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Saga #2

By Zak Edwards
April 27, 2012 - 10:21

After a stellar first issue it seems like the appeal could wear off, the sheer excitement of having Brian K. Vaughan back in the game could do nothing but cloud judgment of an initial issue.  Well, for me at least, the glisten and excitement has not worn off and Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples have created an exciting second chapter in what I hope is a very long and continually rewarding series.

That being said, I am not entirely sure what to think about the final page and I hope things make more sense next issue.  It’s great, though, I missed Vaughan’s cliffhangers, he knows how to rope people in for another issue.  More than that, however, I love his characters that he’s made.  Such depth and sass all at once, they are pretty easy to fall in love with while still being surprising.  Their banter is great, still sounding a lot like 355 and Yorrick in the best of ways.  Besides, the circumstances couldn’t be more different than Y.  Where the last issue focused more heavily on the science fiction half of the sci-fi/ fantasy mix, issue two keeps things pretty fantastical.  Sure, it starts out in an asteroid field of sorts, but most if the issue is in an enchanted forest filled with murderous plants and half-human, half-spider things.  While The Stalk is really a throwaway character that gets pretty built up, I do appreciate seeing some crazy character designs from Fiona Staples, even if the spider assassin is just there to make us even more scared of what she’s running away from.  I’m much more interested in the character at the beginning and the Hollywood agent dynamic the bounty hunter business seems to have in this universe.  Vaughan said he wrote this book in response to having a family of his own and there is some pretty great examples of his personal experience here, however embellished, mot notably his “The nice ones bring food” moment.  Overall, the issue continues to build and commenting on the actual story seems fairly presumptuous at this point.  The other elements, however, are working out nicely and I’m sure the story will be the sum of its parts.

The big part here is Fiona Staples.  She has such great character designs and I really took notice of her backgrounds this time around.  It almost makes her character work pop out even more, with wonderfully rendered simple-yet-effective background elements.  Little things, like the Chinese Dragon train, also keep things really interesting and make the worlds seem both otherworldly and familiar.  Overall, Staples has a grasp of the characters and a controlling share in the world they inhabit right now.  If things keep meshing together this seamlessly, I doubt there will a book I get more excited about in a while.

Grade: A-    Keep it coming, Saga team, I’m still excited as I was!

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12