I finally got around to reading this because of the TV adaptation and I gotta wonder what all the fuss is about. It’s basically 80s nostalgia meets The Woods. The color palette was even the same and hello lacrosse stick. Also do we really have to use slurs to show it was a different time and just say that’s not cool? It’s not enlightened enough. I really don’t know if I’ll continue it was also preachy in a way and I never made an emotional connect to any of the characters. Overall I was just gobsmacked by how mediocre of a mishmash it is.

An incredible first volume. I have so many questions! Such as, how can I join this girl gang?
Brian K Vanghan proves himself to be a master of the format yet again and Cliff Chang's striking art is a perfect match.

Weird as hell, but also kind of cool. Has a Stranger Things vibe to it, but more out of this world scifi. I LOVEEE Matt Wilson's coloring, as per usual. The art is great too. I’m a huge fan of Brian K. Vaughan’s writing. Saga remains my all-time favorite comic book series and this doesn’t disappoint. Of course this is definitely more for teens than his other works, and there’s nothing wrong with that! I love the girls. They get sh*t done. I’m typically wary of male authors writing female-led stories, especially when it comes to comic books. The genre doesn’t exactly have the best track record for not sexualizing women or just making them the shallow, sexy partner to the male hero. I should have guessed that I wouldn’t have to worry with Vaughan because these girls are exactly who they should be, teenagers who get entangled in some freaky stuff when all they’re trying to do is deliver some papers. I'm curious as to what the next volume will bring!

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. I like the characters and the art, but I can't get into the story.

I love this series! It's one of my favorite YAGN series and I recommend it to many of my teen patrons.

This is long-overdue, but my library has since purchased this to join our collection because I loved the ARC version I received back in 2016. It's a wonderful story for a teen+ audience, and I'm glad it's a collection of girls from all different walks of life.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this comic. I love this author so much and was so excited to read this. I was not disappointed I ended up loving paper girls

Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang

4.75 stars

I remember when I first read this graphic novel that I thought it was so cool. I really loved the art and I was invested in the characters. The most frustrating thing about this volume was the ending. It was too abrupt and it left me wanting more, but also feeling frustrated. I was invested in the characters and the plot. I think this would be a fun volume to revisit and resume finishing the series now that it is completed. I think I'm going to try to return this world soon.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.25

Character Scale: 5

Plotatstic Scale: 4.5

Art Scale: 5

Cover Thoughts: Obsessed. One of my favorite graphic novel covers.

Thank you, Netgalley and Image Comics, for providing me with a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

Kind of gives you Stranger Things vibes, which is the dream. Loved the story and plan to continue on with the series.

I'm a fan of Brain K. Vaughan's other series, Runaways (it's one of my favs) and Saga, so I had high hopes for Paper Girls since he had Cliff Chiang as the artist too. Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat for me, for a few reasons.

To start off, Cliff Chiang's art paired PERFECTLY with Matt Wilson's colors, to create a gorgeous and moody aesthetic for the series. I loved the girls' designs and the backgrounds, and thought that they had pretty distinct personalities just from the small amount of time we had seen them. The story itself was pretty interesting too. It was a bit confusing and convoluted at times, but that tends to be the case with the first volume of a new comic series for often than not, and it wasn't too bad.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to make me love the series the way I had hoped. I'm definitely willing to borrow the next volume from the library to see what happens next, but probably won't be purchasing the series unless something really changes. Around 8 pages in one of the girls, Mac, drops the F slur and "insults" someone by saying they have AIDS. Throughout the rest of the volume, she continues to be homophobic, even with the other girls giving half hearted attempts to call her out. I wish comic series set in the 80s stopped using the time period as an excuse to use homophobic language in them. Deadly Class did the same thing and I hated it. If you can't write a story set in the 80s without using homophobic language than you aren't then A) you shouldn't be writing it, and B) maybe you should take a look at your writing and learn to improve it so you don't rely on offensive and outdated language to set your tone (obviously there are exceptions, such as a queer person telling their experience in the 80s, etc.).

Overall, Paper Girls was an interesting story, and I'm willing to try the next volume because of the unique plot in the hopes of things improving. The art and coloring is gorgeous, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it if I continue reading the series.

I had heard a lot about Paper Girls before sitting down to finally read the first volume. I liked the girl setting and the 80s theme. Even though I wasn't even born at the time, with all the current enthusiasm for the period, it is difficult not to like it.

I thought the setting was very nicely executed, just I couldn't really get into the story at this point. However, I would like to someday read a couple more of these to explore where it is going.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Al fin una alternativa fresca y original, Paper Girls es un excelente título que puede recomendarse al consumidor más profesional de cómics, así como a quien no tiene idea de lo que una novela gráfica es. Y funciona.

The story just didn't grab me. The art was nice, and I thought it fit the story well.

I'd recommend to friends. But it's not for me.

This story had such a 80's sci-fi vibe to it. It includes a group of bad ass girls, monsters, time travel, and some real fantastic artwork.

Oh my gods, guys. This book is great. It's got that Spielberg-ish Suburban Gothic, kids go an adventure movie down. Each of the four leads are instantly vivid and distinct and likeable. and the ending is such a glorious cliffhanger I almost started picking up singles of this. Chiang's art and Wilson's has the washed out nostalgic feel that complements the last days of childhood feel.

Verdict: Get it. So much fun.

I was not able to read this book because of formatting issues and issues downloading a copy to my device, but the reviews I was able to read let me know that this is a perfect fit for the graphic novel collection at my school. I'm always looking for graphic novels featuring female characters (especially non-Manga and non-superhero stories) and this totally fits the bill. I will be purchasing and recommending.

I have now purchased the first two volumes of this series for my library. I was not sold on book one when I read the ARC here, but when it was listed as a part of the YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2017, I went ahead and purchased them. While this review ought to be only of volume one, I want to let people know that this series is a slow-burn. I read volume 2 and was astounded at how much more I liked it than volume 1; I actually felt like I understood what was going on because things start being revealed and explained. The series is definitely worth it, sadly volume 1 doesn't do the series as a whole justice.

This was quite an interesting read. It was definitely not what I was expecting. Some of the things referenced in the book were nostalgic to me, since I was a child of the '80s. Going into this, I thought that this would be about some tough newspaper delivery girls holding down their turf. I wasn't expecting the science fiction aspect. I admit, I was hella confused through the entire thing, but I still wanted to read more. I absolutely love the style of the artwork. The colors are gorgeous. I am really exciting to see where this story goes.

I really enjoyed this. I get vibes from it similar to watching Stranger Things or something that makes you feel both nostalgic and unnerved and intrigued. It was something unexpected and I thought the color choice of the art was spot on.

Colourful art and Girl Power 80s as hell vibes- yay!
Convoluted and ultimately too confusing plot - boo!
Not for me, but I can see it being a hit with sci-fi fans especially.