THOUGHTS: Saga Volume 4

I just finished reading the fourth volume in the Saga comic book series by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. I don't necessarily want to review it, I would just like to share my thoughts on it. Henceforth I shall make “Thought” posts in which I essentially just rant about books, comics, and the like. High quality stuff, I promise.

*** Warning: Spoilers ahead. I have read up to Issue #23 so if you aren't there yet, like... spoilers. *** 

Firstly, this series kills off more characters than George R.R. Martin I'm pretty sure. JUST. SO many great characters just shot or dismembered or something else. Ugh. Sometimes plot details like a death became really predictable and then of course, a plot twist I didn't anticipate happened which evened the playing field. The art was beautiful, and I especially enjoyed the crazy stuff in this volume. I just wish there was more of The Will, Lying Cat, Gwen, and that gang because I love them so much. I love the struggling marriage angle that they took even if it did kill me inside a little. 

All the Robot stuff was WAY to insane. And a little heartbreaking with IV just completely using escapism pleasure and thus missing the birth of a child and a death of a spouse. And this new guy! He is crazy! Just! Wow! Bananas! I gasped a lot in this issue, more than normal, actually. 

Ana was gorgeous as usual and all her different Circuit outfits were so pretty. 

AND is that little baby getting CUTER EVERY SECOND? Sorry, TODDLIN' TODDLER? The ending was brilliant. 

Overall, so good. If I didn't hate single-issues so badly, I would definitely be keeping up to date, but single-issue comics are not enough to satisfy my need. So I'm stuck waiting for Volume 5. I wish Heist's works were real so I could read them while waiting. I'll just sit here. 

REVIEW: Saga, Volume 1

Saga, Volume 1 (Saga #1-6) by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Published: October 2012 by Image Comics
Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Adult, Adventure, War, Romance, Graphic Novel, Comic Book
Pages: 160 pages
Format: Graphic Novel
Rating: 9/10
Description
When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. 

I swear, everyone and their mother has read this series! I've heard almost non-stop ravings and hype about this series of comics/trade paperback graphic novels. I knew I had to pick it up, and I did!
It's good, it really is! I just expected a little more because of all the hype. Nonetheless, I am fresh off reading Volume 1 and I really enjoyed it!

Disclaimer: Mature. This is a graphic novel. And by mature, I mean like decapitation, gruesome deaths, guts and blood, sex scenes, child prostitution, crude language and more! All that fun stuff. I'm sure most people would be able to handle it, so I don't want to give an age limit type thing. But if this were a movie, it would like R-rated, and comparable to an animated, space version of Game of Thrones. You probably don't want to read it in front of your parents. But I digress.

The Characters? There were so many! And all of them were so colorful and cool! The character designs were absolutely beautiful. Since Saga is a sci-fi and is set in space, there are so many different races. The artist, Fiona Staples, was so creative with the designs of the various aliens and she executed it wonderfully.
Here's some examples of the wonderfully whimsical, awesome, and fairly messed-up characters we are dealing with: A ghost of a sassy teenage girl who is just floating intestines from her waist down, robots with television-screen for heads, a half woman/half arachnid assassin, a bounty hunter with a lying cat, AND MORE!
It was wonderful to feel culture while reading. From the separate and suspiciously familiar language of Wreath to the varying ethnicity's. It was beautiful.
There was no real black and white characters. Most of the characters are in the gray. No one is fully good nor fully bad. Everyone is more complicated, with several factors and circumstance shaping their goals and nature. Just like real life! It was wonderful to have these realistic, relateable characters.

The Setting? Vast, beautiful, interesting. The sheer world-building is so great. Obviously, because this story is set in war-torn space, the planets we get to visit are absolutely breathtaking. The art is so vivid and saturated. It was a treat to turn each page, and to get more and more lovely artwork. The technology too is quite intricate and interesting. From curious travel pods, to planets that grows wooden rocket ships, it is awesome.

The Plot? Saga is a story of star-crossed lovers. They’re on the opposite sides of a waging galactic war between the planet Landfall and the moon of Wreath. There is a lot of drama, espically with soldiers from both sides of the war trying to eliminate these two lovers and keep the baby alive. 
There's a lot of action, humor, and tension, all bundled into one nice, crazy package. I did wish Vaughan expanded the dialogue a bit. There was a lot of the same type of narrative.

Overall? Just get it. It's crazy, beautiful, shocking, and just weird, man. 

 

It's been compared to Star Wars meets Game of Thrones, and I quite agree. It has the galactic war of politics, money, power ect. of Star Wars with the giant world, and elements of Game of Thrones.