Teen Lib.

Runaways Vol. 4: True Believers was I must say my favorite of the runaway series yet, which is saying a lot as anything Brian K. Vaughan does is A ok in my book. Any way, for those of you who might be unfamiliar with the Runaways story, it is about a bunch of kids who discover they have super powers. Unfortunately this discovery came on the heels of another discovery which was simply, that all of their parents were part of a syndicate of super villains called the pride and that they were all evil murderers. If you haven’t read any of these books yet I suggest you go out and pick up the first three volumes and read them. However I also suggest you stop reading now as this will contain a brief recap of earlier volumes, which means spoilers.

At the end of Runaways Vol. 3 we saw the group of runaways defeat their parents, and of course the traitor Alex, and escape from the underwater lair where apparently the Parents died. Now, in Runaways Vol. 4 we see the group, as they have rejoined each other after escaping from the various foster homes they had been put in. They are now trying to use their powers for good to battle all of the evil elements which have surfaced in the wake of The Pride. Unfortunately this task becomes much harder when someone from the future tells them about a horrible villain from her time that they need to stop while he is still a kid. To make matters even harder for the group they are being tracked by a group of former b-list super heroes who have formed a support group for kids with super powers. This group is trying to capture all of the runaways so they can help them avoid the mistakes they made at their age. In this volume Vaughan mixes a very interesting story with some of the very witty writing he has become known for. Anyone who has been a fan of Marvel comics will enjoy the references from past members of the Marvelverse including Darkhawk, Chamber, Wonder Man, and a variety of others. This installment is also rife with funny reference to pop culture and does a great job making its characters appeal to teens. This is perhaps the best volume yet in the series and it shows us that this could be a popular series to come.

For more info check out Brian k Vaughans website BKV.TV or Amazon