Rating: 4.5 stars
So I've already raved at you here AND here about why you should be reading this comic. If you haven't read it yet (what is wrong with you, do you not like awesome things?), this trade is not the place to start. It collects issues 19-24 of an ongoing story. I'm going to try really hard to review it without spoiling anything major, but tread with caution if you're not caught up.
Marko and Alanna and their hunted little family are laying low on a fairy anonymous planet. Alanna is trying to support them as best she can by acting in a cheesy soap opera, while Marko is a stay at home dad, aided by his mother and Izabel. Alanna's job situation sucks, and Marko struggles with nurturing the demanding and energetic toddler that Hazel has become. Elsewhere in the Universe, Prince Robot IV is completely unaware that he has become a father and that dangerous dissidents are threatening his little family. The Will is comatose in hospital, while his sister, the Brand, is trying to figure out what actually to him. She tracks down Gwen, Sophie and Lying Cat, who are working hard to find a way to heal him.
I don't want to go into more detail, because part of the joy of Saga is discovering the twists and turns on the beautifully constructed plot yourself. Brian K. Vaughan's writing continues to be superb, interweaving the various story strands and characters effortlessly, constantly throwing new challenges in our protagonists' way, even when they seem to be living in a quiet part of the universe, able to relax. Fiona Staples' art is still breath-takingly good.
Because I get extremely emotionally attached to characters in stories I love, and oh do I love this comic, these issues were more difficult than some of the previous to read, as the characters go through a lot of emotional turmoil. When my beloved characters suffer, I suffer. I was also sad to see that the the Will, Gwen, Sophie and Lying Cat were only in one single issue in this trade, because over the course of the series, I've become just as attached to them as to Alanna, Marko and their family. The developments in the Robot Kingdom takes the coming story in an interesting direction and I can't wait (which unfortunately I will have to do, for months and months and months) to read what happens next.
Crossposted on Cannonball Read.
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