Rating: 4/5 – One of the consistently greatest books on the shelf
After a planned 4 months off, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples are finally back with issue #13 of Saga. Despite the delay, I was quickly able to get back up to speed and really enjoy the issue.
Saga is a story centered on Marko and Alana, lovers trapped between two warring space factions. It seems everyone in the universe wants them dead as they successfully flee from one predicament or another.
In this issue the stakes get ramped up even further as a TMZ style reporter is interviewing one of the guards injured when Alana freed Marko from a war prison. It will be interesting to see how “celebrity” media is portrayed in the Saga universe.
The best part of the issue is when the focus shifts to the supporting characters. The Will, Gwendolyn, Lying Cat, and Slave Girl add a great deal of depth to the book. I particularly like how Vaughan crafts their dialogue in a way that makes them seem very real. Staples’ art, as always, is spectacular. Her concepts of the different types of aliens are visionary. I hope Saga comes out with a director’s cut so we can see a bit of the process from scripting to art.
Initially I did not like the series very much. Vaughan’s other work always had me hooked with the first issue, but Saga was more of a slow burn for me. If you dropped off the book, try to get a copy of the trade and give it another chance. One of the things I like most about Saga is that the character names mean something. For example, if you look up the name “Will” it means warrior. “Hazel”, means commander or tree (exceptionally interesting because Hazel has spent much of the story so far flying in a tree ship). In this issue, Slave Girl receives a name that adds yet another layer of intrigue.
Saga continues to be one of the consistently greatest books on the shelves today. The story is rich, vibrant, and full of symbolism. Vaughan and Staples are crafting something that will stand the test of time. I believe that Saga has the potential to one day replace Watchmen as the series everyone refers to when they talk about transcendent comics.
Reviewed by: Hank Johnson – hank@comicspectrum.com
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