Runaways Vol. 3: The Good Die Young

A very sweet and exciting beginning. I hardly ever read comics anymore, but this makes me want to check out more of Vaughan's work. The characters read as real and relatable to someone like me, who was once a teenager.

This book has a neat hook, with neat characters, and a crazy twist at the end. With all that's happened so far, where can they go from here? Guess we have to wait until they create Vol. 2! Recommended for Whedon fans as well. Many pop culture references and epigrams ensue!

The story itself was great, however the product was not. Every single page tore out when I was reading no matter how gentle I was. Also, it does not say in the description that the book was so small it could fit in a purse. I highly recommend the series, just chose a different seller for a better product.

5 Stars for content, but there seems to be faulty binding (as others have mentioned). I had to send back my first one because I literally opened the book and a few pages fell out. The second copy seems alright, but the cover still is a bit separated from the book

originality at it's best, definitely a must read for people interested in "something different", too many comics are based off of "the characters of yesterday" being re-hashed over and over and Runaways is a breath of fresh air to say the least.

My students cracked the book for the first time and the spine released all the pages. From that point on it was a challenge to keep each reader from dropping the book or getting the pages out of order. They have no page numbers at all.

After reading Vol. 1 of the runaways, I couldnt wait to get my hands on volume two. The action and intreque keeps you pumped through the whole mini book. Check it out, its quite amazing. It is the collection of the first writings of the runaways into a manga/trade paperback style little book.

My 12 year old daughter got interested in this series and was sucked in very quickly by the theme. I perused it as well and found it to be well written and with great art work. She read the whole series in short order and loved it. Definitely a winner.

AMAZING>>> The book is already FALLING APART - we are going to have to send it back. All the pages are falling out.
What kind of a book falls apart after one time being read? A poorly made one, that is what.
Obviously a quality control issue. I would not recommend investing in this.

this is a totally predictable soap opera for children.
it starts as a boring soap opera but speeds up a little bit after the first half.
at more than 400 pages it a really long reading experience for your money.
the book itself is high quality, nice dust jacket, beautiful glossy paper.

I bought this book for my daughter, the instant she opened the book, all the pages fell out, and now they are out of order, and with no page numbers on the pages..impossible to put back in original order. What the hell?!

The Runaways discover the bizarre origins of their parents’ supervillain group, The Pride, before deciding they need to confront them once and for all. But the mole in the group threatens to bring them down, while The Pride have their own insurrectionists. Whatever happens, there will be blood!

After a lull in the weak second volume, Brian K Vaughan is back with a much more energised and focused third book. The origin story for The Pride is completely bonkers but in keeping with what you’d expect from Marvel (cosmic zaniness)! After that it’s all systems go as he has the Runaways, uh, running away from the LAPD and then deciding running away’s not for them anymore and take the fight to the ‘rentals – wow, successful character arcs, that’s something you don’t often see in a Marvel comic!

For the most part the characters are well written. They’re teenagers so they’ve got lame superhero names – Arsenic and Old Lace, Lucy in the Sky, etc. – because they’ve kids’ imaginations. They’re also hooking up left and right, as the kids do (he says, adjusting his walker). The only character who’s strangely written is Molly. She’s 10 or 11 but she behaves like a 5 year old, always throwing babyish temper tantrums and talking like an ickle kiddy!

The mole storyline is exciting and the payoff is excellent – I didn’t expect THAT character to be the Judas! Vaughan also makes them almost sympathetic because they’ve been humanised as one of the goodies to us over three books – almost. And then the mole does the classic corndog thing of monologuing long enough so that the heroes have a chance to recover. If I were going to put an obnoxious gif in this review, it’d be of Scott Evil telling his dad how supervillains should deal with prisoners - “I have a gun, in my room, you give me five seconds, I'll get it, I'll come back down here, BOOM, I'll blow their brains out!”

