Saga Chapter One
Written By : Brian K. Vaughn
Art By: Fiona Staples
Review 9/10
When a writer chooses to open up his new book with the phrase “Am I shitting? It feels Like I’m shitting!” you realize that your reading a book that both creators could care less whether you agree with them or not. They just want to tell an engaging and fun story. Brian K. Vaughn’s new series Saga is exactly that. A fun and engaging story with a cast that you will immediately fall in love with. Vaughn introduces us to Alana who is in the middle of birthing her first-born child while her husband Marko helps with the delivery. It’s a very serious situation , that is amazingly heart warming and hilarious due to Vaughn’s writing skills. His trade mark use of politics and sense of humor are still in tact.
You get a sense of who Saga’s two main characters are immediately , and Vaughn chooses to have their new-born baby be the narrator throughout the entire issue which creates a nice subtext to every scene involving our main characters. Alana and Marko are from two different warring Nations . Alana’s nation Landfall is overseen by Robots inserted as dictators and Marko’s from their closest Satellite and Moon. Vaughn simply states “It was a time of War, isn’t it always” and sets in motion how our two main characters met. Needless to say Alana and Marko meeting one another and getting married has caused both planets to try to find the couple and end their lives before word gets out that they are together.
I have to commend Fiona Staples this issue for taking on all the crazy ideas Brian has and putting them on the page in a visually compelling way. She definitely draws some adult situations. Breastfeeding a child , drawing a Man goat with his guts hanging out after being blown up , and finally two robots having sex only to be interrupted by their Alligator Butler..sure why not. She knows how to frame a scene . Her character designs are also fresh and exciting . She’s just as responsible for you falling in love with our main characters as Brian is .
The issue ends with Marko and Alana on the run in search of a Rocket Ship that will get them off of this planet and somewhere safe that they can raise their baby. Marko and Alana Finally slow down enough to share a sweet moment with one another and then name their child Hazel. Our new-born Narrator Hazel’s last quotes of the issue are “thanks to these two , I get to grow old, not everyone does” over a final page of our couple kissing. It’s a touching and heartbreaking moment that ends a very well written and drawn chapter to Saga. This is long form storytelling in the hands of a man who loves nothing more than to tell these kinds of stories . So I’m telling you all that yes this book is awesome , while its a slow build at the end ,there is enough fun and excitement in this one issue for me to easily tell you that I can’t wait for the next chapter.
Mike DeVivo
Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots
