Even before I had started reading comics, I’d heard of Saga. Like The Walking Dead, it’s one of those more recent comics that everyone’s been talking about for the last few years. It’s one of the most critically acclaimed comic series of recent history, has a huge following and fan-base, and continues to win accolades and awards as the series progresses and furthers. I picked up the first book of the series, comprising the first 18 issues, last Christmas, and the second book later in the year, but put them aside while I dove into some shorter comics. Saga has been established for years, so it was a lot to catch up on and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit daunted. For some reason I never wanted to read Saga, I’ve looked at the comics before, and never seemed too interested in what I saw or read… but when I picked it up this time and started from the beginning, it won me over. In fact, it completely blew away the competition, Saga is, without a doubt, the second best comic series I’ve ever read (Monstress remains first, it will always be first). This comic is packed with incredible adventure, heart, and hilarity, riddled with profane, complex, likeable characters, and a plot riddled with war and conflict. Saga, told from the perspective of Hazel, a newborn in this first book, tells the story of Hazel’s parents, both from opposing sides of an intergalactic conflict that has raged for centuries, and some of the assassins sent to deal with them from their home factions. At the centre of Saga is the relationship between Alana and Marko, Hazel’s parents, and it’s one of the most complex and deeply real relationships I’ve ever read. The dialogue flows so easily between them, and their love for each other is passionate, complicated, and deep. While some of the alien races are a little… ridiculous – for example, there’s a race of women who are literally just legs and a huge head, and a race of sentient, robots who seem to just have a lot of sex – the real heart of this comic doesn’t come from the absurdity of the universe it’s set in, but rather the character relationships, whether they're antagonistic or friendly. While the first book is definitely more interesting and fast-paced, the second furthers the storyline and takes a more internal look at conflict within the home. I’m not sure who my favourite character is. I LOVE Marko, he might be my favourite, but I also have a soft spot for Upsher and Doff, a pair of homosexual reporters from the water-world Jetsam, who follow the story of Alana and Marko hoping for a big break in their journalistic careers. You would think that with a revolving cast, and a characters who come and go without warning, that some of the characters would fall flat, but that’s not the case, not at all. In fact every character is unique and fully fleshed out, with their individual quirks, problems, and personal challenges. It’s some of the best writing I’ve ever read, when it comes to a comic series, and it’s one that I will definitely continue with! I highly recommend it!
