By: Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Fiona Staples (artist)
The Story: And now we all know why camping in the woods isn’t as fun as it sounds.
The Review: I was amused to discover when I visited Comics Unlimited this week that they had begun to sell Saga in a plastic wrapper on the stands. To make it clear, I had seen no other title sold in this manner in my entire patronage of the store. So what is it about this series that it seems so necessary to protect your casual readers from? It can’t be the swearing nor the nudity; the average Vertigo title has just the same amount and often uses it more blatantly.
Perhaps it’s the completely unromantic way the title approaches the least glamorous yet most human parts of ourselves. If last issue’s portrayal of Alana’s labor didn’t make that clear to you, then the revelation of her “secret” in this issue will. To save herself, Hazel, and Marko from killer vines, Alana admits, “I enjoy the taste of my own breast milk.” (Don’t ask how this works—it’s almost irrelevant anyway.) She then explains, “Hazel spit up in my mouth last night.” Gross, but having babysat in my day, entirely plausible. Yet this hardly seems like reason enough to restrict the series’ accessibility.
I’m not sure the violence and gore has anything to do with it either. The average issue of Animal Man sports more blood, guts, and deformity than anything this issue coughs up. Given how the mention of the Horrors strikes fear into even a professional assassin (one who’s not exactly easy on the eyes herself), you’d expect them to be, well, horrifying. And at first glance, they’re not; but when you really think about what they are, they become horrifying indeed.
You can never forget that behind every scene and plotline here, there’s a never-ending war going on. Vaughan reminds you this conflict involves more than just the fates of the protagonists by showing how this very world they stand upon has been devastated as a result of their respective races. For that reason, even though they’re victims themselves, Marko, Alana, and Hazel must make examples of themselves, and sometimes that requires sacrifice.
Meanwhile, it’s vitally important Vaughan give us a little more information as to what’s at stake here. What is it about Marko and Alana’s relationship that has sent everyone in the galaxy and their cousin after the couple? “Fraternizing” with the enemy, as Vez called it last issue, is obviously counter-productive to either side, but you suspect the outrage comes from more than that. When a Landfall soldier recalls Alana reading books back in the day, Prince Robot IV goes into a sullen fury—or, at least, you assume so from the flaming, screaming imagery that appears on his face-screen. He presses the soldier to clarify whether the books were “religious texts” or “propaganda,” which indicates there’s an element of a higher calling involved here.
Whether Staples comes up with these character designs herself or simply operates off of Vaughan’s direction, her execution is brilliant either way. The Stalk, simply put, looks amazing—eerie, beautiful, full of deadly grace. Human-animal hybrids are commonplace in comics, but Staples’ precise combination of the different anatomies (the Stalk lacks arms, but her spider-legs end in unnaturally large hands) make them look outstanding. You also have to love her use of painted backgrounds, which give the issue an elegant, fantasy vibe.
Conclusion: A fascinating read, one that fans your curiosity to know more about these worlds, these races, and their entire way of life.
Grade: B+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: – Then again, maybe Comics Unlimited sealed this issue so kids don’t get any weird ideas seeing Alana threatening her newborn’s life to save her from falling into the wrong hands.
– I love that The Will’s com system actually refers to him by his street name: “Phone: call my agent.” “Certainly, The Will.”
– What is it about the Freelancer’s obsession with adding “The” to their pseudonyms? In fact, what is it about “The” that makes any noun sound more menacing?
Grade
Conclusion