Review: Paper Girls, by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

Title: Paper Girls, Vol. 1

Author: Brian K. Vaughan

Illustrator: Cliff Chiang

Coloring: Matthew Wilson

Publisher: Image Comics

Date of Publication: April 5th, 2016

Number of Pages: 144

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary

In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.

Collects Paper Girls #1-5.

Review

Well, if I want to be honest, the cover of Paper Girls impressed me so much that I simply had to read it. And when I learnt that it was written by Brian K. Vaughan my enthusiasm grew even more. Needless to say that I don't really need an excuse to pick up a comic book.

The dawn after the Halloween, four girls are out in the streets delivering the morning papers. But something strange is happening: alien monsters and humanoid creatures have invaded Earth and the girls are finding themselves going from one danger to the next. 

Honestly, I would never have guessed where the story was going from the comic's summary alone. Before I had started reading it I had the impression that it would be some sort of coming-of-age story. I wouldn't say that I was disappointed, just a little surprised.

Beside this fact, the pace of the comic book was amazing. On each page, there was something different that both moved the story forward and added elements to the suspense. There wasn't a clear indication which creatures were good and which bad, and so every time the girls met with a new one I was literally holding my breath. Of course, this was a little confusing at times, but I expect to find more in the second volume when it comes out.

The problem with Paper Girls was the characters. There wasn't enough character development and I felt that I needed to know more about each girl's past. Maybe we'll get some kind of backstory later on, but for the time being the information we had just wasn't enough. The only character that was instantly distinctive was Mackenzie because she was the tough one. I wonder what made her act like that. Also, I felt that the girls were too young, being just twelve years old. For me, it would be more fitting to the illustrations if they were fourteen or a bit older. 

My very first impression of Paper Girls was quickly confirmed: the are was INCREDIBLE! Both the illustrations and the coloring were so distinctive and memorable. I'm sure that this is an art style that I will remember no matter what. You just have to take a look at it to understand what I mean!

I also really loved that this comic was so 1980's! The clothes the girls were wearing, their hairstyles and everything shouted that we were in this particular decade and it was awesome. So much nostalgia!

Paper Girls was an amazing read! It had great action, many twists and I can't wait to read more. A must-read for the comic book lovers.