Review: Paper Girls Vol. 1
Quick Summary
Pros: The characters are great and their adventures create plenty of tension. The mystery is incredibly interesting. Emotional moments hint toward more personal elements to be introduced later. The artwork is gorgeous and is a wonderful complement to the story.
Cons: Nothing significant.
Overall: This is a mind-blowing beginning to a series that is easy to become enraptured with. It stars a great cast of characters, tells an exciting adventure, and contains a mystery that is a joy to learn about. This science fiction thriller is entertaining from beginning to end and drops hints that indicate it is only going to get better from here. Anyone with an interest in classic-feeling science fiction or complex mystery should check this book out.
Story
Paper Girls Vol. 1, by Brian K. Vaughan, is both instantly enjoyable and instantly addictive. It starts with a core group of charming and well-written characters, the titular “paper girls”. Then, it plunges these characters into a delightfully bizarre science fiction adventure. This adventure is packed to the brim with mystery, leaving readers with the constant urge to read and discover more. In the end, this is an extremely promising start to a series with tons of potential.
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The base upon which Paper Girls Vol. 1 is built ends up being the “paper girls” themselves. Each of these lead characters brings plenty of personality with them, all of which is appreciated through this read. In addition, their personal struggle and confusion gives the chaos here a human element, which makes the action even more intense. This intensity peaks as Erin is shot, a shocking moment that solidifies this volume’s place as a genuine thriller.
Upon this base, the central plot and most interesting aspect of Paper Girls Vol. 1 is derived from the mystery behind everything going on within this book. Right from the start, the characters witness some sort of malevolent invasion, run into people who are apparently time-travelers, and encounter the leader of a hereto unknown conspiracy. There is a lot going on here and almost none of it is fully revealed to the reader. This drives forward a tremendous amount of interest in both this volume and the series as a whole.
Though most of the story is focused on thrilling brushes with danger and uncovering some massive conspiracies, there are also more meaningful elements explored through some of the actions of individual characters. Paper Girls takes small moments to highlight adversity faced by women, issues surrounding homophobia, and even the impact a rough home life can have on a child. There is even a very well-executed moment where Tiff literally sees her life flash before her eyes, demonstrating life’s value and also showing how easily it can be wasted. Hopefully, as this series progresses, these themes and issues will continue to pop up and maybe develop into something even more meaningful.
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Art
The other major positive in Paper Girls is the artwork. Throughout this entire volume, Cliff Chiang presents a gorgeous take on the strange world in which this comic is set. The main cast looks great and their adventures are detailed with crisp lines that allow every important element to pop.
However, the best feature of the artwork here is how well it suits this particular story. Cliff Chiang’s stylized presentation feels evocative of early works of science fiction, which perfectly matches the tone of this book. This can been seen when sci-fi elements are introduced, as they are never so elaborate that they fail to fit into the familiar environment of suburbia. This world is then draped in simple colors, from Matt Wilson, which further emphasize this tone. All of this helps set this book apart as something unique, which helps make the visuals even more worthwhile.
Continuity
Paper Girls Vol. 1 is the first volume in a brand new comic series and has no connections to previously existing comics.
The story here continues in Paper Girls Vol. 2.