Comic Review: Paper Girls #23

Paper Girls #23

Image Comics

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Artist: Cliff Chiang  

While volume five is just as insane as the previous volumes, long-time fans of the series can all agree things are starting to make sense.

It’s 2171 and our “young invaders from another era”, which could certainly be shortened, made a lot of connections in last month’s issue (thanks to the library). And Forbes thought libraries would be obsolete in the future. In issue #22, our crew also split up into two parties: Erin and the Tiffanies went looking for Jahpo, and KJ and Mac went looking for the cure for cancer.The girls run into our cover girl, who they could have sworn was dead, while looking for Jahpo. She is incredibly helpful despite not being Jahpo’s biggest fan and successfully manages to help Erin and the two Tiffanies in their search. Jahpo, who is also looking for them, knows they’re in the vicinity. Because of WATCH, he has all the latest info on the foldings and who is traveling through time. They finally encounter Wari, alone, which is where we leave them for now.We get a small snippet of what WATCH looks like including how they communicate through time. I, for one, am anxious to know more about Jahpo’s work and organization.

Vaughan’s cliffhanger in issue #22 may have distracted you from the fact that KJ was close to spilling the beans to Mac about her lesbian premonition, but no worries; she comes clean and things get physical. You’ll have to read it yourself to see how it plays out. At the end of the issue, Mac and KJ have infiltrated a hospital and kidnapped a doctor in search for Mac’s cure, which may seem extreme, but at this point, I expect nothing less. KJ is still being a badass, and Mac is constantly left in awe.Despite all the connections we’ve made in this last volume, there is still so much story left to tell. Vaughan and his creative team have crafted yet another wildly fun journey for us. The apple hasn’t been mentioned in a while, but there was a tree of knowledge in the last issue, which definitely has me theorizing about Erin’s dream’s initial warnings in the opening scene not to eat from the tree.

With all of Vaughan’s work in Saga and Y: The Last Man, I have no doubt he’s setting us up for something climactic with Paper Girls, too. I can’t help but praise his ability to create strong, progressive female characters and build unique worlds. Vaughan’s writing, coupled with Chiang’s art and Wilson’s coloring, have made this one of my favorite new series to follow. Every issue thus far has been fun, action-packed, beautiful, and unpredictable.