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Review: Paper Girls, Vol. 1

Paper Girls, Vol. 1 Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I ordered this because it was only 7 dollars online (as opposed to the 17-19 that comic bind-ups usually run for), it has a cool cover, and because it’s by the author of Saga: Brian K. Vaughan. Honestly, I couldn’t really ask for much more in order for you to sell me a book. Sigh. I am bad with money.

Going into this I had literally zero idea of what this was going to be about. After reading it, and then reading the synopsis, I can’t help but feel it’s slightly… Misleading? “Four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time.” Like what does that even mean? That’s so vague. Later in the synopsis it says that this series is about nostalgia, and I could definitely tell that that’s what they were going for without having to read of that being their intent. I feel like that might be a bit of a sneaky tactic to try and reel in the 80’s folks by manipulating their nostalgia heartstrings, but that could just be me because it failed to affect me (and most of the references were lost on me) because I’m not part of that generation.

Anyway, this sure was interesting. I really don’t know if I should say anything specific about it because I’m sure they meant to be vague in the synopsis for a reason. So I’m not going to tell you anything about the story, I’ll just comment on it.

It has definitely got some mystery to it. Some other reviewers have even found it to be confusing, but I never personally found myself feeling confused. Just a bit annoyed because there are characters who speak another language that I do not understand and I want to know what they are saying, damnit!

Overall it was pretty… Mediocre, I guess. I dunno. It had its ups and downs, and parts that had me more intrigued and what not. (view spoiler) It didn’t strike me as amazing or anything, you know? But the story that it is setting up is for sure interesting. I just kinda… Don’t caaaare, you know? This book failed to make me care. I would very much just rather read Saga, to be honest.

The art is fine. It is what you see on the cover. The colouring is great. I felt like the more I read it, the more the art style started to feel really appropriate for the setting, though. It felt like it really meshed well with the 80’s vibes.

As to whether or not I want to pick up the next volume… Eh… Who knows? It ended on a cliffhanger so right when I read that I was like “WHEN IS THE NEXT VOLUME COMING OUT,” (it’s out right now as you’re reading this, by the way) but now, the more I think about it, I’m just like “meh.” I’ve got other stuff that I would rather read instead. Very pretty book though. Nice addition to the shelves. Except for I currently have piles of books just stacked on the shelves because I’ve run out of room. Whoops.

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