult graphic novel” market like Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur. On the other hand, a trade of the first arc is selling modestly, and Marvel has solicited the series to a 24th issue, at least. Runaways has never been a sales blockbuster, but has always been a critical darling that sold above its weight in reprints. Having a TV show hasn’t hurt either! Hopefully this means that Rowell will have as long a time as she wants to run with the Runaways.