S456 ARCHIVES: Saga #2 - Review

originally posted on station456.tumblr.com on Arpil 15th, 2012

***

I’m going to begin this review bluntly: So far, Saga is an extremely compelling comic series. Brian K. Vaughan’s writing and story-telling paired with Fiona Staples’s artwork intertwine to create something truly special. This is one of the best things happening in comic books right now.

The plot follows the archetypal Romeo and Juliet set-up, with two star-crossed lovers apart of two different civilizations at war. They have a baby and want nothing more than to get her to a safe place, but their being together angers the establishment so freelancers are payed to take them out and retrieve the child. It’s not an original framework but it feels fresh because of how zany and creative the paint covering that framework is. This is a sci-fi world with alien characters, which means talking alligators and human-like creatures with TV’s for heads. Despite how weird everything is, Vaughan somehow manages to make it believable and hardly silly, with a fun and humorous yet mature tone. Also, something truly remarkable is the story’s narrator: The couple’s baby at some undisclosed time in the future.

This issue follows our two protagonists in foreign woods, fearful of “Horrors;” storied monsters that one should try to the best of his ability to avoid. The banter between the two lovers is smartly written and very real. All of the hullabaloo they’re going through causes fights between the two, but Vaughan still shows that they love each other. The characters and the reader are introduced to a new character in this issue: One of the freelancers trying to eliminate them. This is a very cool character. Her design is very deliciously villainous: A white, half-spider-half-nude-woman.

I’m not sure if the artwork here is actually composed of watercolor paintings, but it certainly has that style. The colors blend together so nicely and the shading is done so beautifully. Characters and faces are expressive. Every page is a sight to behold.

Saga comes highly recommended. As I said earlier, this is one of the best things happening in comics right now. Funny, mature, deftly-written, and drop-dead gorgeous, Saga #2 continues to show how good this new series really is.