Review of Saga #20

Fiona Staples

Saga #20 by Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Why do we love Saga so much? The obvious answer is that it is one of the best written and illustrated comics on the market right now. Vaughan is fashioning a narrative populated with compelling characters and exciting set pieces. Staples fills every page with fantastic, imaginative art. Simply put, they have created a universe which continuously thrills us.

And while all these observations are certainly true, I have been wondering if there is something else at play here. This week’s issue is mostly focused on the daily lives of Marko and Alana. No longer on the run, yet still in hiding, this arc has presented them with a whole new category of danger: mundane ordinariness. Alana has taken up acting, which might sound glamorous, only it definitely is not. Last month she almost lost her job. This month she seems on a little firmer ground, though, she’s not taking much pleasure from her work. It’s merely something she does to pay the bills, while Marko stays at home with their toddler daughter, developing an increasingly acute case of cabin fever. When each character (in their own way) makes a potentially very poor decision, the reader is not surprised. Both of these individuals are craving so badly an escape from their tedium that they will lunge at whatever exit is offered, not bothering to check first if they might be leaping off a cliff . . .

Review: Saga #19

Saga #19 by Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Short version: This week Saga returns from hiatus, and, yes, it is just as fabulous as always.

Longer version: As suggested at the conclusion of the previous arc, Saga makes a time jump forward this chapter. How large a leap is revealed on the first page with a graphic illustration of the birth of Prince Robot IV’s heir. Several months have passed since Prince Robot disappeared during the course of his mission to track down a pair of fugitives. In that time no one has heard from him, and many fear the worst. In fact, the nurse immediately refers to the newborn as already possessing his father’s title, an error the Princess instantly corrects. This opening section provides us with an intriguing peak into the history and structure of the Robot Kingdom. For example, we get our first glimpse of the commoners, whose heads (in a clever design choice) are monitors of a humbler make than the aristocracy. Vaughan seems to be sowing seeds of class tension, and I am eager to see how they might develop. This is a society I want to see more of.