Saga, Vol. 1

Dorian Mayenschein

This Was Absolutely EPIC

"This was so good. Like this lifts the bar so high for graphic novels to me. I absolutely love the characters and the story line and the world and just...This was so fantastic. This is definitely an adult graphic novel, but if you can handle a lot of adult topics (explicit sexual scenes, violence, language, etc.) I definitely recommend you pick this one up. It is just so great. Something that I really loved was the story line. Just the premise of two parents making huge sacrifices, willing to do anything, to save their daughter and give her a good life is just a really good message. I loved seeing how much Alana and Marko cared for each other and their child. It just sent a really good message, I think. People need to see that kind of love. It's rare in today's world. Speaking of the characters, I freaking loved them all. They are all so complex, and I just loved it. Now I really did not care about The Stalk, to be honest, but I did really enjoy seeing the other Freelancer, The Will. While he is a killer for hire, he did find it absolutely horrendous that a child would be sold into slavery, and that really showed his depth as a character. He definitely has a human side to him, and there are certain lines he would never cross. Using children like that is wrong, and seeing him upset over it like that was just really heartwarming to me. I still love Alana and Marko. They are hilarious and care for their family so much. They can kick butt and will do anything to protect each other and their family. It was just really beautiful to see. Another character I loved was Izabel. I freaking loved her. She was like my everything. She was a standout character to me, and I think she adds an interesting dynamic to this story since she is a teenager. I also just think she's hilarious, and I love seeing her interact with Hazel. I also just really loved the writing and the artwork. The writing was funny and kick butt and definitely kept me engaged throughout the entire story. And the artwork was absolutely stunning. It really captured each scene beautifully, and it really made the story even more beautiful. Fiona is super talented, and this makes me super excited to see more of her artwork because she is just so amazing. Overall, I loved the writing, the plot, the characters, the world, and the artwork. I am super excited to see more from Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, and I am really anticipating reading the next book in this series. It will definitely be epic! ["

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August 28, 2017 Verified Purchase

Jamie Kline

Saga has a little something for everyone: action, romance, suspense, humor. What more can you ask for?

"I love Saga more with every page I read. The characters, the world, the story - they all grasp you from the very beginning and make it impossible to put the book down. Let's not forget about the illustrations, because they are completely gorgeous and bring the whole thing to life. I really can't say enough good things about it, and I hope after you read this review you head over to Amazon, B&N, Image Comics, or wherever you buy your books and pick this up. The story revolves around two soldiers, Marko and Alana, who are deeply and madly in love with each other. The beginning starts with the birth of their new little baby, Hazel; of course, things are bound to go wrong when you're in the midst of a huge war and matters are further complicated by the fact that Alana and Marko are supposed to be enemies. Think Romeo and Juliet, only these two are far more entertaining. I enjoy the back and forth between them; Alana is so feisty and Marko is so practical. They make quite the pair, going from humorous to making me go "Awwww." All of the characters are extremely interesting, and it's impossible not to love them. Even the despicable ones were painted in a light that made them so human and relatable. None more so than The Will, an assassin for hire whose job is to hunt down Marko and Alana. Sounds terrible right? Things aren't that black and white in this universe, and while I wanted to hate him, several scenes made me look at him differently. I won't elaborate, because spoilers. I like how Saga also touches on some serious issues. For example, war and the casualties that come as a result; not just soldiers lose their lives, but innocents as well. In this case, the war is between the planet of Landfall and its only moon, Wreath. Destroy one and the other will perish as well, so they took the fighting to other planets. We meet some of the victims of this bloodshed, children in fact. While on the surface it seems kind of lighthearted, if you really think about it, it's horrifying. It's not like this doesn't happen in our own world every day. As our sometimes-narrator Hazel says at one point, she was one of the lucky ones; she got to grow up because she had two parents to protect her. I have already read Saga Volume 2 and Volume 3, and I can tell you they are just as amazing as Volume 1. I am enchanted by the visuals, the story, the characters. Everything. Even if you aren't into comics, even if you have never picked up a graphic novel in your life, now is the time. I promise you will love every moment of this book. ["

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June 28, 2015 Verified Purchase

Cecelia

Inventive sci-fi adventure for comics newbies and veterans alike

"I see buzz on Twitter about the Saga comic series when it wins awards – and each collected graphic novel volume seems to win several apiece. It sometimes feels like a year-round buzz cycle (in fact, the only comic my feed loves more is Ms. Marvel. which, for the record, I also enjoyed). It was inevitable that I’d finally take a look, especially when I realized that there was good female representation and the premise was “journey in space.” I picked up Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples after I saw a great deal in the Book Riot email list, so I now know what all the fuss is about. Brian K. Vaughan has created an adult comic (I feel like I have to clarify that it’s adult, because YA is my default expectation for this space) for fans of science fiction, star-crossed love and action adventure. The first volume has a lot going on: birth, death, berserker rages, interspecies conflict, a sex planet, ghosts, crazy spaceships, and a life-changing romance novel (that bit made me laugh)(in a good way). This comic does a lot of things well: multiple threads of story tied into the main plot line via an unusual omniscient narrator, exciting visuals, star-crossed love just fighting to survive, and humorous dialogue throughout. It is also a set-up for a wide-ranging epic, but the volume has enough skirmishes, close calls, and surprises to make it satisfying and interesting as a standalone. That said, I was not impressed by main heroine Alana’s dialogue. Whether it fits the character in the context of the series or not, I can’t say. I was just disappointed to read pages of the jealous/nagging wife cliché when there were other more interesting (and life-threatening!) things going on at the same time. So that bit into my enjoyment – and I am going to skip reading further volumes. The one plot thread that really got its hooks into me was that of the Robot Prince – I thought the robot royal characters seemed really innovative and suited to the comics medium. If you’ve been thinking you’d like to “try” comics, like science fiction, and don’t care for superheroes, Saga is a good place to start. Just be aware that this first volume pulls no punches – it’s R-rated. And if you’re more of a fantasy fan, I’d suggest starting out with Bill Willingham’s Fables. Recommended for: comics newbies and veterans alike – basically anyone interested in a complex space adventure with enough action to keep the story moving and enough depth to hook most readers for the long haul. ["

