While I'm away from the comics I got from Free Comic Book Day as I'm on vacation and haven't had a chance to finish them, I thought I'd talk about something else that I sprinted through and am now reading for the second time: Saga written by Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) with artist Fiona Staples (North 40, DV8: Gods and Monsters) and published by Image Comics. I'm reading Saga on hoopla through a local library after a very strong recommendation from a friend of mine. I'll talk about the first volume here which collects Chapters 1-6 and may talk about future volumes in a future date.
The ongoing series is about two people on opposites sides of a war, Alana from Earthfall and Marko from its moon Wreath, trying to raise their family as their sides sent bounty hunters and assassins out to get them. It's been called a hybrid of Game of Thrones and Star Wars which makes sense as it has both sci-fi and fantastical elements, features lots of death and political intrigue as well as really imaginative characters and a stunning range of planets and cities. It's a very personal story that has cosmic implications as it unfolds.
Story
The back cover calls this a "sexy, subversive ongoing epic" and you can see that from the starting block. We open with Alan giving birth to her child and talk of sex. Vaughn's decision to treat the graphic novel as the retelling of what happened in the past from the view of Alano and Marko's child is an inspired choice that captivates the reader, prompting questions as to what the state of affairs are in the present and what raising a family really takes. It's also a very organic way to give exposition.
In the panel to the left, the white lettering is written by Hazel at an indeterminate time in the future as we see her birth. As an example of the kind of questions you get, she says:
Hazel's words also help transition scenes in a tantalizing and intriguing manner. They will directly apply to a current scence but also in the following scene in an unexpected way.
I really appreciate how lived in and mature the worlds and people feel despite them being so inventive and subversive. The bounty hunters have a union, you have investigative reporters who face difficult ethical dilemmas in pursuing their stories (in a later volume) and Alana loves this popular romantic book. This love of this romantic book is part of the meta-commentary that the author offers on the genre and literature that will continue in future volumes.
Overall, it's a very real, heartfelt story with serious consequences and great humor. There is one central mystery that never seems to be addressed throughout the entire story though that I hope is explored and not left to the reader's mind: the reason for the never-ending war. At this point, the sides are fighting because they've always fought. Hate for the other side is propagated and fomented with every opportunity.
Art
The art is gorgeous. The most noticeable quality to me is that there's a sharp difference between what's depicted in the foreground (usually characters and the objects they interact with) and the background. The characters are drawn with sharp lines with lots of shading whereas the background is a lot softer and amorphous. It looks like Staples starts from a more sketchy, messy style before adapting to a more finalized, clean style at the end.
I really want some panels as prints on my wall in the future. You know what, I'm definitely going to get one or two!
Characters
My favorite part about the characters is how much we learn and sympathize with the "villains" and how flawed the two protagonists are. You have these really tender moments between our two main protagonists that are usually tinged with some bitterness because of the mystery of the state of affairs in the present and the trials and tribulations you expect them to go through.
I actually think the first volume is the weakest of the six volumes despite being amazing because of the need to set the story and world. Check it out.
The ongoing series is about two people on opposites sides of a war, Alana from Earthfall and Marko from its moon Wreath, trying to raise their family as their sides sent bounty hunters and assassins out to get them. It's been called a hybrid of Game of Thrones and Star Wars which makes sense as it has both sci-fi and fantastical elements, features lots of death and political intrigue as well as really imaginative characters and a stunning range of planets and cities. It's a very personal story that has cosmic implications as it unfolds.
Story
The back cover calls this a "sexy, subversive ongoing epic" and you can see that from the starting block. We open with Alan giving birth to her child and talk of sex. Vaughn's decision to treat the graphic novel as the retelling of what happened in the past from the view of Alano and Marko's child is an inspired choice that captivates the reader, prompting questions as to what the state of affairs are in the present and what raising a family really takes. It's also a very organic way to give exposition.
In the panel to the left, the white lettering is written by Hazel at an indeterminate time in the future as we see her birth. As an example of the kind of questions you get, she says:
It's not like I grow up to become some great war hero or any sort of all-important savior...but thanks to these two, at least I get to grow old. Not everyone does.The last sentence is imposed over a large image of her parents kissing so you wonder: DO THEY NOT MAKE IT? AHH.
Hazel's words also help transition scenes in a tantalizing and intriguing manner. They will directly apply to a current scence but also in the following scene in an unexpected way.
I really appreciate how lived in and mature the worlds and people feel despite them being so inventive and subversive. The bounty hunters have a union, you have investigative reporters who face difficult ethical dilemmas in pursuing their stories (in a later volume) and Alana loves this popular romantic book. This love of this romantic book is part of the meta-commentary that the author offers on the genre and literature that will continue in future volumes.
Overall, it's a very real, heartfelt story with serious consequences and great humor. There is one central mystery that never seems to be addressed throughout the entire story though that I hope is explored and not left to the reader's mind: the reason for the never-ending war. At this point, the sides are fighting because they've always fought. Hate for the other side is propagated and fomented with every opportunity.
Art
The art is gorgeous. The most noticeable quality to me is that there's a sharp difference between what's depicted in the foreground (usually characters and the objects they interact with) and the background. The characters are drawn with sharp lines with lots of shading whereas the background is a lot softer and amorphous. It looks like Staples starts from a more sketchy, messy style before adapting to a more finalized, clean style at the end.
I really want some panels as prints on my wall in the future. You know what, I'm definitely going to get one or two!
Characters
My favorite part about the characters is how much we learn and sympathize with the "villains" and how flawed the two protagonists are. You have these really tender moments between our two main protagonists that are usually tinged with some bitterness because of the mystery of the state of affairs in the present and the trials and tribulations you expect them to go through.
I actually think the first volume is the weakest of the six volumes despite being amazing because of the need to set the story and world. Check it out.
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