Two tribes go to war
This comic is pretty much a dream team of Fiona Staples’ beautiful artwork and Brian K. Vaughan’s fast paced plotting.
And just wierdly inventive characters.
You might not have heard of Brian K. Vaughan.
I hadn’t.
But I had watched and enjoyed Lost (until it just got too convoluted).
Vaughan was writer and producer on the show seasons 3-5.
But I digress.
Saga introduces us to two star-crossed lovers Marco and Alana.
Marco has horns and Alana has wings.
At first it’s the old tale of Montague vs. Capulet but then it gets way more interesting.
Tired of their unwinnable war the citizens of planet Landfall and its moon Wreath have outsourced their fight to the rest of the universe.
This opens the door to all kinds of interesting characters.
Freelancers.
Opportunists.
War dead teenagers turned ghostly babysitters.
Y’know, the usual.
The writing manages to be touching in places without turning sentimental. It’s gruesome without being gratuitous.
There are no one-dimensional characters.
Our heroes have shades of grey.
And even the terrifying Prince Robot IV has PTSD and a domineering father who’s keeping him from his family.
Get hold of Saga, volume #1
You can buy Saga, volume #1 from Amazon. It doesn’t seem to have hit the public library system yet but you can get hold of some of Brian K. Vaughan’s other work from Edinburgh public libraries including:
Y: The Last Man
Runaways
Pride of Bagdad
Saga, the story continues
Once you read saga, volume #1 you’re going to immediately rush out and get volume #2.
And the good news is that Image comics have announced that Saga, volume #3 will be released on paper March 19, 2014 in the U.S. Or if you’re not in the U.S. or can’t wait that long you can buy the individual comics in digital direct from Image Comics for $1.99 a pop.
ComicOpa! 
This title looks interesting, the art’s caught my eye already and there’s some zany looking characters in there. I like that you said there are no one dimensional characters – that can often make or break a comic, regardless of how good the plot or concept is. I’ll try get my hands on a copy and get back to you after giving it a read!
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I read volume 1 of Saga yesterday and really enjoyed it! It has the gritty feel similar to a few Vertigo titles I’ve read and I liked that – it’s something you don’t find so much in manga. I loved Marco and Alana, their interactions had me chuckling but they also felt genuine. The races introduced from Landfall and Wreath are imaginative and bizarre – just up my alley. Another thing I found refreshing was the amount of dialogue, I think that’s what really helped the characters stand out more as you actually found out more about them through the dialogue.
I’m curious to see when Hazel will start to feature, her occasional narration is another nice touch I liked. The art is awesome; the drawings of characters and aliens have a rough edge that turns to beauty very quickly in the scenes of space. I’m thankful for your suggestion of this title, like you said, I’m already reaching for volume two!
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Hey James, I’m so glad you enjoyed Saga 🙂 It’s a great comic. I am reading Usagi Drop at your recommendation now. I’m really loving it. I haven’t read any ‘josei’ comics before but I really like the way this story focuses on an adult situation rather than the tiring teenage trials and tribulations of the shonen manga. I reckon Rin must be one of the cutest fictional kids ever created and Daikitchi is pretty realistic in his ‘oh my God what have I done’ attitude to his gesture of taking Rin into his care but I like how adult he is about his responsibility towards her. Again it’s a nice depiction of Japanese domestic life and family dynamics. So thanks for introducing a great title to me!
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You’re welcome and I’d love to hear what your thoughts are as the story progresses! 🙂
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