Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Paper Girls

Paper Girls continues to be an intriguing and fun read.

Last volume ended with Erin, Mac, and Tiffany running into an older version of Erin. Older Erin takes the girls in and tries to help them find KJ, who is MIA except for two cryptic messages carved into a field hockey stick the Erins find.

Oh yeah, and a clone of Erin is on one side of the conflict, and is probably the Erin that KJ warns the group about.

The characters are still great. Older Erin adds some interesting dynamics to the group with a mix of stressed maternal or big sisterly energy towards the girls with a side of snarky bickering. I find it interesting that while older Erin isn't happy with her life, younger Erin thinks it's pretty cool. Then there's the reveal that

Mac dies of leukemia in 1992, and last volume it was stated that you can't undo how and when someone dies. Naturally, Mac is infused with a mix of pessimism and youthful belief in temporary invulnerability, and it will be cool to see how that affects the other characters. Tiffany, who hasn't heard anything about her future self yet, isn't enthusiastic about this new aspect of Mac.

I found the hop into 2016 fun, partially because I am not happy with how 2022 is, so I found the line that 2016 is when "the Troubles started" amusing.

One thing I'm concerned about is that the story is very sparing with answers (we now know why people are after the main girls now and why the abductions are happening) but there are plenty of questions. What is the reason for the conflict the girls have found themselves stuck in? Why does older Erin not remember getting shot? How did older Erin connect to the future Apple device? Whats with the monsters? Especially the one that made Tiffany's life flash before her eyes in the most depressing way. Next volume looks promising for finding out why one faction of time travelers is riding dinosaurs, but I don't want this to go the way of Lost.

Colors are still fantastic. The muted, cool color palette gives an almost nostalgic vibe, and I think it is much better than the one used in Jessica Jones: Alias. I think it's because there's still some saturation to the colors and the blacks aren't applied as large blobs of shadow, but more often lines of texture.

Content Warnings

kassidyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

iuvmoonie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

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