Marvel greenlights RUNAWAYS

The Marvel steam train rolls on. The Hollywood Reporter say that Brian K. Vaughn (the wonderful Y: The Last Man series) is writing an adaptation of his own comic series Runaways for a big screen adaptation in 2011. Just like the decision to go ahead with Mark Millar's recent series Kick-Ass, the source material for this adaptation is only six years old - having started in 2002 and not the 60's like the usual adapts of X-Men, Spider-Man and Iron Man.

"Runaways" follows a group of teenagers who find that some family secrets are bigger than others when they discover their parents are actually super-villains. Running away from their homes, the teens band together and begin a journey of discovery, both of their parents' origins and of their own inherited powers, while trying to make up for the evil done by their folks.

Never read the series despite many recommendations. To me it always looked a little cartoony, too bright and vibrant to be appealing, though I do love what Vaughn did with Y: The Last Man. The trades say Marvel are treating this property just as seriously as they would their tentpole superhero's - though I can't see the demographic here. Teenage hero's is not as easy to be appealing to adults as grown-up ones. If they get Joss Whedon to direct and possibly co-write, then maybe they put together something with wide appeal - otherwise I'm not sure this is a good idea.