Review: Paper Girls #4
On November 1st, 1988, an otherworldly presence invaded quiet Stony Stream, Ohio. Twelve year-old Erin had just set out on her first paper route and making friends with the other paper girls when the town was besieged with futuristic ninjas and dino-riding soldiers. It was the eighties, if you weren’t ninja-garbed or dino-riding you were nothing. As everyone they know vanishes around them, Erin, Mac, Tiffany and KJ are left to fend for each other.
Our central paper girl, Erin, has been incapacitated for half the series following an accidental gunshot wound. Sure, there are three characters trudging from issue-to-issue, one of whom, Mac, seemed poised early on to take the focus in Erin’s absence. Instead none of the characters have really stood out and the girls border on being interchangeable. The first issue introduces Stony Stream and its characters through Erin’s perspective. So, it seems almost fitting that since she’s been shot the story’s narrative has become shaky and directionless. The girls’ only goal has been to get Erin medical help, a goal which they seem hell-bent on entrusting to strangers while they passively follow them around.
There is not a single character in the story with a clear goal they are actively pursuing. Four girls set out to deliver papers one morning and then that aspect of the story was forgotten everywhere but the title. Future-ninjas, dino-soldiers… no one has any clear objective. Half the cast is comprised of these futuristic characters whose dialogue means that half the book is either grating jargon or non-English. The futuristic ninjas, who turned out to be simply futuristic teens (and may be mutants but are definitely not turtles), seem ready to steal the story’s focus and change the title to “Ninja Boys”.
The time given to the fact that one of the boys is gay is somewhat appropriate considering the juxtaposition against 1988’s social norms. Yet it still asks the question, why did Brian K. Vaughan shoehorn that bit of information in when it only serves to create a distracting tangent? Who cares, even in 1988, if some kid is gay considering the world seems to be ending and you’re carrying around your dying friend? We don’t even know the boy’s name. Speaking of tangential, four pages dedicated to establishing that Tiffany wasted her life playing video games is a waste when what needs advancing is the plot.
It may be easy for Mac to put homophobia ahead of her concerns about the end of the world considering this strange invasion actually has not affected them a great deal. Granted, every issue involves them being exposed to some strange aspect of it. But only one thing has happened to personally affect these girls and drive their story, Mac’s struggle with her step-mother resulting in Erin being shot. What truly is propelling these girls exists easily without any of the sci-fi elements and it makes the girls seem detached from that focal aspect of the book.
Ultimately, Paper Girls will make a fantastic hardcover collection. When read from start-to-finish, the story will feel far more fast-paced than stalling, as it does reading one issue a month. The apple/”tree of knowledge” theme that continues to surface will help characterize the Calamity that is mentioned in this issue, rather than seeming like a bit of strange décor. Most importantly, it will bring to life the neon-pastel dream created by Cliff Chiang. His art in this series continues to be the most redeeming aspect of the book and warrants readers picking it up, no matter what complaints can be had with the story.
Story: Brian K. Vaughan Art: Cliff Chiang
Story: 5 Art: 9 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read
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I feel the same way about the characters. Even though I read the book month to month, I can’t remember who is who and what makes them who they are. At this point, the story is too absurd to follow or take seriously. I didn’t mind the gay character one bit. Why wouldn’t he be gay? Also, being able to say that you’re gay WITHOUT it being a big deal is something I’d love to see more often, to be honest. The fact that there is an “Ew” remark in an 80s-centered-comic rather fits the story as the 80s saw the raising awareness of queer people and, unfortunately, the spread of HIV.
Other than that, I agree with your review. The art is a strong point as the story is becoming weirder by the page…
I agree with you. I know BKV writes gay themes and characters pretty well, but we hardly know our central cast. Let’s not focus on anyone else until we do, right?
I think that’s a problem with the book in general. The characterisation of the protagonists is insufficient to say the least. That doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t add minor gay characters to the book. I mean, would you have even noticed if that guy had said “He killed my girlfriend.” And not “boyfriend”? Would we even be having this conversation now? It (sexual orientation) being something that doesn’t need to be made a big thing out of – that is something I wish for the future. The fact that attention is drawn to it by the protagonists themselves is, I think, something like a shout-out: This was what the 80s were like, try to be better. At least, that’s how I interpret it.