Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Cliff Chiang
Colourist: Matt Wilson
Release Date: OUT NOW!!!!
Price: $2.99

The first paid job I ever had was a Paper Boy and I enjoyed delivering the evening newspapers around my neighbourhood. The job meant I could ride my bike around after school with my pocket radio providing the soundtrack to the 1970s. Featured artists Mott the Hoople, David Bowie and Roxy Music accompanied me whilst indulging myself in my mission to annoy the neighbourhood dogs and to fire newspapers through each letterbox as far down the customer’s hallway as I could.

Why am I going on about this? Well it is now clear to me after reading Paper Girls #3 that the world has moved on considerably since my venture into journalistic support activities.

First of all you have to get over the shock that twelve year old girls now deliver newspapers (they didn’t in the 70’s…) but more you have to accept the fact that during the course of their duties they seem to be routinely threatened by alien warriors riding giant killer dino-birds, shoot friends randomly with guns that appear from nowhere and meet cybernetic ninja warriors whilst driving their parent’s car.

You can probably guess by now that I was somewhat bemused by Brian K. Vaughan’s story line for Paper Girls #3. I cannot say that I really understood what was going on most of the time. I suspect that there was a dream sequence somewhere in there but I wasn’t able to unravel it from the rest of the plot. It’s not all unfathomable though; the artwork by Cliff Chiang is stunning. Bold, strong lines and striking images commanding attention and giving the impression this artist would be better utilised elsewhere.

I used to hate the Sunday morning paper round… no pterodactyls, just too many colour supplements. Paper Girls #3 clearly has other distractions and possibly too many to sustain a readable narrative. STOP PRESS: Will Paper Girls #4 unravel the plot?

Reviewer: Steve Weller
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker