Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples’ newly-crowned Eisner award winner, “Saga,” returns with all the beautiful subtlety and raw power that made reader’s fall in love in the first place.
Written by Brian K. Vaughn
Illustrated by Fiona StaplesTHE SMASH-HIT, CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SERIES RETURNS! Now that you’ve read the first two bestselling collections of SAGA, you’re all caught up and ready to jump on the ongoing train with Chapter Thirteen, beginning an all-new monthly sci-fi/fantasy adventure, as Hazel and her parents head to the planet Quietus in search of cult romance novelist D. Oswald Heist.
The thing that makes the brilliance of this series so difficult to ignore is the truly innovative way in which it condenses the magical and the mundane. Elevating aspects of everyday life to the level of mythology, “Saga,” by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples, gives us the opportunity to examine the most important aspects of modern life from the comfortable distance, afforded by the fantastical settings and seemingly larger-than-life conflicts that these characters face. Within the framework of fantasy, the team draws complicated real-world ideas into crystalline clarity using magnificent plots, relatable characters, and unexpected twists and turns. “Saga” is so ferociously poignant because it mirrors the real, not the ideal, allowing us to explore the merits of the society in which we live and our internalization of that culture, while keeping us entertained. Grappling with themes such as mortality, loyalty and family, issue #13 of this series delivers a philosophical punch while moving the story along considerably.
One quality of the series which allows it to adopt this unique mundane-as-magical perspective stems from the continual juxtaposition of ideas like expectation and reality, of convention and practice and of genre and content. For example, Staples’ opening page shows a vagrant (likely a homeless veteran) passing in front of a monument outside the Landfallan Army Medical Center. The unflinching realism of her rendering, transcends the strangeness of the fact that the character depicted on this page is a winged alien, and makes this setting instantly relatable. In addition to bringing the fantasy down to earth, in a manner of speaking, the glistening monument when placed behind this disenfranchised Landfallan man creates an ironic contrast between the ideal imagining, and the actual practice, of treating people with respect and honor. This contrast raises questions about what it means to revere citizens and soldiers. In a single page, the team is able to communicate thought-provoking ideas that take on everything from political policy to ethical quandary. This kind of reflection is illustrative of the power Vaughn and Staples have found in grounding this other-worldly series in common experiences.
Like the subject matter itself, Staples’ artwork brings the intangible firmly into the grasp of the audience. Though she often illustrates dreamy settings and distinctly inhuman characters; her ability to capture the comprehensive feeling of place and the nuanced emotion in the facial expressions of those characters allow the audience to connect to, and invest in, this world. One rendering of Marko, deep in mourning after the loss of his father, is particularly powerful. His face is full of pain that is instantly recognizable, to anyone who has ever lost a loved one, as grief. In these characters we can see ourselves, and better comprehend how universal our personal experiences are across the scope of humanity. Recognizing Marko’s state of mind allows us to say: he is not like me, he is is an alien creature who can preform magic, but his heart breaks just like mine. This is an incredible accomplishment, instilling empathy in readers is no easy feat, yet that is what “Saga” does best.
“Saga” asks big questions, and rises up to meet them, like the road from some Irish blessing and your feet. ‘What is family?’ is the question driving this series, and this issue offers inspired new insight. In the thirteenth installment of this story, we learn more about the tenuous connections that bind us all to some sort of home. Playing upon the schema of family as a cultural institution, this issue begins with a formerly incidental henchman (a Landfallan soldier who threatened the protagonists earlier in the series) describing how he recognized the familial bond between Marko, Alana, and Hazel. Even in the chaos of war, facing mortal peril, he is able to understand the connection between the group simply by observing the way the parents’ look at their child. He is the echo of the idea that we all know, or believe we know, what family is. By having some theoretical definition of ‘family,’ we express what we know: that being part of a family means belonging somewhere, being loved by someone, and wanting something more than our own temporary happiness. This soldier is the face of the idea that everyone knows what it means to be part of a family. We know and recognize the power of belonging, even if we never have.
Continued belowSomewhere between James Joyce and “Say Anything,” Vaughn sets up camp in the pop-literature section of town; clearly staking out his territory using dialogue peppered with quotable one-liners alongside deep, thought-provoking narration. Whether writing witty banter or deconstructing the human experience, Vaughn retains a sharp clarity and strong connection to his audience and his characters. A true master of showing the story (as opposed to telling it) he invites readers to bring their own experiences to “Saga,” making this series easy to invest in emotionally. Were his words removed from the world of sequential storytelling, we would still be pouring over them.
In “Saga” #13, the creative team begins expanding the definition of family; building new units from broken pieces, and declaring them valid and meaningful. The holistic manner in which the creators approach the subject of family reflects just how universally understood the experience of birth and nurturance are. Between Staples stellar art and Vaughn’s near perfect prose, the power of this series is undeniable. Creating a universe in which consequences are real, in which there are no faceless thugs, in which everyone has a story to tell; the creative team offers us a world worth inhabiting. “Saga” remains a strong series, because of its commitment to deep universal themes, powerful symbols and three dimensional characters.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – Get lost in the mirror, “Saga” gives us an innovative reflection of modern life and the experience of living it.
