Paper Girls Volume 1

Bibliographic Information:  

• Title: Paper Girls Volume 1 
• Author: Brian Vaughan  
• Publisher: Image Comics, Inc.    
• Copyright Date: 2016  

Genre: Graphic Novel, Teen 

Awards or Honors: None  

Reading Level: Young teenagers  

Plot Summary: Paper Girls follow four young teenagers who deliver papers in Stoney Stream, Ohio. They meet when a group of older teenagers harass Erin. The other girls help stop the boys. The girls are Mac, KJ, and Tiffany. When KJ and Tiffany have their walkie talkies taken by a group of boys, they go after them. They follow them into a basement, and a mysterious machine transports them to an alternate reality with alien creatures who stole their walkie talkies. Monsters chase them, and they have no idea where they are and what is happening. Erin is shot in a struggle between Mac and her stepmom. While driving her to a hospital, a man stops them in a mysterious suit with a vaporizing weapon. They are saved by teenagers who take them through tunnels back to the mysterious machine and put Erin inside it. They heal Erin’s injuries and save the other girls. They are part of a conflict between the old-timers and a new generation. The story ends with the four girls escaping from old-timers and running into an older version of Erin, with the words, to be continued.   

Author Background: Brian Vaughan is a comic book writer who has written comics like Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Pride of Baghdad, and Runaways. He works for DC comics and is a winner of the Eisner and Harvey Award. Paper Girls Volume 1 is his latest work and is part of an ongoing series. He has also written screenplays and short stories. He was born in 1976 in Cleveland, Ohio. He went to school for film at New York University. He currently lives in California (Vaughan, 2020).   

Critical Evaluation: The graphic novel is interesting but, at times, a confusing storyline involving time travel, science fiction, and the 1990s. The plot is hard to follow, and the reader will likely end up with lots of questions at the end of the story. It is just one volume in a series, and the reader will need to follow the series to develop a full understanding of the plot. There are some bright spots to the story, but it will be too confusing for some to want to follow. The reader still doesn’t know where the girls are or why everything throughout the story happened. The book follows a more traditional comic storyline. It leaves lots of mystery and plot explanations for a future book. The art is well done and feels like art from a comic book. It uses comic bubbles for speech, and there are scenes with no words but sounds to describe what’s happening. The four girls have their story told, but lots of the other characters are left unexplained. We don’t know their motivation or backstories. The fantasy aspect of the story makes it more science fiction and dystopian. Dreams are used as warnings for upcoming events. The book is similar to the television series Stranger Things.    

Creative Use Library Program: I would want to use this book as part of a comic book day at a school library. This will be a day to provide lots of different comics and graphic novel options for kids to try reading when teachers have them visit. Most kids who read comics might think of superheroes and might not be aware of these books. Many kids also might think of comics as just for nerds in a boy-dominated genre. I would include this to show comics can be about more than superheroes, and they should have teenage girl protagonists.    

Book Talk: Erin is a 12-year-old papergirl in a small town in Ohio with three other girls. After chasing after some strangers who stole her friend’s walkie-talkie, they find themselves in an alternate future universe with monsters, other teens, and a wide range of problems. As the girls try and survive and understand where they are, they learn teens and a group called old-timers are fighting. Erin and the girls must figure out where they are and what side to join. 

Potential Challenge Issue: I do not see any potential challenges issued. Most of the potential issues of violence are standard for comic books and are unlikely to be challenged.   

Reason for Inclusion: I included this story because I wanted to have graphic novels like comic books reviewed and discussed. Many kids prefer to read comics over traditional books, and I wanted to provide options for kids. I also wanted to include options beyond just the standard Marvel superheroes. These kids are trying to fit in and reside in suburban America, like many other kids today. It is also part of a series that is popular, and kids might get interested in it.    

Brian K Vaughan. (2020). DC Comics. Retrieved on November 22, 2020, from https://www.dccomics.com/talent/brian-k-vaughan  

Vaughan, B. (2016). Paper Girls Book One. Image Comics, Inc.