The reasons though for what The Pride are about and how they got their powers, etc., is conveyed a bit too conveniently. Alex finds a book where literally everything they said and did got written down for some reason. There’s a comment from Karolina’s mum about wanting to have a kid so she’d be preggers on the cover of People magazine – why would anyone record that? But then why would anyone record all of this anyway? Their parents were going to sit them down and tell them the whole deal when they turned 18, why would they need a book for that same purpose?

Those are only three minor problems though that don’t detract from an enjoyable read. The frog robot is a great vehicle – excellent design, Adrian Alphona! – and Cap makes a cameo, reminiscent of the way The Lord of the Flies ended. The ending itself is a little earnest but that too fits in with the whole teenage mindset. The Good Die Young is really fun and the pages fly by – a good finale to the first Runaways arc!

Alex, Gertrude, Karolina, Chase, Molly and Nico are The Runaways, hiding out from their newly revealed supervillain parents aka The Pride. Are murderous supervillain parents with seemingly unlimited resources the biggest threat to these teenagers? No, it’s a cute boy!! Ohmigod Topher is like so hawt, sploosh! As the girls’ bickering over the new kid on the block threatens to break up the group, a pair of Z-list heroes called Cloak and Dagger are hired by The Pride to track down the Runaways.

The first volume was so good, Brian K Vaughan’s basically repeating it in the second with hopes of similar success. Seriously, the first issue in this book is so packed with clumsy exposition, recounting everything that’s happened so far, I wished he’d just written a summary page and pasted it at the start instead so I could ignore it and get on with the next part of the story! In a way it’s almost like an homage to classic Marvel-style where every character recounted their backstories every single time they appeared!

Talking about classic Marvel, anyone remember Cloak and Dagger? Because I don’t – but then I wasn’t reading Marvel in the ‘80s. Apparently they were runaway characters themselves for some embarrassing public service announcement comics or something? As if a pair of characters called Cloak and Dagger could be anything less than embarrassing! They have “hack” written all over them! I wouldn’t say they were terrible in this book though and I appreciate that Vaughan is ensuring his series remains on the fringes of the Marvel Universe by keeping his costume choices very obscure.

The cute boy storyline isn’t as bad as it sounds either and, without giving away spoilers, it does anticipate a major trend in YA/romance stories a few years before it became the standard. The sub-plot of the mole in the group is still enticing and the storyline and overall tone of the series remains very fun. Adrian Alphona’s art undergoes a change in the second half of the volume, indicative of the kind of art he would produce years later which isn’t nearly as polished and (sorry but it’s true) boring as it’s been so far in the series.

The second volume of Runaways disappointingly isn’t as brilliant as the first. The excessive exposition is really awkward and annoying and the plot nearly as exciting but it’s still not a bad comic – Marvel have produced far, far worse! At any rate this mediocre book hasn’t put me off the title and I have faith that this talented creative team can still produce some more great work given the enormous potential of the series.

Mums and dads play a major role in superhero stories. Frequently they are the hero’s main motivation for becoming the superhero in the first place: Bruce Wayne’s parents were shot dead, Kal-El’s parents’ last act was to send him to Earth where he became Superman, Peter Parker’s father figure Uncle Ben was killed by a mugger, Hal Jordan’s dad died in a plane crash, Odin gave Thor his powers by forging Mjolnir, Charles Xavier shepherded untold numbers of young mutants to realise their full potential, and so on.

Brian K Vaughan’s Runaways are similar in that the characters are made into superheroes through their parents - except they’re forced to step up and make that choice because their parents are supervillains trying to kill them!

Alex, Gertrude, Karolina, Chase, Molly and Nico are the teenage offspring of well-to-do Californian philanthropists. When their parents gather to decide which charities to patronise for the following year, the bored kids decide to spy on the dull grown-ups - and then discover that their parents are secretly supervillains in a group called The Pride! The murder of an innocent at the hands of their mums and dads makes up their minds for them - they have to run away, or they could be next!

