Pride & Joy (comics)

In the first issue of "Pride & Joy," a group of youths unite to fight against their parents, who they then learn are known as "The Pride," a band of villains. At the end of the issue, the youths witness the murder of a girl at the hands of their parents.[11] In the middle of the night, they run away from home and attempt to bring their parents to justice.[12] In the process, the youths realize that they are all inheriting special abilities: Nico Minoru learns she is a witch;[13] Karolina Dean finds out she is an alien;[14] Chase Stein steals his father's futuristic gauntlets, "the Fistigons";[14] Gertrude Yorkes discovers that she has a telepathic link to a dinosaur hidden by her time-traveling parents;[14] Molly Hayes discovers she is a mutant with super strength;[15] and Alex Wilder, though having no supernatural powers, possesses a prodigal intellect and steals the mystical text that contains The Pride's secrets, becoming the leader of the group.[14] Using the book that contains The Pride's secrets, the youth agree amongst themselves to make up for their parent's sins by fighting crime.[16]

Once The Pride realizes its offspring have disappeared, it begins to use its considerable influence to track down their sons and daughters.[17] "Pride & Joy" sets Runaways for its main concept of the series, which involves children versus their parents.[4]

When Vaughan first pitched "Pride & Joy" to Marvel, they immediately accepted it and set Runaways in the Marvel Universe, the main string of story lines that ties Marvel's canonical series.[18] However, unlike most series (which are often set in New York City), Runaways is set in Los Angeles, an unexplored area of the Marvel Universe.[19] This, in turn, marked a significance for the story arc at the time; being a new series, "Pride & Joy" had been expected to take place in New York City.[20] Matt Fraction, a prominent writer for various Marvel Comics series quotes, "It was sort of great to see in Runaways that California was such a blank slate. It was refreshing to watch Brian create this sort of whole cloth."[20] Vaughan's decision prompted Fraction to create a new series to take place in Los Angeles as well.[20] Several notable landmarks in this story arc include Malibu, the Griffith Observatory, the James Dean memorial and Bronson Canyon in Griffith Park.[21] In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Brian K. Vaughan quoted, "I imagine that Angelinos in the Marvel Universe think of super heroes and villains the way that New Yorkers think of Hollywood celebrities. We see them on TV every day, so we know that they exist, but they still seem distant and unreal."[22]

In order to create familiarity with a common-day setting and tone, Vaughan made this story arc include various references to current popular culture, including television series, films, and celebrities such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the Matrix trilogy, and Dr. Phil.[16][23] Vaughan even makes references to real-world events, such as the Menéndez brothers' shootings, the Beltway sniper attacks,[12] Saddam Hussein's hiding[13] and the O. J. Simpson murder case.[14]

Unlike most authors, Vaughan is known for avoiding the clichés of the superhero genre, locating the group in Los Angeles and not the common New York.[24] "Pride & Joy" struck interest mainly because it does away with the concept of superhero behaviour, such as aliases, uniforms, and team names. At the very end of the story arc, the Runaways (minus Alex) adopt code names, but later drop them.[16] "Pride & Joy" starts off with four females and two males, which is uncommon in the Marvel Universe (most teams have more males).[11] Furthermore, the children never refer to themselves as "the Runaways"; the group remains unnamed.[16] Despite Vaughan's efforts to break down the superhero clichés within Runaways, Marvel's handbooks and website still refer to the characters by their codenames.[25] Also, Vaughan doesn't focus on an actual genre or tone; despite humour, horror and fantasy are common themes and genres, Vaughan mentions that while it may not be a "mature readers book," his style of writing is also dark, challenging and unpredictable.[22]

Penciller Adrian Alphona's style of drawing consists of crisp lines and monotone shading, and as a result, all of the characters are very clear and distinct.[1] Shannon Appelcline of RPGnet Reviews praised Alphona's style of drawing, calling it "attractive and evocative." She did, however, criticize how Alphona sometimes "muddles action sequences a little bit by not drawing important actions with appropriate importance."[1] J. Bowers of Beatbots praised the style Brian K. Vaughan brought to this story arc, comparing it to fellow Marvel Comics series Generation X.[26] Because of this, he gave this story arc 9 out of 10.[26]

When the story arc was first introduced, it was frequently praised for its large cast; six children, each with two parents, and several auxiliary characters.[24] Dave Wallace of Comics Bulletin praised author Vaughan's efforts on making sure the main characters' dynamic works well enough that "the occasional stereotypical elements do not detract from the characters too much."[24]

• Alex Wilder, a child prodigy at strategic thinking and planning, leads the team. He is the son of mob bosses.[17]
• Karolina Dean discovers her alien heritage when she removes the bracelet which nullified her powers. She is the daughter of alien invaders.[17]
• Nico Minoru learns she is a witch after her mother jams her mystic Staff of One into her chest, causing her body to absorb it. She is the daughter of dark wizards.[17]
• Gertrude Yorkes discovers her telepathic link to Old Lace, a dinosaur. She is the daughter of time travelers.[17]
• Chase Stein steals his father's flame-generating/manipulating gauntlets called "the Fistigons." He is the son of mad scientists.[17]
• Molly Hayes, the youngest, is a mutant whose powers include super-strength and invulnerability. She is the daughter of telepathic mutants.[17]

Runaways, the series that grew out of "Pride & Joy," has been nominated for and has won several awards.

• In 2006, the series won a Top Library Award.[34][35]
• In 2006, series creator Brian K. Vaughan won an Eisner Award, which included his work for Runaways.[3]
• In 2006, the series was nominated for a Shuster Award.[36]
• In 2006, the series won the Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.[37]
• In 2007, this particular story arc's digest was nominated for the prestigious Georgia Peach Award.[38]
• Runaways' hardcover version listed on the 2006 American Library Association's YALSA Top Ten Books for Young Adults; it was the only graphic novel to make the list.[39]

Three seasons of 'Marvel's Runaways' has streamed on Hulu, season 3 being the final season. All 3 seasons are now on Hulu and season 1 is also on Disney+.[40] The show is not the exact story of the initial run of the comic series, but has many references any many plot points from its original source material that are the same.[41]