A Hugo Review: Best Graphic Story - Paper Girls, Volume 1

Paper Girls, Volume 1 is about four girls with newspaper routes who run into a little trouble the morning after Halloween.

I used to do part of my brother's paper route and fill in for him every once in a blue moon. I didn't really mind it most of the time, but there were some hills that were annoying and I despised collecting. That said, I never ran the route that early in the morning or the morning after Halloween, as far as I remember. And I certainly never ran into the kind of troubles those four girls did.

The good: The characters are quickly defined and nicely drawn with both words and art. I like the group and enjoyed the interplay between the four. The mystery was introduced quickly enough to pique my interest and there are good moments of drama. The art is solid, if not spectacular. There is a constant air of menace.

The bad: Once again, we have a finalist with a story that's only partly told. Oh, the cliff-hanger is fine, but this is clearly a series that is planned to run quite some time, and that means we only get the start of the story. I really wanted some resolution to some story arc to close on.

Conclusion: Not the best of the finalists, but far from the worst.

So, despite me thinking Ms. Marvel was too frivolous to win the top spot, it definitely is getting the top spot out of these finalists. Next up will be Paper Girls and Saga, not necessarily in that order. Black Panther and Monstress will get the final two spots, and Vision will not be on my ballot.

Best Graphic Story: I've read all the entries. Check them out in my Reviews of 2017 Hugo Finalists