Without gushing like a fangirl, it's safe to say that
Saga is one of the best new series to hit the shelves in this decade.
Writer Brian K. Vaughan created a world where every issue finds our fugitive family in peril and also contains genuine character development. These characters aren't certain what the person standing next to them will do next -- they just know that they trust each other to do the right thing. And that's enough to build a life on -- while you're on the run from two governments at war and the assasins they've hired to kill you. To Vaughan's credit, you find yourself cheering for the assasins more than once. It's okay -- for now.
Fiona Staples has an understated artistic style that she uses to full effect by coaxing the wide range of emotions from the simplest of facial expressions and body language. Staples captures the main characters as realistically as any artist in comics when she brings the dialogue to life. Alana is the realist and skeptic but she is beguiled by the possibilities of a different life when she reads
A Nighttime Smoke. It ultimately leads her to Marko, the faithful dreamer with lethal combat skills and more than a little bit of magic. Staples gives us two fierce individuals who are even more powerful when they are together.
In issue #15, we are finally treated to a few answers about the characters themselves and where this title might be going. It's some of the finest storytelling in comics. So yes, you should add
Saga to your pull list and give the trades to your friends so they get hooked, too. Fair warning, however, this is a mature readers only kind of book and not for young readers.
I reviewed issue #15 for
Broken Frontier, and you can read it
HERE.
