We’ve all seen lots of stories about a young protagonist having adventures, and usually they’re all boys, [and] there is sometimes a token female, or two.
I remember seeing Stand by Me, when I was around 12, and just feeling like, “This is so refreshing to see kids swear and smoke cigarettes like my friends.” It just felt much more real than the Sesame Street version of childhood that I’d been spoon-fed.
The longer I’ve been writing scripts, the more I find that you have to give the artist more leeway or else you’ll just be disappointed. You can’t force them to draw every image that’s in your head.
I’m the one who started spreading that particular factoid, about Bendis, Azz and me all being bald Brian’s from Cleveland, just to get my name mentioned in the same sentence as two much-better writers, and it’s worked like a goddamn charm.
I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland in 1988 and there was just one year where suddenly all of the delivery kids that used to be boys were suddenly girls. It happened at our church too. Altar boys were suddenly altar girls.
After 9/11, I knew I wanted to write about power and identity and the way Americans on all sides of the political spectrum often mythologize our leaders, which are themes that the superhero genre has always handled really well.
![Brian K. Vaughan Quote - We’ve all seen lots of stories about a young protagonist having adventures, and usually they’re all boys, [and] there is sometimes a token female, or two.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/weve-all-seen-lots-of-stories-about-a-young-protag.jpg)
![Brian K. Vaughan Quote - We describe [Paper Girls] as Stand By Me meets Terminator.It’s a story about nostalgia and childhood, but with an action-packed, sci-fi bent.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/we-describe-paper-girls-as-stand-by-me-meets-termi.jpg)
![Brian K. Vaughan Quote - I love that the book [Paper Girls ] gets to kind of evolve and change in each era. Our third storyline is our best so far.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/i-love-that-the-book-paper-girls-gets-to-kind-of-e-683x1024.jpg)
![Brian K. Vaughan Quote - These are the young women [in Stand by Me] that we grew up knowing and hopefully they feel a little rough around the edges, because it’s true to life.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/these-are-the-young-women-in-stand-by-me-that-we-g.jpg)