Last night I picked up Paper Girls at Forbidden Planet NYC because the whole creative team (Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson, Jared K. Fletcher) was going to be there for a signing. And honestly, I just really wanted to tell BKV thank you for Saga (or as I refer to, my “gateway” comic), and double thank you for not only taking my BuzzFeed “Which Saga Character Are You?” quiz, but also mentioning it in the To Be Continued section of Saga Chapter Thirty.

But let’s head back to the back of that same issue where we first saw Paper Girls. The preview seemed interesting enough, but that full page image of the characters (we now know as Mac, KJ, and Tiffany), was the jump off. These little girls looked bad ass AF and it was enough to get the first issue at least.

First off, I picked up the book off the shelf and was kind of shocked how hefty it was. It was thick paper, which I don’t know if it is special for the first print, but I loved it. I mean a book about paper girls is obligated to have decent paper quality, right? And marketed as a double-sized issue, I can’t imagine this story being as good at half the size.

Anyway, I read the comic while waiting in line to get it signed. And even standing outside in the dark on a cold New York City street, the pages were beautiful. I’ve never seen/read anything else with Chiang, and now I am instantly a fan of his work. There are images in the story that are reminiscent of Saga. I loved that because you just know that’s how the story looks is in Vaughan’s head and Chiang is such a great artist, he can attribute it to this book and not just a copy of Staples style in Saga.

As for the story. I am not big on spoilers and when I love something I just keep talking about it until you read it. I have already bought about eight copies of Saga #1 just to give away to people because I want them to read it and love it like I do. Just ask my poor BuzzFeed coworkers during my fellowship about how I forced them to read it (eventually they loved it and like a proud momma bird I watched them “leave the nest” as it were, and continue to read it on their own).

But the official Image Comics description says:

In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Stand By Me meets War of the Worlds in this mysterious young adult adventure, starting with a spectacular DOUBLE-SIZED FIRST ISSUE for the regular price of just $2.99!

This incredibly accurate. “Bad-ass preteen girls dealing with a crazy, weird mystery” is how I would sum it up, but their synopsis works too. It’s a relatable story, until it’s not, and that’s when it starts getting really good. The more you find out, the more you want to know. Which is what every reader wants from a good story.

I’ve already rated it 5 stars on Goodreads, from my unending curiosity of what’s going to happen next. Either way, go out and grab issue #1 to whet your appetite. And then let me know what you think. I can’t wait to speculate with someone! And I’m totally planning my Tiffany cosplay already, so get in on that action.

Paper Girls Issue #2 goes on sale November 4, 2015.

Allons-y!