Saga is finally back, and it’s…mediocre at best. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving Saga so far. This epic adventure from writer Brian K. Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples is a fun tale with fascinating characters. But after two months off, this new issue disappoints because not a whole lot happens. And then it cuts off just as it’s getting good. This issue reminds me why I read both Y: The Last Man and Dues Ex, Vaughn’s previous works, in trade paperback form, where there were multiple issues to read through in one sitting. Very little happens in this issue, and especially little to advance the plot.

Saga #7

But at least what does happen is entertaining, as we meet Marko’s parents and they meet their new daughter-in-law and grandchild.

Comic rating: 4/5 Good.

Saga #7 reads like the first section of a larger story, and obviously it is. But that disqualifies it from being a worthwhile single issue. And if I’m going to read Saga in the single issues, I’d like a little more bang for my buck per issue. But again, this is probably just me splitting hairs. I don’t think Saga is meant to be read in the single issues. Those lucky/smart people who are waiting for the trades are in for a treat. Because Saga is just that…a saga. I bet, or at least hope, that this is going to be a great tale overall. But issue by issue, I dunno. I’m still hoping for a little more meat on the bones.

Fortunately, with this issue, Saga does exactly what I hoped it would: it slows down to spend a little more time with its characters. The cliffhanger arrival of Marko’s parents last issue is picked up on almost immediately, and their interactions with their son and his new family are fun, if abrupt. We also get some backstory about Marko growing up, so I suppose that’s nice. We also check in, very briefly, on some of our other characters, though nothing comes of that. This is just a set-up issue for whatever happens next. I just hope it’s more exciting than this.

Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review! And you can get caught up with my prior review of the first six issues here.

We open with a flashback to Marko’s childhood, narrated by his future daughter, Hazel. The narration continues to be a real blast in this series. Back when Marko was young, the war between his home world Wreath and neighboring Landfall had already moved on. The two planets are at war, but in order to spare the people and the resources, they have kind of outsourced the fighting to other planets in the galaxy. The two armies force other alien races to fight their war for them, while the two main planets are in a relative peace. But Marko’s parents don’t seem to like this peace, and on this particular day, they have decided to teach Marko a lesson about war.

Basically, that war is brutal.

BOOM! Headshot!

They use some Wreath magic to replay some of the old, gruesome battles for Marko to watch. The point is to teach Marko to never forget the war, or the Wreath heroes who died fighting. Nor will he forget to how evil the winged warriors of Landfall are!

Flash forward to now, and Marko has married one of them!

And they’ve totally had sex!

There’s a bit of confusion at first as the translators kick in. Marko tries to make peace, but Alana is royally pissed that Marko’s mother just killed Izabel, their ghost babysitter! Mom points out that you can’t kill someone that’s already dead. She just used a banishment spell on Izabel. Likely banished to the nearest planet while they’re zipping along in their spaceship tree. Marko hands Hazel off to Alana and takes his father’s crash helm, which is a teleporter. He’s going to save Izabel, though his mother tells him to stop, he doesn’t know the first thing about using a crash helm!

Like the names of all 150 Pokemon

Definitely a badass Marko moment.

Before the portal closes, Marko’s mother races after him to lend a hand, though mostly she thinks her son has gone crazy. This leaves Alana and Marko’s dad alone and just staring at each other in the spaceship.

At least she looks damn good in that towel

Marko’s dad, whose name is Barr, tries to explain that Marko’s mom, whose name is Klara, is probably just a little on edge considering her hatred for Alana’s people. The two bicker back and forth for a moment about old war wounds, but Alana storms off. She’s not about to have that conversation. Barr follows and asks if the child is…normal?

Alana pulls a gun on him and snaps back that the child is perfect!

Barr tries to calm her down. He just wants to look at his granddaughter, but Alana isn’t calming down. And she has the ship, which follows her commands now, possibly because it has seen her naked, tie up Barr using some of its vines. She tells him to make himself at home, just remember whose home it is.

Down on the planet, we learn that Marko’s mother wears the pants in the family.

An oaf father? What is this, a 90s sitcom?

She’s none to happy with what Marko has apparently done, and that includes breaking the family sword, which revealed his location to anyone with half a brain, she says. Including that freelancer who came to visit them. Marko worries if it was the Stalk, but Klara says it was a male who didn’t give his name, but wanted to know if they’d heard from their son – and clearly they hadn’t.

But they got curious and checked with Wreath High Command, where they learned nothing. Barr and Klara began to worry, so Barr said they had to go and find Marko themselves. They sold their house to afford the two crash helms. Marko tells her mother that was stupid, and she slaps him. She tells her son that everyone makes mistakes, the trick is learning how to move on. Marko insists that Alana is not a mistake, but Klara just brushes Alana off as some kind of rebellious phase her son is going through.

Suddenly, Marko tackles his mom to save her from a giant club crashing down at them. They’ve been discovered by a giant, fat, hideous monster whose genitalia is hanging out, and it’s just…it’s just disgusting. I don’t even really want to describe it, let alone show the picture. Just know that it’s hideous.

But that’s the last we see of Marko and Klara for the rest of the issue.

We then take a moment to check in on the other characters. Prince Robot IV is still on their trail. The Will is watching old sex videos of himself and the Stalk. And the Lying Cat is fighting with a lobster. Good times.

Back on the ship, Alana and Barr are getting along well.

The makings of some great family memories

Barr warns that he knows magic, but Alana retorts that she knows he needs a secret for the spell to work properly. Because magic is weird in Saga. You’d think people would eventually run out of secrets to tell. Barr’s secret is that he has less than a month to live, and sure enough, that breaks his bonds. Alana is freaking out, both that he’s free and that nobody else knows that Barr is destined to die soon. But instead of giving her a chance to speak, Barr zaps her with a sleep spell and takes his granddaughter, Hazel, into his arms.

Ah, grandparents

It’s a touching ending, but a frustrating ending. This reads like only 1/8th of a story. The two couples barely have a moment together before they split in half, and even then we barely scratch the surface on Marko and his mom and Alana and her father-in-law. I want more! Which, of course, isn’t a knock against the title. Just a good reason to read this series in trade. But I won’t. I want to keep getting the single issues. I want to follow along this time to one of Vaughn’s masterpieces.

So the issue was too short and too light on content for my tastes. Vaughn has done a pretty good job setting up these characters, and I wanted to see them really cut loose with the arrival of Marko’s parents. But somehow, inconceivably, the really deep characterization continues to elude me with Saga. Or maybe I’m just being too picky. I don’t know. Suffice to say, I want something juicier to happen. I want something really great and meaningful. The characters are there, the plot is there. Just make it happen, Vaughn and Staples.

Speaking of Staples, was it just me, or did her art seem a little sketchier this issue? Maybe it’s just me.