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Review: Saga #22
This is gonna get good. Do you ever get that feeling reading a comic? Do you flip through the pages, read the dialogue, scan the pictures, and get that feeling in your gut that all of this is going somewhere and it’s gonna be awesome? I got that feeling reading Saga #22. The last few issues have been pretty low key, and I’ve rated them as such, but now writer Brian K. Vaughn is starting to move his chess pieces around the board. All the characters he’s introduced, all the plot lines he seeded, start swirling together in the new issue, and it’s rather exciting.
Saga #22
Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but I think this Saga comic is gonna be pretty good.
Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples had a lot to introduce coming into this new volume. They did a time jump, so there was a lot they had to get readers up to speed on in the universe before they could restart the story proper. I get that. Nothing wrong with that. But it made for a few issues that were just setting up the scenery. And it was depressing scenery. Can you believe that Vaughn and Staples are doing to Marko and Alana?! Man, what a drag. But in the end, there’s no denying that it’s going to be a great story, because that’s what these to do: they make great comics!
Things start to heat up in a bad way between Marko and Alana in this issue. We knew it was coming, and Vaugh just slaps us in the face with it. But they’re just the beginning. Were you, like I, wondering where all this crazy janitor stuff was going? Oh yeah, it’s going there. It’s going right there, and Vaughn is going to destroy us with it.
Well I say bring it on!
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Review: Saga #20
Sometimes, Saga can be the most amazing, devastating comic book on the market. And sometimes, writer Brian K. Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples just need to get from Point A to Point B. Those issues aren’t bad either, but they’re not as exciting or as emotionally driven as the really great issues. That’s definitely not a bad thing, because Vaughn and Staples are producing one great comic. And sometimes you just need to let your story grow. Sometimes you’ve got a twist you need to drop or a point to make, or you need a few scenes to let Hazel be absolutely adorable.
Saga #20
Either way, whatever those two are doing, it makes for a good issue of Saga.
Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.
The last issue of Saga was devastating. It was like a punch to the gut. I wanted to cry, but I’m too manly for that. So I sucked it up and spent the last month hoping it was all a dream – that didn’t work. And here we are at Saga #20, the next chapter in the end of the beautiful relationship that is Marko and Alana. Vaughn wastes no time in putting temptation in their path, and it’s a little heart-breaking. Part of me thinks he’s putting one over on us, because the events of this issue are so obvious. But it’s probably just Vaughn doing what he has to do, which, of course, is break our hearts.
I really hope I can make it through this volume of Saga.
This is a fine issue that really focuses on the characters. Almost everyone gets a bit of spotlight, and it’s all nice for building their character and presenting more of their current situations. Alana is still on that weird TV show. Marko gets to play papa. And there’s some insanity about to go down in the Robot Kingdom. Oh yeah. That’s the big hubbaloo in Saga #20. In fact, I bet this whole volume is going to focus more on the Robot Kingdom and what they have to do with everything. They’re a weird bunch, to be sure, and I bet Vaughn has something big planned.
He’d better, because my heart can only take so much torment. Join me after the jump for the full synopsis with FULL SPOILERS and more review!
Review: Saga #19
Back for one issue and already you’re breaking my heart again, Saga. You’re a twisted, cruel, evil comic that toys with my heart strings like a child playing with ants! I haven’t read a cliffhanger ending this inhumane since you nearly killed Lying Cat all those issues ago! Why must you destroy me like this? Why must you be so damn good, only to kill everything I love?!
Saga #19
We’re talking ‘Red Wedding’ levels of sadness here, folks. Prepare yourselves for the return of Saga!
Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
I’m as pleased as anybody to have Saga back in my hands. Saga, by writer Brian K. Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples, is one of the best comics being published today. It’s thoroughly enjoyable, features a universe that never stops sprawling on and on, and is probably the most deeply emotional comic book I’m reading these days. I don’t even feel this deeply about Multiple Man, my favorite superhero. The story of Hazel and her family is simply beautiful. In less than 19 issues, and Vaughn and Staples have crafted such a wonderfully warm and touching cast of characters. I was in love with them from issue #1. And I’m so glad they’re back.
But man, my heart is in tatters.
From the end of the last volume to this new issue, we’ve skipped ahead a few months or years, depending on how long it takes for baby Hazel to grow into toddler Hazel. I don’t know babies. But she’s walking and talking these days, and that’s going to be a delight to behold, I can already tell. Saga #19 is mostly spent getting us all up to speed with how things are and what the family unit has been up to for the past few months. They’re hunkered down on a safe planet, Hazel is growing up, Alana got a weird job, and everybody’s kind of getting on everybody else’s nerves – typical family stuff. So it’s a light, scene-setting issue that showcases Saga‘s usual level of enjoyable storytelling and character building.
Until a final page that will gut you.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Review: Saga: Volume 1
I’ve gotten a request from an old friend of mine to review something other than superhero comics, and I’m going to take him up on that request because I would like to expand the reach of my blog. Unfortunately, the only non-superhero comic I’m reading these days is Saga by writer Brian K. Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples. This is unfortunate because I would like to read more independent work, but it’s fortunate because Saga is probably the No. 1 most high-profile, independent, non-superhero comic on the stands today. A lot of comic book fans are reading Saga, and I think that makes it the perfect addition to my review cycle. I’ve decided to review the first six issues in one fell swoop – seeing as how they make up Volune 1 – and then pick up from here on out issue-by-issue.
Saga: Volume 1
Saga is a strange and heartfelt story about a young couple trying to raise their newborn daughter in the middle of a war. But it just so happens that it takes place in outer space and everybody is some kind of freaky alien. On top of that, it seems like Vaughn and Staples are trying to be as insanely weird as possible, sometimes sacrificing story for weirdness.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
There is no denying that Saga is, so far, a very well-written and well-drawn comic. Vaughn and Staples are two professionals at the top of their game, and that shows on every page. It’s the story and the progress that I find at least slightly lacking. After six issues, our two main characters, Alana and Marko, seem to be spinning their wheels as they bounce from one threat or danger to the next. Even though we’re told that they’re on the move, the setting still remains “vague alien wilderness”. They have fought off a new threat or evil menace in every single issue, and none of their opponents have stuck around long enough to make any kind of lasting impact.
It’s like Vaughn thinks we have no attention span and he must fill his book with as much new action as possible. The main characters are in a near constant state of panic from all this action. But I would prefer him to slow down and take time to smell the roses of this universe he is trying to build. As a result, I don’t feel as connected with this world and these characters as I would like to be. I’ve seen my fair share of weird alien worlds in fiction, but Vaughn’s is particularly strange, and yet he’s not giving us much of an opportunity to get to know everything he’s created.
That’s not to say Saga is too out of control. Underneath all of this action and weird excitement, Vaughn and Staples are creating something rather beautiful. I just wish they’d let that part shine more than the constant need for action.
Join me after the jump as I introduce you to the characters and run down the story so far.
Henchman-4-Hire 