Saga #2 – Review

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.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Wolverine and the X-Men #88 – I do love Chris Bachalo and even though he had a few story-telling stumbles in this issue where I thought, “Huh?  What’s going on?” the combination of Bachalo’s energetic art and Jason Aaron’s fast-paced and fun script are just dynamite.  I really hope that Avengers vs. X-Men doesn’t screw up this title….

Most Anticipated: Northlanders #50 – What a STACKED week!  I’m actually a little giddy at this week’s prospects because I doubt these titles will let us down.  But, even with some of the potentially cool #1s or second issues of series that got off to very strong beginnings last month, I’m most excited to see how Brian Wood ends Northlanders.  Let’s think about how amazing this is: Wood and Vertigo gave us 50 issue of a series about Vikings!  50 issues!  Not some measly 6 issue miniseries, but 4+ years of really good comics.  This most recent arc about the history of Iceland has been wonderful, featuring art by the uber-talented Danijel Zezelj, and I have a feeling that the end will be bloody and touching.

Other Picks: Saucer Country #2, The Unwritten #36, Haunt #23, Saga #2, America’s Got Powers #1, Secret #1, Fantastic Four #605, Secret Service #1

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Fatale #4 – A creepy read that manages to feel both different and comfortably familiar from Brubaker/Phillips’ previous offerings, Fatale remains as engrossing as ever.  It’s claustrophobic, unsettling, and mysterious in a way that tantalizes more than it befuddles.

Most Anticipated: Saga #2 – Golly, I have a MASSIVE stack of comics to pick up this week.  You know it’s a good week when the first issue of a new Jonathan Hickman book doesn’t even get a “Most Anticipated” merit.  But I can’t resist Saga #2 and seeing how Vaughan and Staples can follow up their landmark first issue.  I have no doubt that they’ll keep up the quality, and that only makes me want this issue all the more.

Other Picks: Secret #1, Batwoman #8, Demon Knights #8, Frankenstein #8, Green Lantern #8, Saucer Country #2, Avenging Spider-Man #6, Fantastic Four #605, Journey into Mystery #636, New Avengers #24, Secret Avengers #25, Uncanny X-Men #10, Winter Soldier #4, Wolverine #304