It’s Wednesday, and that means new comics. Let Deadshirt steer your wallet in the right direction with reviews (and preview pages) of titles out today from Image, Dark Horse, IDW, BOOM! Studios, Archie, MonkeyBrain, Oni, Fantagraphics, Top Shelf, Action Lab, and more!
Paper Girls #3
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Cliff Chiang
Color by Matt Wilson
Letters by Jared K. Fletcher
Image Comics
$2.99
Paper Girls has begun to ease back a bit on the’80s childhood nostalgia as the story’s scope widens, allowing an interdimensional portal to dump a load of trouble on a gaggle of scrappy 12-year-olds. I am, as the youths say nowadays, BKV trash, and much to my delight, this installment seems to mark every box on the Brian K. Vaughanism checklist: someone doesn’t realize they’ve been shot and says something ironic, a trippy dream sequence features a historical special guest, an enemy gets owned in an unexpected way, and a scary alien monster turns out to be kind of sexy. It’s everything I wanted for Christmas!
One of the reasons this comic has been so on point is artist Cliff Chiang’s consistent pacing with the story; his illustrations are wrought with emotion, and his timing is perfectly in sync with Vaughan, with every page turn apt to go awry. The color work is pretty stellar as well, and I actually did a double take when I saw Matt Wilson in the credits. Wilson is also on Marvel’s Mighty Thor at the moment, and if you want to see his impressive range, check out the first issue’s foldout cover featuring a breathtaking rainbowy spectrum of colors. In Paper Girls, however, he casts everything in shades of magenta as the gentle suburbs are infiltrated by futuristic Shakespearean droogs riding pterosaurs.
The further this series moves from its first issue, the more successful it seems to become. The girls are becoming distinct from one another (whereas before they felt a little generic), and I can even keep up with their names! Plus Vaughan can really nail a chapter ending, and every issue leaves me anticipating the next installment. I can’t wait to see how much weirder this story about nostalgia, futurism, mutants, and dinosaurs can get!
—Sarah Register
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