I’m a big Brian K Vaughan fan so I’m not sure how it’s taken me this long to get around to this series but I’m glad I did because Runaways is terrific! Like Joss Whedon, Vaughan’s speciality is self-aware drama with the right amount of levity, as well as writing superb dialogue for convincing young characters. There’s not a single member of the group that doesn’t feel like a real teenager or unlikeable in any strong way. They’re charming and obnoxious, wise-ish but still kinda dumb, vulnerable, idealistic and guileless, thoughtless, fearful and brave - they’re teenagers.

Runaways’ concept is still remarkably fresh so that even in 2015 this comic from 2003 reads really well. It’s also Marvel in name only with a handful of pages at the start and the occasional reference tossed in denoting this is set in the Marvel Universe. I’m convinced if Vaughan were to write this today, he’d publish it via Image as his own independent superhero comic and it’d still work as perfectly.

The only giveaway that this is from several years ago is Adrian Alphona’s art. I’m a fan of the guy’s work from his recent run on G. Willow Wilson’s Ms Marvel so it’s surprising to see how different it looks here. It’s not as stylised or unique, not as eye-catching - it’s fine, it’s just a bit bland and generic, so much so that if I hadn’t seen his name on the cover, I would never have guessed he drew this book.

That and Vaughan’s occasionally too cool for school dialogue (Nico yawns, Gertrude points and deadpans: “What she said”) are the only critiques I’ll say about this book, but they’re minor quibbles really.

Runaways is brilliant. I wasn’t expecting it to grab me like it did but I was really drawn into the story with its unpredictable twists and turns and I loved getting to know this completely new set of characters. In fact the unpredictability comes from not knowing the characters and what they can do, so the two go hand in hand.

It’s definitely my favourite of all Vaughan’s work for hire Marvel stuff, maybe because it doesn’t feel like a Marvel comic or that it tries something a little different and succeeds. I think if you liked Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s Young Avengers, you’ll get a lot out of Vaughan and Alphona’s Runaways, though even readers who don’t especially like superhero comics might find themselves turned by this one. Good job, guys!

While I think anyone can read this book I definitely feel this book is geared towards the teenage/college crowd. That being said the story is very clever and entertaining. However, I felt like there was something missing from the story. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something made the book feel less than complete. I am aware the series continues on, but that wasn't it. Anyways, the book still had a lot of good content and the writing style was enjoyable. The story does a good job of introducing the characters and does make you want to read on. If you are looking for a team up book that isn't of the normal Marvel variety, then Runaways is a great option. It is very entertaining and the concept of the book is original, but at the same time very relate-able to most people (especially teens and the young college crowd). It is worth a shot and your time.

**Note: You may wanted to purchase the hardcover versions, because the small paperbacks can fall apart without notice. It can be very frustrating to read and have the pages slip out. Even worse the pages are not numbered, so putting it back together if you hadn't read it can be impossible. I understand the book is only $10, but you think with all the money Marvel makes they could afford to make decent binding for these books even though they are less expensive than their other books.

Runaways collects into 3 volumes covering 11 books (or 3 books if you buy the larger volume version) plus two side books. Volume 1 (Books 1-3) and Volume 2 (Books 4-8) were really, really good. Volume 3 (Books 9-1) was mediocre and ends kind of abruptly. The two size stories (Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways and Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers) are alright but not really essential. If you want to read Runaways, it is a series to simply read in order since it's not that long. However, I wouldn't fault anyone who stopped reading after finishing Book 8 (Dead End Kids) and didn't bother with the last three books.

Here's the complete reading order for the main series:
Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride & Joy
Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland
Runaways Vol. 3: The Good Die Young
Runaways Volume 4: True Believers (Runaways (Numbered Paperback))
Runaways, Vol. 5: Escape to New York
Runaways Volume 6: Parental Guidance
Runaways, Vol. 8: Dead End Kids
Runaways - Volume 9: Dead Wrong
Runaways: Rock Zombies
Runaways: Homeschooling

(There's apparently a link limit, but the last two are also on the store.)

Love the Story, though you get more meat in later volumes. One of my all time favorite series.

