Runaways by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 1: Find Your Way Home

by Rainbow Rowell

[Quirky Cat]

Can you believe it!?! The Runaways has finally (finally!) been rebooted. While many of our precious Runaway characters have appeared in other series since, this is the first time since the end of the series that we’ve seen them all in one place again, and I am so excited! I know it was likely the interest in the Runaways TV show that made this reboot possible, so I will be eternally grateful for that (even if I haven’t yet made it past the second episode…I’m really bad at staying caught up with TV shows…).
Something I used to do when writing reviews for the original series was to include a listing of the group as it stands, per volume. That was mostly because the members of the group were pretty consistently changing (new characters getting added, older characters dying or leaving, you know, that sort of totally normal comic book hero thing). For the sake of nostalgia I’m going to do that again (though I sincerely hope the characters will not be changing around so much this time around…I guess we’ll see).
Now, this list could technically be considered a small spoiler, but really it’s no worse than what you’re seeing on the cover of the volume (since it includes everyone). But still, consider yourself warned. Our characters for this volume include: Nico Minoru, Molly Hayes, Karolina Dean, Chase Stein, Old Lace (yes, you read that right), Gertrude Yorkes (again, yes, you read that right), and Victor Mancha.



Based on the cast listing alone you obviously know that a lot is going to have to change in order to make this reboot possible. I mean, Gert and Old Lace are pretty dead, right? And what about Victor? Didn’t he get wrapped up in an Avengers plotline and sort of get dead too? Nico we knew was alive and kicking (pretty sure she’s the fan favorite, which is why she shows up in so many different places), and I’m not surprised that Chase is alive (though I’m impressed he managed to not blow himself up for this long). Obviously the series needs Molly and Karolina.
There are a couple teammates that were in the conclusion of the series that aren’t in the reboot, but I’m actually okay with that. They were newer and never really felt like the fit in the same way, you know?
Anyway, moving on to the current events of the story now. The Runaways reboot is set a few years past the events of the original Runaways series. Meaning everyone has aged by a few years (duh)…well…mostly everyone. You’ll understand what I mean when you read it (or if you look real close at the cover, you might be able to figure it out).
I’m not going to ruin how dead characters are no longer dead, that one is worth reading about directly from the source. I will say that I am thrilled to see them back, especially Old Lace (no offense Gert and Victor, but Old Lace’s death was horrific and shocking for me and I never fully recovered from it).
I love all of the changes that have been made for this series, most of which are caused, naturally, by the passing of time. Seeing older versions of the characters is pretty cool, especially little Molly. She’s eleven now, can you believe it? She’s still pretty impulsive and naive, but not quite to the same level she was originally, so I’m going to consider that improvement.
I’m really happy with the way this series has gone so far, and hope it continues. I do feel like most of this volume was focused on getting the characters back together, giving them a reason to want to be together again (it has been some time, after all), and explaining everything that happened since we last saw them. I hope that means that the next volume will include a meatier plot, though obviously I don’t want to be losing any characters just yet. I don’t think I’m ready for that.


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