Described often as a space opera, Brian K Vaughan’s fantasy epic Saga is so much more than that.
It’s a luscious and wonderfully imagined work and not only is it my favourite comic on the stands right now, it’s one I regularly recommend to those in need of an introduction to the non-superhero world of comics.
Exploring The Saga universe
The Saga universe is one that Vaughan has reportedly been working on since his youth and this is immediately apparent from it’s range and depth of style. It’s a bright and intriguing world, heavily influenced by Star Wars and Romeo and Juliet, but instead of star-crossed lovers caught between battling families, our characters are on opposing sides of a galaxy sized war.
Vaughan has been on the comics scene for nearly 20 years, originally writing for Marvel on some of their well known characters and as a writer/showrunner for Lost (take what you want from this, though I did read he ‘saved’ season four. I haven’t seen any of it so make up your own mind). He moved on to writing for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics before finally getting to write his own original characters.
I’m a big fan of BKV’s Y: The Last Man, it has an original concept, fantastic female characters and great writing. Basically everything you could possibly want from modern comics. It’s also jam-packed full of pop culture references, so you can see why he fit in so well writing for Buffy. However, with Saga he has really hit upon something special.
Despite the fact that it’s staged among the most glorious space settings (winged guys versus random horned people, all manner of talking animals, a living tree spaceship), the story works because it is ultimately a character story. Saga is essentially about a family going through life and working out how to get along. The writing is sharp and intriguing, with a huge amount of humour. This means we can expect all sorts of madness, including missions to retrieve dragon sperm and menstruating walruses (which is why it always makes me smile) along with a very adult and human tale running through it all.
I also love the illustration, perhaps even more than the writing. This is easily one of the best looking comics ever created. Fiona Staples brings Vaughan’s world to life with confidence and originality. The amount of trust that BKV has put in Staples is obvious from the off and he’s been rewarded hugely by what she has produced. Vivid, stylish and like nothing else I’ve seen, Staples brings the characters to life with ease, humour and skill. The vast number of animals and animal-like characters are illustrated wonderfully, giving them a great depth of personality and avoids making them look silly or childish which could easily be the case in another artist’s hands.
As with many of BKV’s comics he makes his intentions for the series clear in the first issue. Which in this case means lots of sex, lots of bloody violence and a full-on birth scene. The sex is frequent, adult and often hilariously drawn by Staples. Make no mistake, this is not a series for kids.
This serves to make Saga feel more human and realistic and is a more than welcome addition. Who doesn’t love sitting on the tube reading a super bright comic featuring a front cover illustration of an awesome winged lady breastfeeding? Go, fucking, go Fiona Staples! You wonderful, wonderful badass.
When discussing Saga it’s also worth noting the soon to be total world domination of Image comics, something which I am awaiting with the same fervour that I do a zombie apocalypse. Image was started by a number of ex Marvel-ers and has gone from strength to strength. Now producing some of my favourite tItles and some of the best comics out there at the moment.
This includes The Walking Dead, Revival, Sex Criminals, and Chew. Image comics are by a vast margin mostly creator owned – meaning no bullshit editorial influence. No ‘the public wants this’ or refusals to show Batwoman marrying another woman (to pick a ‘random’ example.) It’s all straight out of the creator’s mouth, leading to some of the wackiest ideas and most interesting comics available today. Long live Image!
Finally I’d recommend buying Saga monthly (as apposed to the collected graphic novels) if for nothing else than the brilliant letters section. Fiona and Brian answer a selection of fan mail every issue and it’s just a little extra bit of joy in each comic. It’s funny, cute and awesome and has literally bought a tear to my eye in the past. The Saga cosplay edition was especially wonderful.
Saga is gorgeous looking, unique and hilarious. Why the hell aren’t you reading it right now? medical supplies
