#CBR10 Book 94: "Saga, volume 9" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Page count: 152 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars

This is volume 9, it is NOT the place to start the series. Do, however, get to your nearest retailer of comics/graphic novels and buy volume 1, it's pretty much the best thing out there right now. You won't regret it.

Normally, the volumes of Saga tend to vary between heavy and emotionally wrenching storylines, followed by something a bit more funny, light-hearted and uplifting. Vol 7 ended on a very sad note, and Vol 8 was an exploration of grief and loss and not exactly a barrel of laughs either. Lured by the cheerful cover illustrations (the back of the book has some of the characters in colourful swimming costumes, clearly relaxing and having fun) for this volume, I expected the six issues in this volume to give the reader a bit of a break, and have our characters get a respite from all the horror and sadness. Thanks a lot, Brian K. Vaughan for the further emotional scars. I should have known better than to get my hopes up by now.

In addition, I discover that the creators, Mr Vaughan and Fiona Staples, creator of some of the best comics art out there, are going on hiatus for at least a year! While I absolutely respect their need for a break, and would much rather that they take a breather to ensure that the story continues to be excellent rather than suffer because they're both burned out, taking a year long break after leaving their readers with the ending of this volume - possibly rubbing salt in the wound after twisting the knife. The wait between trade paperbacks was already long enough.

Who am I kidding? It's not like I won't wait, impatiently, trying to get over the emotional punches that this last volume delivered. I'll be here pining, Brian and Fiona. Get some rest and then keep making me feel me all the feels.

Judging a book by its cover: This cover made me hopeful. It made me believe the current storyline might be a lighter one. That I might not cry at the end. This cover is a clever lie. Damn you, Fiona Staples!

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR10 Book 1: "Saga, vol 8" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Page count: 152 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars

Every new volume of Saga that comes out is a little event in my life, and it feels like the wait between each one is interminable. Since we'd already had one volume out in 2017, Saga, Vol. 7, I was not expecting another one, certainly not just before New Year's. Going back and checking, the last volume came out in April. I knew it had to be fairly early in the year, as I was heartbroken enough by the end of that volume, I'm not sure I could have handled it considering my current physical state (I'm trying to be super non-spoilery here, people, I hope you appreciate it).

Anyways, post-Christmas surprise Saga. When I saw it being reviewed by some of my friends in my Goodreads feed, at first I thought they'd somehow been lucky enough to score an ARC or something. Are there ARCs to be had? Who do I plead with/cajole/threaten to get my hands on them? But no, I checked the release date and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually officially out! I immediately rushed to my local fantasy/sci-fi/everything nerd-related-shop in the centre of Oslo, only to be told by a sympathetic sales clerk that sadly, all their volumes of the new trade were boxed up in the store room, and the guy in charge of comics was currently off sick. She was just as eager to get her hands on it as I was. Somewhat taken aback, I made her reserve me a copy (not that I really thought they'd sell out, but you can never be too careful) and had to leave the store empty-handed.

So I only actually got my hands on this trade the day before yesterday, and didn't have time to read it until today, the last day of 2017. Saga will famously wreak havoc with my emotions. If one volume makes me happy, the next one will break my heart. Since volume 7 was pretty damn heart-breaking, I was hoping that this would be a more uplifting installment and I felt a lot more happy and hopeful after finishing it.

I really don't want to go into very specific details about the plot, as the book has been out for less than a week, and there are a lot of people who could be spoiled if I do. Suffice to say, this volume deals with the aftermath of the very sad events at the end of volume 7. Alana, Marko and their little family are at a planet that looks like the sci-fi version of Red Dead Redemption. As Hazel is older now and has a greater understanding of the losses she's suffered throughout her short life. She has a lot of questions, and like all children, doesn't always understand what it is polite to ask about or when to pose these questions. Petrichor, one of their new travel companions, continues to be a delightful addition to the little group and I hope she sticks around for a long time.

As well as catching us up on our main gang, there's an issue where we see more of what the Will is up to (sadly, I think Lying Cat is in only three panels - a travesty!) and we also check in on Ghüs, the little seal creature. The ending of this volume suggests a pretty big change in the narrative going forward, and I, for one, am very eager to see where the journey takes us next. If we could maybe get a volume or two now where I don't cry bitter tears at the end, that would be awesome.

Judging a book by its cover: I said the book is set in an Old West style planet, but it has a distinctly sci-fi twist. As you can see, the horses are more like colourful zebras, but Alana makes a pretty awesome cow-girl. The previous volume had our protagonists clearly involved in battle, you can tell that the environment is calmer and somewhat less directly dangerous from the more gentle feel of this cover. Huge shout-out once again to Fiona Staples for her amazing art.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR9 Book 45: "Saga, vol 7" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Page count: 152 pages
Rating: 4 stars

This is volume 7 of an ongoing series. It's not the place to start. There is no question that any person of good taste should be reading Saga, but you should start at the beginning with volume 1.

