Writer: Rainbow Rowell / Artist: Kris Anka / Marvel Comics
Runaways #9 is the funniest issue of Runaways that I can remember, which is strange, considering where we left off. Doom was busy pulling off his best Thanos impersonation and disposing of the team in mere seconds before coming for Victor’s fade. Here in issue #9 though?! I’m loving every scene that Doom’s in, and by the sixth page I was in tears fam. Despite the rise in so many comedic aspects, Rainbow Rowell’s attention to quality writing has not diminished in the slightest. In fact, she has started to fine-tune her inclusion of higher-level literacy and I’m having a blast googling the insults that get thrown around.
Doom, my G, how in the hell does one make thee hilarious? I have no clue how Rowell did it but Doom Doombot is out here serving one-liners for days. This man is about to take the Kings of Comic Comedy title from Deadpool, if this issue is any indication. He and Chase go bar for bar in a Victor fixing engineer-off. I think this fantastically dysfunctional duo is best summed up in the panel where Victor and “Doomy” reminisce on Avengers A.I. and Victor Club times, leading to a disgruntled and dejected Chase revealing his real name is Victor. Cue the side eye from Gert! I see you Kris Anka.
I asked for Lightspeed answers in this issue and my Gawd did I get them! Her and Karolina going through the ‘what can we talk about, what can’t we?’ problems pale in comparison to the shambles they are left in by the last page of this one. Kris Anka continues his streak of being so damn good at drawing the wide emotional range of expressions that our heroes are always going through. It couldn’t work any other way either, because our Runaways family members are all 13, 16 and various under-21-year-olds. They go through heartache, anger, anguish and a bevy of other feels that Anka captures with a certain expertise.
Runaways #9 was an issue that I straight up prioritized over my day job. Once the first laugh hit, I was hooked and never looked back. The pop culture references were plentiful and all money. Relationship dynamics are at the crux of Rainbow Rowell’s writing and she never lets that fall to the wayside. It was refreshing to get these polar opposites working together, while remaining very much at each other’s throats. We continue to see examples of why Runaways is about a family and not just some random collection of heroes that will take anyone (inside joke). We’re once again left with an excellent and very believable cliffhanger, and who doesn’t love a good ending that keeps you salivating for more?!
8.5 Fountain of Youth Cupcakes out of 10
Reading Runaways? Find BNP’s other reviews of the series here.
Are you following Black Nerd Problems on Twitter, Facebook,Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube or Google+?
Show Comments