What is Paper Girls?
What is it?
Paper Girls is a comic book series from Image Comics written by Bryan K. Vaughan and illustrated by Cliff Chiang. The series follows a group of Paper Girls who are suddenly thrust into the center of a thrilling, science fiction adventure. The comic explores themes involving friendship, the value of time, and growing up.
What is it about?
Paper Girls starts out early one morning in 1988, when a group of young paper girls are just starting to make their rounds. Suddenly, disaster erupts around them and they find themselves in the middle of a conflict that threatens to tear their reality apart. This conflict involves a disagreement between two distinct groups of time-travelers, both of whom initially appear to have rather morally ambiguous motives.
From here, the comic sees the titular Paper Girls become displaced in time on a number of different occasions. Sometimes, they travel to their future and have an opportunity to see how the world has progressed. Other times, they travel to the past and deal with the dangers such a trip presents. Either way though, they are assaulted by enemies and friends with no sure way who to trust.
Who is it for?
This is a comic perfectly geared toward fans of otherworldly mysteries. At the very beginning of this comic, a ton of unexplained phenomenon is introduced and a complex conspiracy begins to unfold. The truth behind all of this is slowly revealed to the reader as the comic progresses, allowing them to learn more and more in small increments. In this way, the comic feels similar to televisions shows like The X-Files or Stranger Things.
Paper Girls is also highly character driven and contains a tremendous main cast. Each of the Paper Girls brings something to the story and their interactions are all well-written. These characters also have a chance to grow and develop as the comic progresses. This allows the comic to become somewhat of a coming-of-age story without fully dedicating itself to this specific genre. Those with an interest in a youth-centric, female-led adventures are likely to enjoy this comic.
This comic is rated Teen Plus and is intended for older readers. It contains a bit of violence and course language, so those uncomfortable with this should not pick up this series.
Want more?
Those interested in reading Paper Girls should check out ComicBookWire’s reviews of the series to find out if this comic is for them.