Paper Girls is a mystery/science fiction comic book series created by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, and published by Image Comics. The colorist is Matt Wilson, the letterer and designer is Jared K. Fletcher, and the color flatter is Dee Cunniffe. The series began publication on October 7, 2015 and concluded on July 31, 2019 with issue #30.
Paper Girls follows the story of four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls (Erin, MacKenzie, KJ, and Tiffany) set in Stony Stream, a fictional suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. As they are out delivering papers on the morning after Halloween, the town is struck by an invasion from a mysterious force from the future. The girls become unwillingly caught up in the conflict between two warring factions of time travelers.
In 2016, Paper Girls received the Eisner Award for Best New Series and Best Penciller/Inker as well as the Harvey Award for Best New Series. A television adaptation premiered in July 2022 and ran for one season.
Synopsis Erin Tieng, a new resident of Stony Stream, is a recently hired paper delivery girl. While out delivering newspapers in the early hours of the morning of November 1, 1988, Erin meets Mac, KJ, and Tiffany, a group of friends and fellow paper girls who invite Erin to join them.
The girls are soon attacked by a group of teenagers; one of the teens steals a walkie-talkie from Tiffany. The girls subsequently chase the group to a construction house and find what appears to be a time machine in the basement. They are then struck by mysterious energy emanating from the machine. The girls learn that the teenagers are time travelers from the distant future, who are engaged in an ongoing war with a group known as the "Old-Timers" (known as "The Battle of the Ages"). At the center of this conflict is the question of whether or not the past can and should be changed by future time travelers.
Throughout the series, the girls are frequently (and usually, inadvertently) time-displaced, traveling between the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as eras of the distant past and future. As they travel through time, they encounter future versions of themselves and are forced to come to terms with who they will later become. Their lives also become intertwined with those of Wari and Jahpo, two "Old-Timers" who lead the war against their future descendants.
Characters Main Erin Tieng: A new resident of Stony Stream, she has a younger sister, Missy, of whom she is very protective. Erin is Chinese-American. She has maternal instincts and tends to follow the rules. She attends a Catholic school called St. Nick's and carries a pocketknife. She later learns that her future self in 2016 is unmarried, still works for the Cleveland Preserver, and struggles with anxiety, for which she takes medication. When Clone Erin scatters the paper girls to different times, Erin is transported back to Halloween in 2017. Erin realizes she must return to the house where she met Heck and Naldo; at the house, she discovers a rift in time which brings her face-to-face with Grand Father. Erin reveals to Grand Father that time travel was invented by his "mother", Doctor Qanta Braunstein. When Grand Father shoots an Editrix, he and Erin are transported to a deserted, 19th century Stony Stream where Erin reunites with her friends. Before her memory is wiped, Erin remarks that "Eve was right"; she is then returned to November 1, 1988. Erin meets the other paper girls for the "first" time. After spending the morning together, Erin convinces the others to stay just a little while longer, hanging out as friends. MacKenzie "Mac" Coyle: A cigarette-smoking tomboy who swears constantly, Mac was the first girl to become a paperboy in Stony Stream. Cynical and snarky, Mac comes from a blue-collar Irish-Catholic family. She deeply admires her older brother. In 2016, Mac is told she will die of leukemia; however, while in 2171 AD, she learns she actually has a rare, untreatable cancer called "4DC", which only affects time travelers. She makes homophobic comments, and pushed KJ to the ground when she comes out to her, though it is hinted that she may reciprocate KJ's feelings. Eventually, the two kiss in 2171 AD. Mac is later sent to the distant future just prior to the death of the Earth where she reunites with Dr. Braunstein. Following Dr. Braunstein's death, Mac attempts to use Dr. Braunstein's time machine to travel back to 1988. Instead, Mac is rerouted to a deserted, 19th century Stony Stream to be reunited with her friends. She and KJ share a final kiss. Mac admits she is happy to have her memory wiped, as she will no longer be weighed down by the knowledge of when she will die. After being sent back to November 1, 1988, Mac dreams of attending KJ's bat mitzvah, where the two slow-dance and KJ tells Mac that Mac loves her. Mac also dreams of Erin and Tiffany, the latter of who tells Mac not to forget that they're not just paper girls. Later, Mac reunites with KJ and the others. After spending the morning together, she agrees they should hang out just a little while longer. Karina "KJ" J. Brandman: Considered the "rich one" of the group, KJ attends a private school (Buttonwood Academy), plays field hockey, and is Jewish. She carries her field hockey stick at all times and occasionally uses it as a weapon. 