Vaughan: It's not the Nickelodeon version. That's something we wanted to capture, some authenticity. One of the things we talked about was the movie Stand by Me and how when we were kids and watched that, we thought that was us. Shockling: You don't want a caricature, but it doesn't need to be porcelain, right?Ĭhiang: Right. Being a parent, you come see all the rough edges in your kids. I don't want them to be… So often when they present kids, it is too varnished.

As a parent and as a comics fan, I want these characters to feel real. Do you feel differently about how you want the girls themselves to be visually portrayed as a parent?Ĭhiang: I think so. I'm especially curious to your approach to young girls as an artist. We were talking to Brian about the approach of writing about adolescents with the perspective of being a parent. Shockling: I'd like to jump back in the conversation a little bit, Cliff. It was fleshing it out with Cliff where I think we built this into the much larger universe that it has become. Vaughan: I think we started talking pretty early when I just had a one-page concept for it and brief verbal sketches of the characters.

Magnett: So in terms of plotting the series and breaking down the story, is that something you two did together, developing it from the start in tandem? Things take a definite turn, it's a little strange. It's not a globetrotting space opera, but it's still got some cool shit in it.Ĭliff Chiang: I think with Brian you can always expect the unexpected. You are right it is never going to be Saga. We will learn before the end of the first issue that there are epic stakes. It's definitely very grounded, but it's not just a boring slice of life story. Vaughan: Yeah, it is definitely… and here is Cliff Chiang! Here's the artist of the book. Where Saga is an intergalactic epic sort of story with characters from all across space, Paper Girls focuses on four young girls in the suburbs. Magnett: It also seems like an interesting balance of skill. I really like writing about them as intriguing human beings. You have to collect your own money when you deliver newspapers. They are these sort of hardcore young entrepreneurs: twelve years old and going out in the middle of the night and shaking down clients. It's much more about their relationships with each other and with their families.

Brian k vaughan we stand on guard