I didn't know anything about Loners until about a week or so ago and not having read BKV's Runaways in its entirety yet I was unfamiliar with the premise and the cast of the book. Once I picked it up and read a few pages I was running into familiar characters like Lightspeed from Power Pack and the unforgettable Darkhawk whose origins lie back in Marvel's Dark Ages (also known as the '90s). Ricochet is also a member (coming out of a Spider-Man storyline from a few years back), the new (well, fairly new...maybe second-to-last) Spider-Woman is there and another character whose name escapes me. All of them are living in and dealing with a post-Civil War world and going to a support group which is trying to help them give up the spandex life for good.
Considering how absolutely tired I am of Civil War and all of its tie-ins (and all the after effects, for that matter) I'm thrilled with how writer C.B. Cebulski is handling the scripting of this book. The tone of the past year in the Marvel U is there, the knowledge of the consequences of using their powers in public and unregistered is there, but it's not like they're referencing it in every second panel. Overall it's just an entertaining story about a group of kids with powers who are trying to figure out who they are and why they do what they do.As for the art, I can't even put into words how thrilled I am to see Karl Moline drawing again. I was crushed when Rogue ended with its 12th issue since I knew it would be some time before I saw Karl's line work in a comic book again. My Google News alerts were proof of that, too. I've deleted so many e-mails regarding athletes in the U.S. named Moline fro this college or that pro team, but I kept the alerts coming just in case something surfaced. It's how I heard about Loners, so I guess the waiting paid off.
I would classify Moline as one of the premiere artists currently working in the industry today. His storytelling is superb, his character bits are priceless and his stuff is just so darn pretty to look at that it's a shame he's only on this series for 6 issues. Maybe if the mini does well Marvel will spin it off into a monthly and officially franchise Runaways.
I can only hope.
I'd be in it for the long haul even if it was just for the artwork, but Cebulski's natural dialogue and burgeoning mystery definitely has my interest piqued. I think I'm going to enjoy watching this story play out over the next five months and I highly recommend checking this book out.
If I had an official rating system (somehow a sliding scale of points based on the ellipsis in the site title seems apropos, but...), it would be something that rated pretty darn high on the charts.
Onwards and upwards!
mike
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