Had the first 3 in digest, loaned out the first never got it back. went to buy it here and it was sitting at about $8. Then all of a sudden it literally went up 3600% to $288. THIS IS A REPRINT PEOPLE! I have every individual issue of the 3 original series (before the recent relaunch) and I'm not sure they would cost me that much combined. If this is still at this price while your looking at it go buy any other version of the same story for under $25.

Runaways collects into 3 volumes covering 11 books (or 3 books if you buy the larger volume version) plus two side books. Volume 1 (Books 1-3) and Volume 2 (Books 4-8) were really, really good. Volume 3 (Books 9-1) was mediocre and ends kind of abruptly. The two size stories (Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways and Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers) are alright but not really essential. If you want to read Runaways, it is a series to simply read in order since it's not that long. However, I wouldn't fault anyone who stopped reading after finishing Book 8 (Dead End Kids) and didn't bother with the last three books.

Here's the complete reading order for the main series:
Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride & Joy
Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland
Runaways Vol. 3: The Good Die Young
Runaways Volume 4: True Believers (Runaways (Numbered Paperback))
Runaways, Vol. 5: Escape to New York
Runaways Volume 6: Parental Guidance
Runaways, Vol. 8: Dead End Kids
Runaways - Volume 9: Dead Wrong
Runaways: Rock Zombies
Runaways: Homeschooling

(There's apparently a link limit, but the last two are also on the store.)

Runaways collects into 3 volumes covering 11 books (or 3 books if you buy the larger volume version) plus two side books. Volume 1 (Books 1-3) and Volume 2 (Books 4-8) were really, really good. Volume 3 (Books 9-1) was mediocre and ends kind of abruptly. The two size stories (Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways and Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers) are alright but not really essential. If you want to read Runaways, it is a series to simply read in order since it's not that long. However, I wouldn't fault anyone who stopped reading after finishing Book 8 (Dead End Kids) and didn't bother with the last three books.

Here's the complete reading order for the main series:
Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride & Joy
Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland
Runaways Vol. 3: The Good Die Young
Runaways Volume 4: True Believers (Runaways (Numbered Paperback))
Runaways, Vol. 5: Escape to New York
Runaways Volume 6: Parental Guidance
Runaways, Vol. 8: Dead End Kids
Runaways - Volume 9: Dead Wrong
Runaways: Rock Zombies
Runaways: Homeschooling

(There's apparently a link limit, but the last two are also on the store.)

Brian K. Vaughan, Runaways, vol. 1: Pride and Joy (Marvel, 2004)

The more of Brian Vaughan's work I read, the more I think he is incapable of doing anything wrong. (Dear government: please hire Brian K. Vaughan to fix the messes in Iraq, Afghanistan, New Orleans, and Haiti, plzkthxbi.) Y: The Last Man did wonderful things for science fiction, and Ex Machina does better politics than 80% of the political novels I've read. Pride of Baghdad was awesome. Now I've delved into Runaways, and it is equally impressive.

Pride and Joy, the first book in the series, is setup. We meet our main characters (the runaways of the title, though that doesn't happen until late in the volume), six seemingly regular teenagers who are all getting ready for their parents' annual dinner party. This year is no different; the six, who have no contact with one another on any other day of the year (and are wildly disparate personalities), spend a couple of hours sitting around in the den, studiously avoiding interaction with one another. That does not a good graphic novel make, however, and it lasts for all of one panel before Vaughan creates a situation that allows some of the kids to find out that their parents are not going over tax documents while locked in that study, no, not at all. In fact, they're a group of supervillains known as the Pride, and the six kids sitting in the den are the heirs to the thrones. Now we've got a classic situation set up: what to do when you're basically a decent person, but you're being groomed to the position of supervillain? The older members of the newly-formed pack (eleven-year-old Molly, they decide, should probably be sheltered from the horrible truth about her parents) decide they should probably try to counteract as much of the damage their parents do as possible.

