“Saga” #12 makes headlines with a bit of controversy, but we’ve got the real scoop:
One year in, this book is still fantastic.
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Illustrated by Fiona StaplesPrince Robot IV makes his move.
Joking aside, it’s truly incredible what Vaughan and Staples have accomplished here. Over the course of twelve issues the duo have made Saga one of the best selling creator owned comic properties, second only to “The Walking Dead.” That’s the sort of meteoric rise that demands you take notice.
With general praise for the creative team out of the way, let’s take a look at the issue at hand. “Saga” #12 opens with the kind of shocking “in media res” moment the series is known for. This time, it’s a flashback to Prince Robot IV’s time in the war. Vaughan and Staples perfectly capture the grim atrocity of war through Robot’s interactions with a female field medic. In a mere four pages, the creative team manages to make a strong emotional connection with this one-off character, yet another testament to their story telling ability.
The themes of this flashback carry forward into the present day, kicking off a Robot IV-centric story. Under pressure from Landfall Secret Intelligence Agent Gale, the prince continues his quest to locate Marko and Alana. Believing the book A Nighttime Smoke to be the inspiration for Alana’s desertion from the war effort and subsequent relationship with Marko, Robot IV seeks out the book’s author for information.
Vaughan writes the confrontation between Robot and author D. Oswald Heist brilliantly. The question of whether Heist is truly a radical pacifists subverting the war effort, or just a washed up writer looking for a quick pay check, is played out with a satisfying level of tension and ambiguity. This battle of wits and words is just as exciting as any battle with swords, magic, or blasters.
Much like concurrent antagonist The Will, Prince Robot IV becomes an increasingly sympathetic character with each layer Vaughan pulls away. Robot IV is in no way a mustache twirling villain, but rather a man bound by duty who just wants to be left alone with his family. Interestingly, Vaughan may be planting the smallest seeds of doubt in the robotic princeling, which will likely lead to even more internal conflict for this troubled machine man.
With no issues of “Saga” solicited for May or June, it seems that the creative team has settled into a steady “6 months on, 2 months off” schedule. This allows for Staples to catch up on art without relying on a fill-in artist. While this is great from a creative standpoint, it comes with a noticeable dip in quality in Staples’ art towards the end of these “arcs,” compared to earlier issues. That said, even sub-standard Staples art ranks among the best sequential art currently on the market.
Staples’ characters are still as detailed and expressive as ever. Rather, it’s the scenery and backgrounds that seem to be hit the hardest. Some of this can be attributed to this issue’s primary setting, Heist’s barren home world Quietus. However, the inside of Heist’s home is equally unadorned. At times the backgrounds appear blurry, as if viewing them on a low resolution screen. The primary use of dull neutral colors accentuates the issue’s austerity even more.
While a side story involving one of the book’s ancillary characters gives readers a breather after the huge events of recent issues, this issue’s cliffhanger calls into question how and when the fallout of last issue’s tragedy will be addressed. It seems some time has progressed since we last saw Marko, Alana, and crew, so it will be interesting to see where Vaughan picks up when “Saga” returns.
While this isn’t the best issue of the series to date, “Saga” #12 presents a lot of interesting possibilities for the story’s future. It’s also a much welcome look at Prince Robot IV, who has been on the back burner in recent issues. While Marko and Alana’s story is clearly the center-point of “Saga,” Vaughan and Staples have done a fantastic job at making the issues focused on side characters as interesting as, if not more than, the ones featuring the core cast.
Now begins the 3 month wait until we’re graced with another issue of this wonderful story.
Final Verdict: 8.6 – Buy. Because an average issue of “Saga” is still better than 90% of whatever else you’re reading.
