From Eisner Award winning duo Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples comes the Image comic series Saga. Check out our review of issue #28.
Saga is an epic space opera/fantasy comic book series created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples, published monthly by Image Comics. The series is heavily influenced by Star Wars, and based on ideas Vaughan conceived both as a child and as a parent. It depicts two lovers from long-warring extraterrestrial races, Alana and Marko, fleeing authorities from both sides of a galactic war as they struggle to care for their newborn daughter, Hazel, who occasionally narrates the series.
After Marko suffered a bad acid trip last month in issue #27 we get back on track and right into non hallucinogenic chaos in issue #28 as once again another character dies tragically but heroically and our two groups wind up in a heap of trouble. As always the opening page is the best opening page in comics today when we bear witness to The Brand conversing with Sophie in the issue’s most comical moment. But things get very serious from that point forward.
Alana and Hazel are in serious danger of getting split up as the mercenaries that Dengo has joined forces with are in the middle of negotiations to exchange the child for additional forces. There’s an amazing motherly moment where Alana tries to chop one of these dickheads directly in the face and I continue to route for her as this series grows all the more complicated. Dengo is a favorite of mine because of his unpredictable nature and there are hints that he may be swayed by Alana to help get them get out of the situation that he’s put them all in after that snake looking bastard is deemed untrustworthy.
As we turn to Marko, Prince Robot IV, Yuma and Ghus, things take a turn for the worse once more as their ship comes under attack and one of them is forced to sacrifice their life in order to save them all from a certain death. Ghus continues to shine as a supporting character and the lines he dishes are dually cute and menacing as hell. I can’t believe this once suspected and seemingly insignificant little seal has become so vital to the tale that Vaughan and Staples are taking us on. The final page of this issue is one of the best in the series. Absolute genius.