I've already gone as far as I'm comfortable into spoiler territory here, but there's much more to be had in this book, and there's far more to come after that. As in many of the best graphic novel series, the true pleasures here are the small discoveries; I'd give you examples, but that would defeat the purpose. Suffice to say Vaughan is as good as always, and Runaways is one to check out if you haven't already. *** ½

For Runaways Fans: This is THE way to read Runaways. Under the attractive dust jacket, the cover is made up of a soft black vinyl material that is extremely durable. The book itself is huge, letting you appreciate the art in a way that it may not have been able to be appreciated in the original comics and the infinitely smaller digest trade paperbacks. Plus, the book is loaded with extras. We've got an introduction, sketches, a letter from Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, and the man who eventually takes over the writing duties of Runaways himself), and the actual proposal for the series by Brian K. Vaughan. Whether you're buying this because you want to get the most you can out of the series or because you're a fan wanting to own a true collectors item, this is more than worth the $[...]. Forget those tiny, manga-looking digests. THIS is the way to go.

For New Comers: Not too long ago, I was one of you. I'll help you make your decision. Have you read any of Brian K. Vaughan's previous work? Do you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Veronica Mars, Heroes, Supernatural, YA lit, or comics in general? Do you like quirk? How about a bit of geekery? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, give this book a try. It's a comic series worth getting into.

For Nay Sayers: The biggest complaint I'm hearing is that "Runaways" is 'too young' or 'too immature' for them. I say unto thee: the first issue left that impression on me as well. But read past it. Read between the lines, and a complex story will emerge through what seems simplistic. The mythology of the story (and the villainous "Pride") will grow, and the characters will have a sort of endearing depth to them. Give it another try, will you?

For Me: I loved this book. Eighteen issues of quirky, Young Adult, fantasy-drama written, pencilled, and colored beautifully is precisely what I was looking for when I purchased this book. My reviews for the individual six-issue arcs found in this book can be found HERE (Runaways Vol. 1: Pride and Joy, (No Link Here For #2, So Here's The URL:) [...], and Runaways Vol. 3: The Good Die Young). The only problem I had with this book was finding a shelf big enough for it to fit in!

9/10

Escape to New York contains to story arcs from Brian K. Vaughan's amazing Runaways series. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book, Runaways is the story of a group of LA teenagers who learned that their parents were supervillains. They have become a supergroup in order to atone for their parents' sins, but they are one of the most unconventional supergroups in the history of comics. They don't wear costumes, they distrust nearly everyone, including A-list superheroes such as the Avengers (in a previous volume, one of the Runaways was insulted when someone thought that she was part of the Young Avengers), and they are wanted by the police, who see them as delinquants.

Led by Nico Minoru, a powerful witch, the other Runaways include Gert Yorkes, who psychically commands a genetically engineered dinosaur, Chase Stein, their ship's pilot, Molly Hayes, a mutant with superstrength, Karolina Dean, a solar-powered alien, and their newest recruit, Victor Mancha, the cyborg "son" of Ultron, one of the deadliest killing machines ever invented.

In the first arc, Star-Crossed, Karolina finally admits to her homosexuality and makes a move on Nico, which ends up badly for the two of them. But that pales in comparison to the decision she must face when a Skrull warrior arrives and tells her that he is her betrothed husband. After explaining about the history between Karolina's homeworld of Majesdane and the Skrull world, which includes nothing but violence and deception, he tells her that, he tells her that her evil parents made a deal to offer up Karolina in exchange for aid from the Skrulls.

In East Coast/West Coast, the Runaways are reunited with Cloak, of Cloak and Dagger, after the New Avengers accuse him of beating Dagger into a coma. While the Runaways are initially skeptical about helping out Cloak, who was unable to fulfill his promise to them to help them deal with the Pride after the Runaways' parents erased his and Dagger's memory, they eventually concede, and Cloak brings them to New York.

While a few of the Runaways try to find out who the imposter is who framed Cloak, others try to keep the New Avengers away from Cloak. This leads to a great scene with Gert, Victor, and Spider-Man, as well as a hilarious confrontation between Molly and her hero Wolverine.

