Saga #19: In which Brian K. Vaughan makes us go “uurgh”!

Chapter 19 of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples sci-fi series gives us something never seen before; a close up view of a baby with a TV for a head being born.

And this is part of what makes this comic so endearing.

In turns Vaughan makes us ooh, ahh and go uurgh.

I won’t spoil the effect by posting that image here.

We jump forward slightly in time in this chapter.

Our star crossed lovers are still on the run, living in hiding on the planet Gardenia.

Times are tough for a couple in hiding.

Being the primary care-giver can be a thankless task.

And wearing a huge wig and acting in a really tacky soap opera also has its problems.

 

At its heart this story has always been about the relationship dynamics of the main characters.

Writers who want a really loyal following ignore that at their peril.

Brian K. Vaughan nails it.

I really care about Marko and Alana.

Their squabbles, their sense of humour and their need for each other just rings true.

Despite the floating ghost babysitter and the spaceships.

All of which are cool.

But importantly they don’t detract from how believable  the story seems.

After a three month hiatus this chapter feels like the beginning of a new story ark for Saga.

And I can’t wait to see where they take it.

Comic Review: Saga, volume #1

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.