MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

So come on, everybody, let’s do the time warp again!

Similarities with the Paper Girls Comics

     Image Comics

The start of the trailer shows us some familiar images. Those who have read the comics will recognize the starting frames of the show as being pretty much a shot-for-shot reproduction of the first few pages of the book. It shows us those first few ordinary moments in predawn 1988 Cleveland, Ohio, where our story begins.

Erin, the new girl in town, is just getting ready. Bag full of papers on her shoulder, she mounts her bike in her garage and cycles off to join the other girls. When she meets Tiff, Mac, and KJ, we don’t get as much of a greeting as we would if we were watching the show, but we at least see enough to know Mac is going to be one of our big queer heroes of the series.

The aspect of queerness to this tale makes it a cut above your regular story about time travel. It’s not just some ’80s kids moving around the time stream. They’re each coming across difficulties that will define them. And these unique circumstances will make them who they are, in this future that might already be written. Vaughan uses time travel as a vehicle to carry the physical and mental changes one goes through during puberty and uses it as a way to show us different times in the characters’ lifespans asymmetrically. That way, we get to see a different kind of look at the consequences of time travel that some authors usually just show through a “butterfly effect.”

Exciting Things to Come

After Erin and the gang experience that strange purple sky over Cleveland, we follow them back to Erin’s house, where we discover that she has grown into who else but Ali Wong, 30 years in the future. Wong has a very successful career in stand-up and has acted in Tuca & Bertie, Big Mouth, and BoJack Horseman. She’s one of the most prominent actors in the series and is sure to bring an excellent vibe to the show.

After the big reveal that the girls have traveled through time, we’re introduced to Larry, played by Nate Corddry (The Circle, Mindhunter), who is able to explain some things to the girls and the audience. Soon after, we meet the time cops, one of whom KJ promptly smacks in the face with a big stick; definitely one of our favorite parts of the book. Then we’re swept up in a huge whirl of technology and worlds beyond understanding. We’ll have to wait until the series comes out to know the full breadth of where this show will take us.

One thing is certain: we can tell, even just from the trailer, that the showrunners have demonstrated a firm resolve to maintain truthfulness when relating to the source material. This is clearly not something they took many liberties with; from that, they have gotten the show to more closely representing the comic book. Even the color scheme of the live-action series reflects Cliff Chiang’s artwork well. And if the original work is any indication, audiences are in for one heck of a ride. Excellent production is sure to bring us somewhere between Stranger Things, The Hunger Games, and some futuristic wizardry that couldn’t possibly be described in this article.

This graphic novel will bring something to television that is unique enough to be the next big thing.