Lucas Blogs About Saga Volume 7

Well, it may be large enough to easily cover my face, but even with my low standard of blog aesthetics, I can't help but be annoyed by the glare from my monitor in this crappy webcam pic.

So, what's this book's deal?

All right, so Saga is an ongoing sci-fi/fantasy family drama/comedy written by Brian K. Vaughn and drawn by Fiona Staples. It's apparently about to go on hiatus for a year, so now's actually a pretty good time to catch up. Here's the premise in a nutshell: The planet Landfall is at war with its moon, Wreath. This war has been going on for so long that a sort of galactic cold war has built up around it as various other planets, asteroids, planetoids, etc. back one side or the other. The Landfallians are humans with wings who use advanced technological weaponry, while the inhabitants of Wreath are humans with horns who wield powerful magic and speak Esperanto. Also there are robots, which are basically grey-skinned humans with CRT monitors for heads. Also, Ghüs, an anthropomorphic baby seal who herds walrus-rhino hybrids. Also, internet's spirit animal, Lying Cat, a hairless, teal-skinned cat who hisses out "LYING!" whenever someone lies in her presence. Anyway, it's against this backdrop that we learn the family story of Hazel, whose parents come from Wreath and Landfall, something neither side of the war is too happy about.

Okay, but what's this book's deal?

All right, so Alana and Marko have finally busted their daughter, Hazel (now about five or six) out of a POW camp with the help of Sir (formerly Prince) Robot. Unfortunately, they're out of fuel, and the only place to stop nearby is the war-torn comet Phang. While they lay low with with Hazel's ghost babysitter, Izabel, and their new stowaway from the POW camp, Petrichor. Complicating matters are two facts, Alana is pregnant again and Sir Robot is going nutso. Further complicating matters, Petrichor's distrust of their new neighbors, a family of the meerkat-like beings that are native to Phang. Even further complicating matters, Hazel's puppy love crush on her new friend, Kurti. Meanwhile, there's yet another freelancer (bounty hunter) after the family. Back on Wreath, Marko's ex, Gwendolyn, is trying to convince her ward, Sophie, not to take up freelancing while also trying to cover up her shady dealings to try and put an end to the fighting on Phang through, shall we say, less than ethical means.

Okay, okay, this too much, Lucas.

I'll admit that Saga may be a bit much for some people. The world building is often questionable, relying on rule of cool, rule of funny, and (sometimes) rule of cute, but the humor, character drama, and emotional beats still make this series a compelling read. For grown-ups only. No kids. Seriously, this is definitely not appropriate for anyone whose squeamish about gore or who hasn't had "the talk."

Which "the talk?"

Wait, did you never have "the talk" with your parents.

Well, I'm a rhetorical device, so no.

Oh. Well, then I'll clarify. The comic has lots of nudity and graphic violence.

Well, why didn't you say so?

I literally just did.

Right. Anyway, how would you characterize the art, aside from inappropriate for younger readers?

Aside from the fact that Fiona Staples is depicting things which do not actually exist, it's mostly realistic. There's just a smidge of stylization (slightly angular faces), but yeah, mostly realistic depictions of humanoid robots with CRT screen heads. But yeah, I mean, I will say that aside from the question of whether some the character designs could even exist biologically, I'd describe the art as cool.

Thanks for not throwing out too much technically jargon. So, this is a volume 7, how accessible would it be to someone who hadn't read volumes 1 through 6?

It would be mostly impenetrable. There's some explanation as to who's who, but really, I'd recommend starting from the beginning with this one.

Gotcha. Very helpful then, you writing a review of this.

I kno – Hey! Wait a minute. I resent that . . . a little. But, yeah, Saga is a pretty fun read that plays around with the conventions of many genres while maintaining a focus on real world issues that people can relate to. And I'll be honest, that Count of Monte Cristo/Gankutsuou Oddaptations was really long, and I don't feel like putting up another really long post right away. So let's leave it here, because the next review is Volume 8, so expect spoilers from this volume then.

For realsies?

For realsies. But to make up for how short this one is, we'll go a bit more in depth.

You want to dive deeper into the crazy?

Yep!

Saga Volume Seven, Image Comics trade paperback edition, March 2017, 152 pages, pairs well with one of those colorful mixed drinks that tastes more like some artificial fruit flavor than alcohol

Links:

For those of you who love merch, there's a talking plush Lying Cat. Now you, too, can call out the mendacious in our midst.

I forgot to mention it above, but Saga is also a perennial award winner and nominee.

Here's the Imagine comics page for Saga, if you're into that kinda thing.