The series was created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona in 2003. Maybe you’ve heard of Saga? Or Paper Girls? Those are also Brian K. Vaughan books. He’s one of my favorite writers in any genre.

Runaways follows six teenagers who find out their parents are in a secret supervillain club called The Pride. Their parents are out to annihilate humanity in exchange for eternal life.

Our main characters obviously can’t let that happen! They … well, they run away. They betray their parents and save the world. They also bicker and kiss and banter. And they make a hundred stupid mistakes.

I was reading a ton of Marvel comics in the early 2000s, but Runaways was the one that I spent all month waiting for. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was the sort of story that I wanted to write for myself.

The series was canceled in 2009, but I always felt like there were so many more stories to tell about the characters. For me, they’re Marvel classics.

So … when a Marvel editor reached out to see if I’d be interested in writing comics, my first thought was bringing back Runaways.

I was really surprised that he was open to the idea.

That editor, Nick Lowe, and I have been talking about how to bring the team back for three years now. (While I finished Landline, Carry On, “Kindred Spirits” and my graphic novel with Faith Erin Hicks.)

By the time I was ready to roll (or run) (haha), Marvel was announcing a Runaways TV series with Hulu, which felt like serendipity.

The last few months have been so much fun – digging into the characters and then working on their evolution with Kris Anka. Kris is also a Runaways fan, so all his designs come out of a deep knowledge and love for the characters.

I should say that the comic series will be totally different from the TV series. I didn’t have any details about the show when I was writing. I think the TV show is more of an origin story – with somewhat different characters.

Our series will pick up inside Marvel comics continuity, where the characters have been scattered to the four winds and occasionally crushed. (When you talk about the Runaways, there’s a lot of, “Is s/he dead? Hmm. What degree of dead?”)

The first six-issue arc will be a getting-the-band-back-together story. These are a bunch of kids who never really chose to be a superteam; they just ended up in the same boat. In the new run, we’re going to let them choose: Do they want to be Runaways? What does that even mean?



The most common question I’ve gotten on Twitter is, “Will the series be friendly to new readers?”

YES. IT WILL ABSOLUTELY BE FRIENDLY TO NEW READERS.

My goal is to write it the way I did Carry On, where it’s clear that the characters have been together for a while, but you the reader are just meeting them.

THAT SAID, RUNAWAYS IS ONE OF THE BEST COMICS EVER, AND YOU MIGHT LOVE THE ORIGINAL RUN.

Even before I took this job, I suggested Runaways to anyone who thinking about reading comics.

If you want to catch up before September, I recommend reading the Vaughan/Alphona run – basically the first 42 issues.

They’re on Kindle, Comixology, Marvel Unlimited… They’re collected in hardcover and paperback books, which you can find new and used. And MANY libraries carry them.

If you’re reading print collections, you can start with this edition: