Runaways #9

I have been disappointed with the Terry Moore's Runaways throughout its entire span. Brian K. Vaughan's Runaways was smart, funny, and fresh. Moore's has been moronic, lame, and stale. This issue does little to correct those flaws.

Vaughn had a way of making us feel Nico's confusion, Chase's pain, and Molly's hunger. Moore just writes the characters talking about their emotions without ever conveying them. Nico saying "I'm confused" isn't nearly as effective as her trying to figure out where to go next after Karolina's departure or Alex's betrayal.

His humor doesn't work well either because he just uses concepts that Vaughan created, but not nearly as well. Molly wanted costumes five years ago. That joke is old.

One thing Moore does well in this issue is set up a potential story for Kathryn Immonen when she finally takes over the writing duties. Nico's great grandmother experimented on her to increase her magic ability. Maybe Nico can finally go back to being cool instead of constantly messing things up. Who knows? Maybe she'll be the next Sorcerer Supreme.

Takeshi Miyazawa's art, while extremely better than Humberto Ramos's mess, is still far inferior to Adrian Alphona's. The issue looks like an episode of Digimon rather than a comic book of Marvel's best team. I understand Miyazawa has an anime style, but his characters are a little too cartoony and no atmosphere is conveyed in his panels. I can't sense the stress or chaos of a situation. And what is up with Nico's hair? She's supposed to be goth. No bangs allowed. One thing Miyazawa does do well, though, is making the characters look their ages.

I can't wait for Terry Moore's run on this series to end. Runaways has lost all the humor and freshness that Vaughan brought when he created the series. Hopefully, Immonen can revitalize this team in June before they become dispensable.