Free Comic Friday: X-Men/Runaways (2006)

Free Comic Book Day 2006: X-Men/Runaways
“Free”
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Skottie Young
Letters: VC's Randy Gentile
Cover: Jo Chen
Assistant Editor: Nathan Cosby
Editor: Mackenzie Cadenhead
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Published by: Marvel
Released: May 6, 2006

So I didn't time it out to the day, but a quick Google did confirm 2023 is the 20^th anniversary of the debut of the Runaways, one of the most original Marvel concepts of the 21^st century.

The Big Two seem to feature an endless parade of reboots and revamps of existing characters and concepts. That's understandable because a lot of these characters have been selling comics, and other merchandise, for decades, and, especially nowadays, creators may want to keep their big, new ideas for themselves and play variations on popular themes with the biggest publishers.

But Runaways, created by Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona, was a new addition to the Marvel Universe that nevertheless sat firmly in the Marvel Universe. The concept was brilliantly simple: All kids think their parents are evil. What if yours actually were?

I had heard good things about the series, but it wasn't until my younger brother started buying the digest-sized reprints that I tried it out too, and, wow, did it live up to the hype. After three years of adventures fighting their own parents and threats both original and from the larger Marvel world, the Runaways shared top billing with the X-Men – who were very much a big deal with Iron Man and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe still on the horizon – in a 2006 Free Comic Book Day issue.

The opening splash page is a bit of a surprise as the art shifts from Chen's detailed, realistic-ish cover to Young's hyper-stylized interiors. It works for the Runaways – who at this point counted among their number original members Molly Hayes, Chase Stein, Gertrude Yorkes and Nico Minoru plus son-of-Ultron Victor Mancha – but is more jarring once the X-Men arrive with the Astonishing lineup of Emma Frost, Cyclops, Beast, Colossus, Wolverine and Kitty Pryde.

They've come to L.A. to bring Molly, a super-strong mutant and the youngest Runaway, back to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning after the team crossed paths with Wolverine in the Big Apple. Molly doesn't want to go because the Runaway teens are her family. When Cyclops makes it clear that they're telling rather than asking, Nico whacks him upside the head with the Staff of One, knocking off his visor and causing his eyebeams to blast some nearby buildings.

As the combatants pair off, Kitty opts for a heart-to-heart chat rather than hand-to-hand combat with Gert, who is more concerned about finding Old Lace, the genetically engineered telepathic velociraptor her time-traveling parents gifted her, than fighting other superheroes. Frost, who has somehow become the X-Men's voice of reason lately, proves the cooler head here, leading Old Lace back to the kids and suggesting to Cyclops that they let Molly decide if and when she wants to come to the institute.

And with that, we're done. The teams go their separate ways with portions of the block still burning.

It's a simple story that introduces readers to the Runaways and that particular lineup of X-Men, although it doesn't do anything in particular to entice you toward either title. So it fulfills the Free Comic Book Day tropes of being a quick intro to the company's work and not being a story consequential enough that you'll miss it if you don't grab the free issue.

It's an 11-page story, leaving plenty of space for three other Marvel offerings.

Chris Eliopoulos, Marc Sumerak and colorist Lovern Kindzierski follow with a Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius tale with art reminiscent of Calvin & Hobbes. After his mother, the Invisible Woman, suggests he read more because “nothing comes to life quite like a good story,” Franklin decides to put that theory to the test in his dad's lab. Hijinks ensue.

Next is a four-page preview of Marvel Adventures Avengers, a streamlined, all-ages title featuring a lineup of Avengers classic (Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk), New (Spider-Man and Wolverine) and different (Storm and Giant-Girl) facing off against Ultron. I remember these titles being fun, light fare particularly for newer or younger readers.

The story is written by Jeff Parker, with pencils by Manuel Garcia, inks by Scott Koblish, colors by Val Staples and letters by Dave Sharpe.

The issue finishes out with an 11-page, Handbook-style recap of the story thus far in Ultimate Spider-Man. It's a fit inasmuch as it also focuses on a younger-skewing hero and storyline.

All in all, this issue is a decent Free Comic Book Day offering, providing a little original material and a glimpse of what Marvel had to offer at the time. There's nothing here that's a must read, but it's a solid sampler.