Paper Girls

*I received this from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review*

Another comic book review, this time Paper Girls by Brian K Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matthew Wilson. Now, I may not have professed my undying love for Saga here yet (another creation by Brian K Vaughan), so this is that moment. The first three volumes of that series were one of the first comics I read and they are still in my top three favourites (series-wise; also includes Bitch Planet and Locke & Key). However, I couldn’t immerse myself in the story of this one as easily. And that’s saying something when a space opera-ish Romeo and Juliet story is easier to grasp than four teenage girls on their paper route. OK, just kidding, that’s not even close to all this series is about… It’s set in America in the 1980s and features four young paper girls. They are delivering newspapers after Halloween when, well, shit hits the fan. And this is where it gets confusing. There are weird ninja-types, and then suddenly an apocalyptic atmosphere over everything, and the twists keep on coming. Oh, and maybe also dinosaurs? Nothing makes sense, and a lot of it is not meant to be figured out. I just found the story extremely confusing and not exactly enjoyable. Just a sidenote: in the end there were some very, very clever allusions – to what, I won’t say, as it can be spoilery – that made me smirk. However, even after finishing, I’ve absolutely no clue where this series is going. I mean the genre aspect became a little bit clearer, but that’s about it. I know, I’m being such a tease! It might be gearing towards a battle-esque situation, or it can just go a more technical route. And yes, I am well aware none of you understand what on Earth I’m on about.

I love the fact that the main characters are women, well, young teenage girls. There seems to be a fair amount of diversity as well, in other characters. There is also some excellent linguistic humour but, once again, I’m afraid I can’t exactly specify. Of course, it ended on a cliff-hanger so be prepared for that.

The actual artwork took some time to getting used to. I prefer clear and vibrantly coloured panels so this was a bit of a strange experience. The colour scheme here is more muted, leaning towards blues and purples. I guess the cover gives that away, as well. The events do take place during dawn, so of course it’s not all sunshine and games on the page. I did enjoy the way characters were drawn, it’s just the colour scheme that slightly irked me throughout. 

All in all, this first volume was a three star read for me. It was interesting enough to finish, but nothing amazing as of yet. I feel like it was trying to be too obscure and difficult to understand. I mean, it’s important to strike that balance between figuring some things out and being confused; in this case, it was just complete bewilderment. Also, just a thought, but I think if I’d had a paper copy of this comic it would’ve been easier to read. For instance, there was one part where the panels ran vertically instead of horizontally – as in, I had to turn my head – and I’m not sure if that was a justified artistic choice. So yes, this book wasn’t exactly easy to grasp and read, but not necessarily in a bad way.

I think if you’re into the unknown, then you might want to give this novel a try. It’s definitely like nothing I’ve ever read before. I won’t be buying the issues or eagerly awaiting the sequel, but because of the respect I have for the creators, I might still pick up the next volume before I make my decision about this series. I may have kept this review just a tad vague, but I’d say that’s pretty much what you’ll get with first volume of Paper Girls. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If you love being kept on your toes and in the dark, then this comic may just be for you. If not, you might want to wait for the second volume to be published before you check the series out.