's grandmother is a Holocaust survivor. While in first grade, KJ witnessed her cousin drown. In 11,706 BCE, KJ touches a futuristic device that shows glimpses of her future. This leads her to come to the realization that she is a lesbian and has feelings for Mac, which puts a strain on their friendship. In 2171 AD, KJ and Mac kiss. When she is sent to 1958, KJ seeks out Charlotte in order to find her way back home, where she later meets Jude, who helps transport KJ to a deserted, 19th century Stony Stream. KJ is briefly reunited with her friends and shares a kiss with Mac. Her memory is then wiped and she is returned to the morning of November 1, 1988. Once again, KJ reunites with her fellow paper girls after they save her from a group of teenage bullies. After spending the morning together, she decides to stay with Mac and her "new" friends for a little while longer. Tiffany "Tiff" Quilkin: Is a smart obsessive gamer who loves her walkie-talkies, Tiffany is African-American and the adopted daughter of a mixed-race family. She attends a Catholic school called St. Pete's. When Tiffany is briefly held captive by a futuristic device, she is shown her past; Tiffany is discouraged to realize she had thus far just spent her life playing video games. In 2000, she discovers that her older self has adopted a Goth style, attended Stern, and married a man named Chris. Prior to the age of 13, her parents force her to give up her paper route. After being sent to the distant future, she encounters a second Clone Erin. This Clone Erin introduces Tiffany to her companions: the third clone of Erin (age 16), a clone of KJ (age 42), and 2000-Tiffany (now an elderly woman). Tiffany realizes that the girls' strange dreams were all messages sent by the clones in order to guide them to where they are now. Tiffany is persuaded to help the clones and her older self by sending messages to her friends in order to reunite them all. After discovering her memory is to be wiped, Tiffany tries to force herself not to forget by repeatedly stating "we're not just paper girls, we're friends". Back in November 1988, Tiffany meets Erin and gives Erin her walkie-talkie. Tiffany then confesses to the others that she has decided to give up being a paper girl, wanting to just "be" for a while. Despite this, Tiffany agrees to hang out with the group for the rest of the morning.
War factions
Old-Timers
The "Old-Timers" (also known as "WATCH" in 2171 AD) are the first generation following the invention of time travel. They strongly believe in preserving the original timeline and strictly enforce the rules regarding time travel. They cannot travel to their own futures. Their leader is known by the title of "Grand Father". A sub-sect of Old-Timers are known as Restorers, who actively work to restore timelines altered by the events of the war. The Restorers have the ability to erase and alter a person's memory. Old-Timers speak in a modified version of English, heavily dependent on slang and similar to Old English in style. Some of them can also speak 21st century English if asked. When Clone Erin (first generation) scatters the girls to separate past/present timelines, she causes the Old-Timers to become stuck inside the fourth dimension. The Old-Timers' base, "the Cathedral", is later destroyed when Grand Father misguidedly shoots an Editrix. However, all of the occupants of the cathedral are saved and restored to their original time. They later come to a truce with the Teenagers via Grand Father, who agrees to ban time travel forever.
Jahpo: The current "Grand Father". His speech and attire are seemingly more in line with the 20th/21st century than his charges. He is actually the son of Wari and was born in 11,706 BCE, though this is unknown to him and everyone else. As a baby, Jahpo was saved by the girls and Dr. Braunstein when a group of men from Wari's tribe attempted to kill him in a misguided sacrifice. Jahpo alleges he is under the command of the Editrixes. He does not believe Erin when she states that his "mother" Dr. Braunstein invented time travel, not the Editrixes. He shoots at an Editrix in order to save one his crew members, which leads to him being transported to a deserted, 19th-century version of Stony Stream. While there, he touches an Editrix and is shown the truth of his origin. Expressing regret, he agrees to end the war with the teenagers by abolishing time travel forever. Wari: Publicly known as Jahpo's "big sister", she is actually a woman from 11,706 BCE and Jahpo's mother, having birthed him when she was 12 years old. Wari originally meets and is helped by the paper girls when they inadvertently jumped to Wari's original time period. At some point, Wari is brought to the future by Dr. Braunstein in an effort to help protect Jahpo from the inherent dangers of 11,706 BCE. Wari spent some years hiding in Indonesia with Dr. Braunstein as her "mother". She and Jahpo later return to Cleveland where they reside in 2171 AD. Wari is bequeathed with Dr. Braunstein's time travel machine following Dr. Braunstein's death. She then uses it to go back in time and prevent the paper girls from being hit by a car on the morning of November 1, 1988. Prioress: A commander in Jahpo's army who is romantically involved with Jahpo. She is killed during a battle on New Year's Eve in 1999/2000.
Teenagers
The descendants of the Old-Timers, from the 71st century; Grand Father refers to them as this regardless of age. They believe in the idea of altering history. Unlike the Old-Timers, teenagers do not have any rules regarding time travel. They often seek the assistance of "locals" (people living in the present time) to provide them with information for the war effort. They speak in a futuristic language that is only decipherable through translation gadgets. They have the ability to clone humans. At some unknown point in time, a small group of clones and 2000-Tiffany gain the ability to transmit coded messages to the paper girls in the past via bizarre dreams. This was done in order to covertly guide the paper girls to their destiny. This group of clones and 2000-Tiffany help to end the war by convincing Grand Father to ban all time travel forever, believing such power should never be abused again. They then erase the memories of the paper girls and return the girls to their original timeline.