Four Girls, One Newspaper Route, and Infinite Adventures!
13SHARESRemember that feeling of being twelve years old on Halloween night? The electricity in the air, that sense that anything could happen, the way shadows seemed deeper and mysteries felt more real? Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang bottled that magic nearly a decade ago with Paper Girls, and now they’re celebrating with brand new “Backpack Editions” that you can literally throw in your bag and take on your own adventure.
It’s remarkable that nearly ten years have passed since we first met Erin, KJ, Mac, and Tiffany—four twelve-year-old paper delivery girls who stumbled into the story of a lifetime during the early hours after Halloween 1988. What began as a simple tale of kids doing their newspaper routes quickly spiraled into something extraordinary: a time-traveling odyssey that perfectly blended Stand By Me with Lost and infused it with authentic 80s nostalgia. The series became a cultural phenomenon, earning five Eisner Awards and eventually inspiring an Amazon Prime adaptation starring Ali Wong. Yet for many readers, the comics remain the definitive way to experience this profound story about friendship, growing up, and the strange magic that exists in those liminal moments between childhood and whatever comes next.
The new Backpack Editions aren’t just clever marketing—they’re genuinely inspired. At 6×9 inches, they achieve that sweet spot of being truly portable without compromising the gorgeous artwork that makes Cliff Chiang’s visual storytelling so compelling. Chiang has created new cover artwork specifically for these editions, giving even longtime fans compelling reasons to revisit the series. As Vaughan explains, these editions offer “a great way to introduce this emotional young adult adventure to your loved ones, or to rediscover new details from our twisty time-travel tale for yourself.”
There’s something deeply fitting about making Paper Girls genuinely portable. These aren’t characters who sit around waiting for adventure—they’re perpetually in motion, pedaling through time and space, never quite certain where they’ll end up next. Having an edition you can actually slip into your backpack and carry with you feels like the perfect way to honor that restless spirit of discovery.
For newcomers to Paper Girls, picture this: it’s Halloween night 1988, and you’re delivering newspapers in the pre-dawn darkness. You and your friends witness something you shouldn’t have seen, and suddenly you’re thrust into a war spanning centuries, leaping between different time periods, encountering alternate versions of yourselves, and desperately trying to find your way home. But the brilliance of Paper Girls was never really about the time travel mechanics. It was about capturing that precise moment when you’re not quite a child anymore but definitely not an adult either. It explored the friendships that define us during those crucial years and examined how the world begins to complicate itself just when you thought you had it figured out.
Chiang’s artwork masterfully balanced intimate character moments with cosmic weirdness, while colorist Matt Wilson brought everything to vivid life with a distinctive 80s neon palette that somehow felt both nostalgically retro and timelessly modern. Together, they created something that felt both comfortingly familiar and completely otherworldly.
The critical reception has been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s easy to understand why. WIRED praised it as “a total blast,” comparing it to everything from B-movie creature features to vintage YA literature. NPR highlighted how the series was “harder, flintier, funnier, more pragmatic” than similar nostalgia-driven narratives. The Guardian celebrated Vaughan’s plotting as “second to none” while calling the artwork “utterly gorgeous.” Perhaps Tor.com captured it best: “It’s glorious and moving, and also awkward and funny.” That perfectly encapsulates what the finest coming-of-age stories should be—beautifully messy and authentic to the strange contradictions of growing up.
Paper Girls Backpack Edition Volume One arrives in comic shops on October 29 and bookstores on November 11, collecting the first ten issues in what serves as an ideal entry point for new readers or a perfect excuse for longtime fans to revisit the series’ early magic. Volume Two is scheduled for 2026, allowing readers to savor the re-reading experience. Sometimes that’s exactly what you want with a story this rich and rewarding.
Nearly a decade later, Paper Girls feels remarkably relevant. We’re living through uncertain times, caught between nostalgia for a simpler past and anxiety about an unpredictable future. The story of four young people trying to navigate forces beyond their control while figuring out who they are and what they mean to each other resonates just as powerfully now as it did in 2015. Both creators have continued to demonstrate their exceptional talents—Vaughan’s Saga remains one of comics’ most beloved ongoing series, while Chiang’s recent Catwoman: Lonely City reminded everyone why he’s considered one of the medium’s finest artists.
These Backpack Editions feel like the perfect way to celebrate not just the series’ enduring popularity, but its universal appeal—a story that managed to be both deeply specific to its 1980s setting and genuinely timeless in its themes. Whether you’re discovering these characters for the first time or reconnecting with old friends, these new editions provide the ideal opportunity to experience one of the past decade’s finest comics. Just make sure you have room in your backpack—you’ll want to take this journey with you wherever you go.
Paper Girls Backpack Edition Volume One will be available at comic shops on October 29, 2025, and bookstores on November 11, 2025.