Runaways is about to become the latest Marvel Comics series to join the 100-issue club, after many starts and stops since the series debuted in 2003. Rainbow Rowell is the writer who will see Runaways to its centennial milestone. She's teaming with series artist Andrés Genolet, returning artist Kris Anka -- who relaunched the series with Rowell in 2017 -- and Runaways co-creator Adrian Alphona for the oversized Runaways #38. "I was a huge fan of the original Runaways series by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, and I followed it through all of its changes," Rowell tells ComicBook.com. "I remember wanting that book to go on as long as possible. So bringing Runaways back and getting it this far has been an enormous thrill and such an honor. I will always root for this team."
Runaways #38 is the 100th issue to bear the Runaways title. It will progress the story Rowell and Genolet have been telling while also taking advantage of the expanded page count to make sure that everyone's favorite character has a moment to shine.
"With ten extra pages, we got to give everyone on the team a part to play and a moment of growth and change," Rowell says. "Growth is so hard to write in comics -- because the characters don't really age. The Runaways have always been teenagers. But in this issue, you see all the ways they've moved forward over the last 37 issues. They're ready to start breaking their patterns.
"From a plot standpoint, all the individual stories from this arc come together – Karolina's injury, Nico's struggle with the Staff of One, the mystery of Future Gert. And every resolution has major implications. "
But the Runaways #38's Legacy numbering is appropriate as Rowell sees her run on the fan-favorite characters as a continuation of what Vaughan and Alphona started. "We really think of our run as an extension of the original series," she says. "These are the same kids, you know? Their weaknesses, their strengths. Their relationships with each other. In Issue 100, we just really wanted to show the Runaways being Runaways. When the chips are down, they come together, and they always try to do the right thing for each other."
Runaways #38 goes on sale on August 11th. Keep reading to see our first look preview pages.
