Editor's Note: Runaways #11 arrives in stores tomorrow, June 24.

Plot: It's prom night for the elder members of the cast as they recuperate in their Malibu beach hideaway. But as usual, peace is short-lived for these under-aged heroes.

Comments: The cast of The Runaways is one of the hardest-luck group of kids in comics. In her first issue on the comic, Kathryn Immonen would like to remind you of that, with youthful fun turning quickly to senseless tragedy. It's actually a built-in function of the franchise that these kids can't have a good time without something horrible happening (usually to someone).

Even the joyful moments leading up to--what I will cleverly refer to from this point forward as--the bad thing are sort of melancholy. Save Molly, everyone in the group seems listless, with new member Klara vegetating in front of the TV, and the older teammates throwing themselves an impromptu prom to keep their spirits up. But in the midst of all this, the bad thing happens and the kids are thrust back into a story. What that story is remains to be seen, and how it connects to our reluctant heroes is less clear.

This is the point where I explain why if things seem to be working the way they should for Runaways, it only gets a rating of 3.5 instead of a 5. To go by my rating, one would think that I didn't "like" the book, or that somehow it was merely okay instead of superlative. In this case it would be incorrect to think that – there's nothing subpar with this book or with Mrs. Immonen's writing.

Instead it's another case of frustrated expectations – the writer zigged when I expected her to zag. By that I mean I was expecting something different from her authorial voice for this book. She had such a unique voice when writing Patsy Walker: Hellcat that there's the temptation to believe that she's tamped it down for this, a more mainstream book. It's at this point that I tell myself as a reader and reviewer that I should review and appreciate (or criticize) what's on the page and not some esoteric expectation of what I wanted it to be.

So that explains the rating. It reflects my unmet expectations but not necessarily the quality of the book. She has caught the voices of the characters, none of them veering too much off course. It's my hope that in the coming months she adds her own unique voice to theirs and shows us something new. It's my hope that – in spite of the quality of what has come before – Mrs. Immonen show us a new dimension to these characters' experiences beyond tragedy and heartache (if Marvel isn't careful, these characters could easily become joyless).

I haven't spoken about the art, and for that I apologize to the excellent Ms. Sara Pichelli. She is the rare talent that makes young characters actually look like kids with distinctive faces, bodies, and postures. Colored by Christina Strain, the book is vibrant even when it takes a mournful tone in the final pages. There are some clever things put on the page, like an extended sequence of Molly alternately using the team's pet dino as a pillow and wrestling with it. This does something that I appreciate in comics and that's showing me something I've never seen before.

Final Word: This is a solid start to Kathryn Immonen's run on the book, although it has a little air of been-there-done-that. I hope that in future months she can apply her unique style to this book and perhaps gain a wider audience in the process.

If you liked this review, be sure to check out more of the author’s work at Monster In Your Veins

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