Review: Saga #3 and #4

Saga #3 – Review

Written by: Brian K. Vaughn

Art by: Fiona Staples

Colours by: Fiona Staples

Letters by: Fonografiks

Cover by: Fiona Staples

Published by: Image

Cover Price: $2.99 (USD)

Marko and Alana are just trying to get their daughter to safety, but it certainly isn’t easy. With Marko seriously wounded, Alana has to rely on the ghost of a young girl that was killed as a result of the war between Marko’s and Alana’s races. If this wasn’t bad enough, the creepy bounty hunter Stalk is still pursuing, as is the T.V headed prince who is still very much involved in the machinations of war.

The most impressive thing about Saga is that it should be a complete mess. Multiple characters, plots and sub-plots, world building and a heap of weirdness somehow all fits together. Flicking through the issue would make this comic seem confusing and would probably put a lot of people off, but reading it is surprisingly clear and entertaining.

There is a lot happening, but the focus remains on Marko, Alana and their child Hazel. The introduction of ghost girl Izabel is fantastic and Vaughn does a good job of giving her a believable voice. Vaughn has to balance a lot of different pieces, but keeping the story character focused is working well and the issue ends with a great surprise.

Staples’s art is also brilliant. I’m glad that she is colouring her own work, it makes the pages seem perfectly complete, and as if that is the only way they could be. Staples’s is so good that she can make Izabel, a ghost who is only really half a ghost with her intestines hanging down, endearing.

I think a lot of people would initially be put off by Saga and I was a little underwhelmed to begin with. But with each issue I get a better sense of what Vaughn and Staples are capable of with this series and I don’t want to miss it.

8/10

Saga #4 – Review

Written by: Brian K. Vaughn

Art by: Fiona Staples

Colours by: Fiona Staples

Letters by: Fonografiks

Cover by: Fiona Staples

Published by: Image

Cover Price: $2.99 (USD)

As weird as some of Saga has been, I was not expecting this. The first page of this issue is so strange, with two “women” (which are just heads on long legs) welcoming us all and freelance mercenary The Will to Sextillion and that is by no means the strangest part of this issue.

Saga genuinely has everything. Vaughn and Staples are balancing seemingly disparate plot threads, with Marko’s and Alana’s journey for safety being as far away from The Will’s time spent on Sextillion as possible and yet it all ties together and there are common themes between the two.

The relationship between Marko and Alana is great and after the previous issues’ surprise reveal Marko had a lot of explaining to do, but The Will’s half of the comic was even more impressive.

The Will’s time on Sextillion is weird and a little awkward, then funny and finally heart breaking. There is an incredible moment of sadness and violence which Staples draws perfectly as The Will is forced to confront something unexpected on his quest for some cheap (or not so cheap) thrills. The Will has been the supporting character I was most interested in from the start and though he is a killer for hire, I’m really starting to like him.

As the story and characters become more interesting, Staples’s art becomes ever more impressive. Staples’s has to cover a lot of difficult areas, both in terms of technical difficulty and difficult subject matter in Saga, and it all looks perfect.

I’ve missed the start of a lot of great series in the past (The Walking Dead, Chew, Y: The Last Man) and ended having to catch up in trades, but with Saga I’m hoping for a series that will run for years so that I can guarantee myself a great comic every month. At the moment, Saga is as good as anything else available.

9/10