Magdalene Visaggio & Jen Vaughn’s Teenage Wasteland Returns From ComiXology Originals

Eisner-nominated Eternity Girl writer Magdalene Visaggio is everywhere, so it’s forgivable if you lose track of one or two of her many projects—but with Jen Vaughn’s slick art and a “Magical Grrrl” twist on Power Rangers, Teenage Wasteland isn’t a series many readers can afford to miss. Released under the digital-only ComiXology Originals banner, Teenage Wasteland is back this week with its second issue, and Paste has an exclusive first look.

“I grew up watching Power Rangers and other toku imports, and when you’re a kid, that stuff is a power fantasy,” writer Magdalene Visaggio said in a statement. “You get all these cool abilities and weapons and robots and fight evil. Who wouldn’t want that? But the older I got, the more I started to see it differently: it’s the weaponization of teenagers. And then you start seeing it everywhere, right up to classics like X-Men. So that seemed like a unique jumping-off point. How can you ever trust Zordon? What does it mean to make children fight your war for you? So that’s the heart of it for me: questioning the premise of stuff like Might Morphin Power Rangers and looking at the way conflict defines people—and shatters them.”

Visaggio is perhaps best known as the writer and co-creator of Kim & Kim, and has explored similar themes of teenage alienation and friendship in books like Morning in America and Quantum Teens Are Go. Artist Jen Vaughan, meanwhile, has contributed to everything from Adventure Time to Goosebumps, and is fast making a name for herself with her clean, open linework.

“Mags’ writing digs under your skin, she taps into the loneliness and hormone-fueled anxiety teens feel,” Vaughn added. “Most teens want to be noticed, to belong, to be special, to be a chosen one. What’s worse than being normal? Being an expendable in a long line of chosen ones.”

Teenage Wasteland #2 is available Wednesday, May 15th, via ComiXology. Members of Prime Reading, Kindle Unlimited and comiXology Unlimited can read any ComiXology Originals series at no extra cost, while non-members can purchase individual issues and collections. Check out Vaughn and colorist Stelladia’s interior pages below, and stay tuned to Paste for more on Comixology Originals.