I suppose that because the last volume made me very happy, this one was going to make me sad. Damn you, Vaughn and Staples and the emotional roller coaster you send me on. Temporarily stranded on Phang, a tiny comet that Wreath and Landfall have been battling it out over (like they battle for everything else), Elena, Marko and their little family are trying to find enough fuel to get away from their pursuers, they just need to to find some fuel.

Their brief stay extends to more than six months, and Hazel and her parents and their strange extended family make new friends and form new bonds. We meet The Will, Gwendolyn and Sophie again, and I'm happy to report that Lying Cat has a much more prominent presence in this volume than in the last. Gwendolyn is getting more actively involved in politics, and Sophie is faced with a difficult choice. As the tension on Phang escalates, our little band of refugees have to fight for their existence once more, and sadly, their interlude on Phang does not come without casualties.

I'm always excited when there's a new volume of Saga, the wait in between is always so very long. Due to a massive work load, I didn't actually get the chance to read this immediately after its release, having it lying on a shelf taunting me for a few weeks. Had I known about some of the developments, I may not have read it during my most recent Readathon, as it was really quite an emotional read, which I've already mentioned affected me. Still, it's not the first time this comic has made me cry, and I'm sure it won't be the last. I just hope the next volume is a little bit more upbeat again.

Judging a book by its cover: Fiona Staples' art is so good, you guys. I don't really have a lot more to say about the cover than that. I absolutely love the way she depicts the characters and this cover shows our beloved protagonists in the middle of a tense action sequence, defending their family.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR8 Book 85: "Saga, volume 6" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Page count: 152 pages
Rating: 5 stars

July brought another volume of Saga and there was great rejoicing in the Patterson household (well, at least from me, the husband is still a few books behind. I honestly have no idea where his priorities are). The action has jumped ahead a few years since we last saw our band of plucky protagonists, and Hazel is now living with her grandmother in a detention centre on Landfall, and she's going to kindergarten and making friends her own age for the first time. She's becoming a proper little person of her own, fully aware that she is an individual with a unique heritage, that she needs to keep hidden. Keeping secrets all the time is very difficult, though, and after meeting a transgender prisoner in the camp's showers, she reveals her wings to her shocked kindergarten teacher.

Meanwhile, her parents, now reunited after a long time apart, are looking for her throughout the universe. Also reappearing in the story (missed by absolutely no one - feel free to kill of these two anytime, Mr. Vaughan) are the gay tabloid journalists, now freed from the embargo put on them by the Brand and off looking for the scoop of the century, namely Marko and Alana's star-crossed romance. We get to see the Will again (not in a good place), but sadly Lying Cat only appears in what could be called a cameo, it's really very blink and you'll miss it.

I've seen some reviewers say that this volume really is just filler and that it's not as satisfying as some of the ones that have gone before. I would say that in this, several of the story lines set up in earlier volumes finally pay off, and this isn't so much a filler book as a bridge, suggesting interesting (and no doubt dangerous things) to come for our favourite sci-fi family. Hazel is an utter delight, Marko and Alana reunited fills me with joy. I have high hopes that the Will can snap out of his gloom and reunite with Lying Cat and maybe the boring journalists will be murdered soon, so the stories can be more satisfyingly focused on people I actually care about.

The reveal on the penultimate page made me literally squeal and promises such exciting developments in the volumes to come. Sadly, I am unlikely to get more Saga until 2017, at the earliest. That's the absolute worst part of this great comic - that the wait between volumes is so interminably long. 

Judging a book by its cover: Simple and elegant, with a beautiful blue backdrop, the cover shows Marko and Alana finally together once more and it fills my heart with happy. Someone in a Goodreads review said they'd probably marry Fiona Staples' art by now, and I absolutely agree. So much of what I love about this series is the artwork.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

#CBR7 Book 103: "Saga, volume 5" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Page count: 152 pages
Rating: 5 stars

Saga is my favourite comic book of the last few years and I feel like I do nothing but spend my days waiting for a new trade paperback to come out. I managed to save volume five for an unprecedented nine days from buying it until I actually read it, because I know that it'll probably be another six months at least until I get more. The writing is flawless, the art is breathtaking. The plot is never, even for a second, predictable. The six issues making up this trade had me grimacing in disgust, laughing, gasping, swearing and almost crying. 

Oh, if you're not caught up yet, there may be spoilers beyond this point. 