Both of these arcs are very well done, as usual. Vaughan is a great writer, and the East Coast/West Coast story may be one of the best since the original run of Runaways. Even better is the fact that Marvel actually used some quality paper to print the series on in this digest, so the colors don't bleed together, and everything is clear, though smaller than when it premiered in single-issue format. I really hope that Marvel puts out a second (and third, and fourth, and so on...) hardcover of this series because these digests don't do it justice. This is truly one of Marvel's greatest assets, and everyone should definitely check it out.

Brian K. Vaughan really knows what he's doing. This volume, collecting issues thirteen through eighteen of the first run of "Runaways," ties up every loose end perfectly. The villainous characters that make up The Pride, the primary villains of the series, are finally--and gracefully--fleshed out.

The story, simple as it is (kids rush to stop their evil parents from sacrificing the soul of an innocent girl to giant monsters), will leave you satisfied with what you've got, though still wanting more. Also, instead of the straightforward good versus evil that many of Marvel comics offer up, "Runaways" is really all about ambiguity. No one in this story is pure evil; there are so many ways to interpret this story that it may in fact leave you pondering it for long after you put it down.

The story isn't perfect, though. Deus ex machina is heavily put to use here, from the convenient way that Chase both found and was able to operate his parent's "ship" as well as the sudden, unexplained appearance of a very popular Marvel hero at the end, who neatly brings things to a close. However, the story is simply tasty enough to ignore that. You don't get the kind of quirky fantasy-drama that "Runaways" brings to the table without a price, and the usage of deus ex machina in this volume was that price. In my book, it was more than worth it.

The final issue collected in this volume is one of the best comics I've read, period. There's not much action--though there is some--but it's a perfect wind-down if I've ever read one. That's a problem many writers have, whether it be in prose, comics, or script-writing. The wind-down of a story has to be equally as good as the climax, answering any questions that weren't answered at that climatic moment, and at the same time giving a little nod to every little plot thread that was addressed earlier in the work. Brian K. Vaughan, seemingly effortlessly, does that.

9/10

You've all experienced it. Not all of you notice it every time, though, but it's there. It's that point of realization when, while reading/watching something, you realize that you're experiencing something truly great. Those moments vary for all of us, but I remember a few of my "PoR"s. It can come early in the story (for me, Harry Potter's "Sorting" in the first book was my PoR) or even when the story has been going on for a while (Giles and Buffy's poignant exchange in the end of "Lie to Me" from the second season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comes to mind) but every truly great work as it.

Runaways delivered that Point of Realization to me in this arc.

Starting off with a light one-shot side adventure of the fan favorite Molly, Brian K. Vaughan packs every page with quotable dialogue, huge character moments, and poignant insight into said characters. Molly's dream sequence in the end is officially the first time--other than the revelation at the end of Angel After the Fall #1 Season 6 of course--that a comic brought a tear to my eye. To say any more would be to spoil the reveal, but that very moment turns what would otherwise be a forgettable--yet enjoyable--side story into one of the best "Runaways" moments there is.

The greatness continues through-out the next five issues, which make up "Parental Guidance," the strongest arc this series has produced so far. Fear of the future (Victor worries about becoming the 'villain' he was told he would become; Gert rejects becoming the woman from the future) and encounters with people from the past--friends and enemies alike--are the big themes in this arc. As disturbing revelations threaten to tear the team up, they find themselves coming face to face with the until now faceless villains who've been plotting against them since the beginning of Runaways, Vol. 2.

Penciller Adrian Alphona is at his best here. I'm not sure if it's the way his style meshes with colorist Christina Strain's work (far superior than Brian Reber, the prior colorist) or the simple fact that he has been working with Brian K. Vaughan and these characters for such a long time, but the artistic delivery here is top notch. And, while I do miss Jo Chen's covers and feel that Marcos Martin's work on the covers is sub par, the interior material is just so good that I don't care what the covers look like. Though, I must add that I'm glad Chen is back as the cover artist for the next arc.

Whether "Runaways" has already delivered a Point of Realization to you or if you're still waiting for it, I suggest buying this book straight away. The writing and the art have never been tighter than they are in these six issues.

9/10