Runaways. Dead end kids

Definitely not BKV.

I was so ready to get snarky about this book, right from the cover art. “Oooo, he's only one volume in and Whedon's already got the super-strong girl alone on the front cover.” However, I did end up really enjoying it - Whedon was able to add significantly to the Runaways storyline, while at the same time keeping the series true to its roots.

The plot, in a nutshell: after being connived into working with the Kingpin, the Runaways find themselves trapped in 1907 New York. There they interact with some local super-powered street gangs, find out about some of the harsher realities of life at the turn of the last century (child marriage, sweatshop labour, etc), and have a run-in with the villianous time-traveling Yorke family. Due to the type of logic only possible in time travel stories, though, it's the Yorkes' first time meeting the Runaways after they've gained their powers, despite the Runaways having met them several times before. There's some tragedy here, as Chase reveals to them that their daughter, Gertrude, has already died in their timeline, meaning that the Yorkes will have to live the rest of their lives knowing that their daughter will die young.