I found volume four extremely distressing, because Alanna and Marko were arguing and when fictional characters whom I love have relationship troubles, it affects me more than it probably should. Now they are separated, with Marko and Prince Robot IV having made an unexpected alliance to track down their missing children. Alanna and her mother-in-law are trying to keep Hazel safe from Dengo, the guy who kidnapped them. Elsewhere, Gwendolyn, Sophie, Lying Cat and the Brand (the Will's sister) are looking for the ingredients to a cure for the Will, the assassin sent to kill Alanna and Marko. As always, tiny Hazel narrates the story with aplomb, giving all sorts of heart-breaking foreshadowing, such as "she and her pals find what they're looking for...but at a much higher cost than expected".

If you're not already reading Saga, with all the glowing reviews out there on the internet, I honestly don't know how this is going to change your mind. It's just so good, and you're missing out if you don't give it a chance.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR7 Book 3: "Saga, volume 4" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Page count: 144 pages
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.

#CBR6 Book 35: "Saga, volume 3" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Page count: 144 pages
Rating: 5 stars

This trade paperback volume of Saga collects issues 13-18. It's an ongoing series, and you really should be starting at the beginning. It's also the best comic book/graphic novel series I've read in probably a decade, so if you haven't read it, run to your nearest comics shop and come back when you've caught up. Also, it goes without saying that there may be spoilers here for earlier in the series.

Marko's mother has decided to join her son and his new family on their quest to find D. Oswald Heist. Meanwhile, a pair of tabloid journalists are trying to get to figure out exactly what is the story with Marko and Alana. Could two enemy combatants actually have deserted, got married and had a child? There are, however, forces who aren't all that excited about the story being published and want them to stop. The Will, Cat, Gwendolyn and the slave girl they rescued are stuck on an idyllic alien planet while waiting for their spaceship to be repaired. Gwen is impatient to catch up to their targets, but the Will seems quite content to stay on the new planet. He doesn't seem to realise that he's seeing impossible things and that listening to the wrong influences could put them all in terrible danger.

I gave the last two trade paperbacks 4.5 stars, but who am I kidding? This is absolutely solid gold entertainment and I'm not going to hold back any longer. The story has everything. Humour, action, romance, adventure, danger, a talking cat who can tell if you're lying, a ghostly babysitters, a very snarky narrator constantly teasing things yet to come. These six issues of Saga made me laugh out loud, bite my nails with tension, swear loudly, nearly cry more than once, sigh happily and squee at least once. The dialogue is snappy, the characters are great, the art is absolutely gorgeous and some of the concepts and ideas presented just blow my mind away. I keep badgering all my friends to read it, and have bought the first volumes as gifts for several, in the hopes of getting them hooked. I'm really not joking when I say that everyone should be reading this.

With this book, I have also completed my first reading challenge of the year, Meet the Protagonist.
Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR5 Books 86-87. "Saga vol 1 and 2" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Total page count: 288 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars for both volumes (I still think there is even better to come)

Marko and Alana are star-crossed lovers from either side of a huge and long-running intergalactic war. Marko is a prisoner, and Alana is his prison guard, when they fall in love, go on the run, and have a baby (who narrates several of the issues). Now both their peoples want them hunted down and killed, but at least one side wants the child alive.

I love pretty much every single character in this, and the series has pretty much anything you could possibly want - sexy main characters, witty banter, action, violence, wise cracking ghost girls, bounty hunters, evil armless spider-bodied assassin ladies, robot people, a sidekick cat that can tell (and will ruthlessly reveal) if people are lying.

I gave the first volume to my husband for Christmas, but never really got round to reading it myself. I'm still deeply upset with what Vaughan did with my favourite character at the end of Y: the Last Man, and so I was a bit reluctant to commit myself to a new series by him. My husband got the second volume when that came out, and insisted that I get over my misgivings and just read the comic already. I'm so glad he convinced me, because I blazed through all 12 issues collected in the first two volumes in no time at all, laughing loudly several times. That's not to say that there is only humour or action in this, it manages to cover a number of issues incredibly well, such as the fact that the main couple are both ex-soldiers who have done a lot of things they regret, and are wanting to create a new life, away from a war they disagree with. The writing is excellent, it's full of incredibly quotable lines, the art by Fiona Staples is gorgeous, she does both quiet scenes and action set-pieces brilliantly.

Saga is without a doubt my new favourite comic, to the point where I'm wondering if we should start collecting it in monthly issues, so I don't have to have the interminable wait for the next paperback of collected issues. I just desperately hope that Vaughan's difficulties with ending his series in a satisfactory way doesn't strike again, or he's going straight back to the top of my mental hate list (where the top spot is currently held by Steven Moffat). Seriously, this is an amazing comic. Why aren't you reading it yet?