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April 15, 2016 Verified Purchase

Alpha Reader

I am addicted to this intergalactic love story

"We meet Marko and Alana the day their daughter is born. In the back of an old body shop, on a star called Cleave, little Hazel is born to parents who were once on opposite sides of an ages old war. Now, with the birth of their hybrid daughter, Marko and Alana's old armies have even more reason to find the new family and end them. . . Marko is from planet Wreath. He was a prisoner and Alana his guard; she was from planet Landfall. Both of them decided their love was more important than continuing to fight in a war that neither planet can remember the origins of. But now Hazel has been born, and there is a buzz in the Landfall Capital. Prince Robot IV is being taken out of his peaceful reprieve and sent to hunt down Marko and Alana - making sure to end them before word gets out to either side of their AWOL treachery in the name of enemy `love'. Meanwhile, Wreath's people have hired freelance assassins to kill the dissenting parents, and return with baby Hazel alive. On the case are two of the galaxy's most successful assassins - The Will, along with his trusty Lying Cat. Then there's The Stalk - who never misses her target. `Saga' Volume One is the first graphic novel instalment in a new intergalactic series, with story by Brian K. Vaughn and art by Fiona Staples. I am a fan of graphic novels - but I admit, I've been very conservative in my graphic reading habits. I tried to get into the spin-off `Buffy' comic series back in 2007, because it was touted as being Season eight and I was still feeling the `Buffy' void after the show's end. But I just couldn't get into it - Joss Whedon's particular brand of snark works best for me on TV. So then I limited my reading to graphic adaptations of the book series I already loved - Diana Gabaldon's `The Exile' story set in her `Outlander' universe. I love the graphic adaptations of Paricia Briggs's `Mercy Thompson' and Gail Carriger's `Parasol Protectorate' series. I journeyed outside my comfort zone when I read the brilliant children's graphic novel `The Deep: Here Be Dragons' with story by Tom Taylor, and art by James Brouwer. So I was well and truly ready to delve even deeper into the graphic novel world, when a blog I frequent by the name of Jezebel wrote up a glowing piece on this new series called `Saga'. It sounded dark, smart and complex - but it was mention of a (literal) star-crossed lover's story that really hooked me. `Saga' is so, so, so good! I was laughing from the first page - and from the first panel glimpse of Marko, I was swooning. The story begins right in the thick of action - with Alana giving birth to Hazel and soldiers from both Wreath and Landfall breaking in to take the family down - because word of enemy's falling in love and starting a family would be one hell of a bad PR campaign for this war of no end. The series is very clever and makes societal and political commentaries that are reflective and relevant to the modern-day. It's in the things like Landfall royalty, Prince Robot IV, having a television for a head - that, I think, says something about corrupt media's tyrannical hold over society. Then there's the pornographic planet, Sextillion, where hired assassin The Will travels when he's down on his luck hunting the new parents and wants to drown his sorrows in sex. Sextillion is all bright lights, paid flesh and beautiful depravity - but, as The Will soon discovers, it has a sick and seedy underbelly . . . again, this is no doubt commentary on the sexualisation of our own society - and in a particularly horrendous scene, Vaughan will really have you thinking about the slippery slope of carnal consumerism. I did appreciate how very, very clever `Saga' was - for all that's between the panels, if you will. But what made this graphic novel so brilliant was the story. In particular, I loved our narrator; an older Hazel is recounting the story of her parent's love and her birth from somewhere in the future. She peppers her reminiscence with references to life now. At one point she muses; "From my very first day, I was pursued by men. All of them tried to hurt me, but only one managed to break my heart . . . Sorry, getting ahead of myself." I loved that Hazel had a voice in this novel, it means that though she's an adorable (but silent) baby when this story starts, we do get a sense of her personality through her omniscient narration - more than that, her hints about what the future holds makes me very, very hopeful for a long, epic series in which we eventually catch up in the story to follow an older Hazel. `Saga' is very much an adult graphic novel (if the mention of Sextillion wasn't enough of a tip-off). There are graphic sex scenes, and violent deaths. It's also scary as all get out . . . when I turned the page and saw an image of spider-like assassin The Stalk I felt my palms begin to sweat. It's really a testament to Fiona Staple's utterly beautiful, detailed and sometimes creepy artwork. She's amazing - and I think I will have to trawl through her backlist and read absolutely everything she's put her artistic licence to. The fact that `Saga' is so adult is also why I liked it so much - it's complex and far-reaching, set on an epic scale and concerning AWOL lovers, broken-hearted assassins and royal soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder. This is really a series to sink your teeth into. I will also say that `Saga' has a very cinematic quality to it. I have high-hopes that because Brian K. Vaughan has a Hollywood history (he was a writer/producer on TV show `Lost') that there is every chance this brilliant series could be adapted . . . I'm especially elated to discover that Vaughan wrote for the Buffy season 8 comic series, because while reading `Saga' I kept thinking that it had a Joss Whedon quality to it - with hints of `Firefly'. It's in Alana's snarky comments, a tangled back-story between The Will and The Stalk and a clear long-reaching story arc. I love, love, loved `Saga'. I'm now officially addicted. Issue number seven has recently come out, with instalment eight due later in November. I need it - seriously! It has become a delicious drug, delving into this intergalactic love story and I just can't wait to go back. . . ["

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November 3, 2012 Verified Purchase