"Saga" is an epic fantasy comic and probably one of the best series of the last couple of years, which is not branded with Marvel or DC logos. An author Brian K. Vaughan and illustrator Fiona Staples created an incredible, bright and colorful universe, which will be remembered for a long time. No wonder that “Saga” is the winner and nominee of many prestigious awards, including "Hugo", Eisner and Harvey.
“Saga” can be a great choice for girls, fantasy and science fiction fans, and even those, who don’t read comic books very often. This is an independent story, with no spin-offs, parallel universes or any other standard attributes for a comic series. In this article, we’ll present you five reasons, why “Saga” comics immerses anyone into it fascinating world from the very first page.
“Saga” comic series
Alana and Marko
1. The plot: Romeo and Juliet love story
At the very beginning of the plot of “Saga” comic, the reader sees the galaxy at war. People from two different worlds converged in a mortal battle: the largest planet in the galaxy Landfall, which is more technologically advanced, and its only satellite Wreath, whose people use magic. The war spread through the entire galaxy, and the inhabitants of other planets cannot stay away anymore. Everyone now has to decide for themselves which side they will take. For Alana and Marko this decision will be the hardest to make. She is from Landfall, while he is from Wreath, but they love each other. During the war, Marko realized that he is pacifist and voluntarily surrendered. He meets Alana when she was assigned to guard him in prison. Unable to cope with feelings, Alana and Marko escaped together after only twelve hours of knowing each other. They now have to wander together in searching a new home, a safe place to raise their newborn daughter Hazel.
The love story becomes even more dramatic, when Prince Robot IV, a cyborg with a television screen instead of a head, starts to pursue Marko and Alana on the order of Landfall’s military leader. The sooner he completes the assignment, the sooner he will be able to return home. Simultaneously with the Prince Robot IV, a dangerous mercenary The Will hunts the couple. The Will was hired by Gwendolyn, Marko’s insulted ex-fiancée from Wreath.
2. Real life relationships
Just like in the real world, the relationships between the main characters are not always beautiful and interesting. There is also the other side. Despite the unusual nature of all characters of “Saga”, they behave like people: sincerely rejoice, make mistakes and strive for the best, even when they fail. No one is looking for their significant other for years and Marko does not save his princess for the “happily ever after”. Alana and Marko have already found each other and now try to build a family. They raise their child and do their best to become good parents, despite all of the troubles.
3. Realistic and very detailed description of characters
“Saga” comic series has several storylines, the characters of which are somehow related to each other. Since all of the characters are describes very detailed, we will take a look at the main ones.
Marko is the main male character in the “Saga” series. He was born in Wreath, has horns and practices magic. He does not tolerate violence and voluntarily surrenders to the soldiers of Landfall, where in prison he later meets Alana. Many bloody battles took place during the long war between the inhabitants of Landfall and Wreath, therefore members of both planets can’t even think about a relationship with each other, but Marko is an exception.
Marko
Alana
The main female character Alana is a native from a planet called Landfall. Just like other inhabitants of this planet, Alana has wings. She was a young difficult child and a rebellious teenager. Alana dreamed of becoming a star of a reality show but works as a soldier. Just like her future husband Marko, she does not like violence, but due to her straightforwardness does not always have good relationships with other people. One of the weaknesses of brutal Alana is women’s novels. During the service, Alana has to guard the prisoner of war from the race of opponents. Under the influence of a novel “A Nighttime Smoke”, Alana violates the rules, releases the prisoner Marko and escapes with him.
Hazel is a daughter of Alana and Marko, the cause of their persecution from both planets and a proof of a possible peace. The girl inherited her mother’s wings, father’s horns and has green-brown eyes. And although according to the plot she is still very small, Hazel occasionally narrates the series.
Izabel is a ghost of a teenage girl who saved Marko in the past. Due to this fact, Alana allowed connecting her existence with the soul of her only child, which helped Izabel to leave the planet of Cleave, on which she died. Since Izabel died because of a bomb explosion, her lower body is missing. This girl ghost is tied to a small Hazel and constantly protects her from enemies. Sometimes Izabel can create visual illusions.
Izabel
Gwendolyn is a former fiancée of Marko, who saw him as a soldier, who could have to succeed in military affairs. Their views on the world did not quite match, so Marko left Gwendolyn, taking a couple of Gwendolyn’s family relics with him. No wonder, the girl is now extremely mad at him.
Marko, Alana and Hazel
Gwendolyn
4. Beautiful image of fantastic creatures
The world of “Saga” is incredibly rich with fantasy creatures and events. Brian Vaughan introduced the world where almost everything is possible. Only here a person is capable of loving a monster resembling a giant spider. Ghosts are trying to be companions. The Will’s cat is able to determine whether someone is lying to its owner or telling the truth. And all of this is while Marko and Alana are traveling the space expanses on an unusual spaceship: an organic tree-like rocketship.
Illustrator Fiona Staples did such a fantastic job drawing characters, as well as detailed images of fantasy landscapes. But be aware of the fact that “Saga” is an adult comic with some adult scenes, which however organically fit the story, emphasizing the realism of the created world.
Prince Robot IV
5. Fresh and progressive style
“Saga” series each time surprises with its relevance and absence of standard moves. It seems that “Saga” is something completely different from an original fantasy comics, it has its own soul. Reading this graphic novel you’ll come across a planet dedicated to sexual pleasures, a huge number of really funny scenes and an obscene vocabulary, which does not seem to be something bad, but on the contrary - strengthens the expression of what is happening. Often the facial expressions of the characters transmit the comic of some scenes. You probably can even throw out absolutely all the speech bubbles and still be able to understand what is happening.
