Previously, in episode 77, I made a list of 12 pop culture things I wanted to check out in 2018. One item on that list was to read more comics that were not part of Marvel or DC. I was given several suggestions from you and I’m taking the time to dig into these books.

Reviewing comics is one of the hardest thing for me on the podcast because, generally, people don’t have the access to comics the way they might a big-budget movie. I actually have to get my comics digitally because the closest comic shop is nearly an hour away from me and, sadly, they don’t always carry everything. That said, there are going to spoilers. There’s really no other way around it, especially for this series. Sorry.

Today I’m covering Paper Girls by Brian K Vaughan. This series (which is still ongoing at the time of this recording) debuted in October 2015, so I am absolutely late to the party here and I’m so sorry that I am.

The first issue begins on Halloween 1988, where four 12-year old girls meet each other on their paper route and get sucked into a plot that is so much bigger and twisted than they (or the reader) realize. The vibe has been called “Stand By Me” meets “War of the Worlds” and I think it deserves that comparison. When it was recommended to me, it was along the lines of “Stranger Things,” which is also a good comparison.

When I started reading this series, I had no idea what I was walking into. I didn’t read any of the plot or even a summary of that first issue. I just picked it up and ran with it. The 80’s feel was spot on and that is really what sucked me in at first. And then all of the weird sci-fi stuff started.

But let’s back up.

Our protagonists are, like I said, four 12-year old girls doing their early-morning newspaper deliveries. They’re spunky. They have attitudes. They aren’t the typical girls written in comics and that makes them more special and more interesting. Erin is the newcomer to the group and bumps into Mackenzie (the tough leader), Lindsey (the tough girl’s best friend) and KJ (the tomboy). Vaughan makes it plainly clear that the 80s were tougher than we would like to believe.

Unlike a lot of female protagonists, these girls are capable of handling things themselves. That’s shown at the beginning of the first issue, when Erin has to deal with a dirtbag teenager harassing her. Mackenzie, Lindsey, and KJ roll up to stop him, regardless of them knowing this new girl. Vaughan doesn’t mess with cliches here.

In addition to the Paper Girls meeting each other, they get sucked into a weird sci-fi adventure when someone steals one of Lindsey’s prized walkie-talkies. They decide to chase him down, which leads them to an abandoned house, where they find what looks like a lunar module in the basement.

After a flash of light and a loud hum, the girls return outside to see that the sky looks different and things just don’t feel right. They find the walkie-talkie thief, who is revealed to be someone from the future. It’s also revealed that the girls are in 2016, not 1988.

This is where things get weird. This is also where we are constantly reminded that we aren’t in a time-travel story. But maybe we are? (As I’m recording this, I’ve not read the most-recent issue, so things are still developing and still a little foggy.)

At the end of the first volume, the girls run into Erin… as a 40-year old woman. Later we meet another version of Erin that is from the future, but is still 12 and speaks the same language as the Elders, who seem to be the antagonists in the story. And they ride these pterodactyls who fly in the sky. When Erin shows up from the supposed alternate universe, she brings back giant tardigrades who start fighting Godzilla...