- Price: $2.99
The story thus far:
Marko and Alana are like Romeo & Juliette in outer space. Each is a former soldier from opposing sides in an intergalactic race-war. On one side: The winged, science-minded inhabitants of the planet Landfall. On the other: The horned, magic-using residents of the moon called Wreath. The pair meet and decide to Make Love, Not War, making them fugitives from both sides in the conflict. The couple have a baby, and suddenly find themselves on the run from assorted bounty hunters and government agents determined to end their relationship/family with extreme prejudice.
Since its launch, each issue of Saga has been incredible. Brian K. Vaughan has a gift for capturing the essence of a character with just a few well-turned phrases, and writes dialogue that is sharp & fresh while still feeling believable and genuine. His characters speak like real people speak, rather than using stilted, melodramatic comic-speak.
What Vaughan does with words, Fiona Staples does with art. She's a master of facial expressions. When Vaughan passes her the story-telling baton, she grabs it like a pro, conveying a staggering amount of emotional complexity with a single panel. More often than not, she's able to take what would be pages of exposition and express it with the set of a character's shoulders and the arch of an eyebrow.
The magic that Vaughan and Staples are creating continues with issue #11. It is, quite simply, a beautiful book.
Not just the art (which is incredible eye-candy), but the story itself. From the moment I flipped open the cover to the moment I hit the letters page, this issue had me laughing, cheering, and on the brink of tears. This issue drives home the fact that Saga is a book about what it means to be human, even though it’s filled with robots, talking cats, and a bizarre collection of aliens.
If you like space opera, fantasy, or just plain old good story and art, this series is definitely worth checking out.
