Reviews with content warning for Cursing - 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.

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moviemagus's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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scottyreadsstuff's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

4.0

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cozylifewithabby's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

Definitely a transition comic connecting comic 1 to 3, but amazing illustrations and coloring.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

4.0

While we don't yet know 100% what's going on, we do get an expansion of this world and hints at what might be going on. Time travel, potential aliens, and characters you're definitely going to love. I do think that's one of the things that Brian K. Vaughan is best at. Writing a group of characters you know you're going to love, even if they're going to (probably) put you through emotional turmoil. Will definitely be picking up the next one after work today!

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starstruk99's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

The time travel element of this was thoroughly enjoyable. It was like Dark (the TV show) with aliens. Also, the art was gorgeous and the colour palette was phenomenal.

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marissasa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Vol 2 was better than the first, and I am enjoying seeing more of the mystery of what's happening to the girls unfold. It still left a lot more new questions than answers with the plot but it was vivid and engaging enough to make me want to continue the series even though I was iffy about it after reading the first volume. Love the art as always and hope to see more of the girls' backstories and development in the following volumes.

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