Reviews with content warning for Violence - Paper Girls, Vol. 1

This is probably my favorite of the 5 American comic books I picked up at the library to help with my GoodReads Challenge. I haven't finished one, but it's been slow going.

The story starts with four scrappy papergirls in 1988--Erin, Mac, Tiffany, and KJ--sticking together for safety in numbers on the early morning the day after Halloween. Things take a turn for the weird when a walkie talkie is stolen from one of the girls by a trio of hooded figures speaking a strange language. They soon find that their suburban Ohio neighborhood has become

the battleground of a time traveling generational conflict and the rest of the town is missing.

The girls are a nice mix of personalities, and I look forward to seeing them bounce off of each other in future volumes.

Especially now that three of the girls have run into a future version of Erin.

This story is not for the faint of heart and definitely earns its T+ rating. Not only does it not shy away from blood and profanity (Mac spends most of her time swearing and smoking), but one girl goes into shock after a brawl and vomits and at another point

a girl is accidentally shot after another wrestles a gun away from her suicidal stepmother.

It hasn't felt gratuitous yet. But just because the protagonists are eighth graders doesn't mean actual eighth graders are up for this.

Art is good. Expressive, nice inking, eye catching color schemes, and great use of shading.

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alexandrac's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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reading_books_as_escapism_lol's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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universeofdust's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

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idaida's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

A fast paced sci-fi adventure which fits right in the 80s nostalgia trend which in 2022 looks to be close to death.

I find it’s use of the 80s group of four friends (true companion trope) but now they’re girls interesting. It’s trying to be feminist but I can’t tell if it actually is as I don’t think a 12 year old using slurs is anything but not #girlpower but then again a gay character says they live in a fucked up time which yes but the writers of the comic did not, so I am in other words excited and hopeful that Mac’s homophobia is either internalized homophobia and we’re seeing a blossoming romance or that she grows out of believing what her environment growing up has taught her.

In other words, I am excited to see her develop as a character. 🤞

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jaidlyn_7's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

this graphic novel is okay. the art style is cool and i like the concept but it got pretty muddled for me. the characters were all pretty flat imo (but it’s so short so it’s hard to develop them so much). it was also pretty confusing at times. not my fave but still enjoyable

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