After too long of a hiatus, the intimate space epic that is “Saga” returns with the usual cast of characters and some hints of shockers yet to come. “Saga” #25, by the incomparable team of Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples, is another excellent chapter of a series that has remained consistently superb since issue one.
Written by Brian K. Vaughn
Illustrated by Fiona StaplesSaga is back, as is almost the entire cast! And as thanks to retailers and readers for helping our audience continue to grow every new arc, Fiona Staples created an amazing wraparound cover for this action-packed issue, which is still only $2.99, the best deal in comics!
“Saga” #25 informs us readers on what has been going on with our intrepid cast of characters since we last left them while also allowing the narrator to enlighten us about some history behind the war that has been swirling around them for such a long time. Vaughn and Staples continue to regale us with an epic story featuring this book’s large cast and their escapades while telling a deeply personal tale. Issues of family, war, and what it means to be human are explored in a science fiction setting that stars characters that happen to have such characteristics as horns on their heads, wings on their backs, and televisions for heads.
One of “Saga”’s greatest strengths is Vaughn’s ability to juggle such a substantial amount of characters. Everyone, from Marko and Alana (the stars of the book) to the smallest of supporting players such as cute little Ghüs, is given a distinct personality that feels entirely real. Their moments in the spotlight, no matter how large or small, either endear us to them or cause revulsion. They elicit such emotions because of Vaughn’s writing expertise and Staples’ ability to uniquely interpret such vibrant characters and bring them to life on the page. “Saga” #25, as the solicit teases, features “almost the entire cast.” Yet the issue goes by so quick because of this book’s creative team and their ability to distill so much into each character’s moment with an economy of style that contains no filler.
Vaughn not only condenses his story to the essential ingredients of what makes it so great, but he also is skilled at giving us hints and teases as to the fate of Marko, Alana, and their baby Hazel. We know Hazel will survive as she is the one narrating the story as a grown woman. In this issue, she teases some pretty bombshell nuggets that will develop as the story progresses to its unknown conclusion. Not only does this storytelling device keep us coming back to find out what is going to happen to our favorite characters, but it also compels us to become invested in their fate. We grow to love them because we are getting to know them as the “saga” naturally unfolds.
The characters’ emotions and personalities are not the only attributes of the book that keep us mesmerized and invested in this book. The real world conflicts, whether interpersonal or on a much grander scale, are recognizable and as realistic as the basic emotions expressed by the characters. In the first five pages, Vaughn and Staples deliver a montage depicting a society that has grown accustomed to a world in a state of perpetual war over the centuries. The response from society, and particularly when it comes to such issues as a draft versus an all-volunteer military, are shown to fluctuate in ways that every society on our Earth can relate to and has experienced throughout history.
These first five pages are just some examples of why Staples is essential to “Saga” and why she is the only artist born to be on this book. This is both Vaughn and Staples’ baby. Her depiction of characters’ facial expressions, poignant moments mixed with scenes of revelry, and careful use of color are evidence of the precision and care she puts into each page and panel of this book. The first few panels are in black and white, imbuing the scenes with the weight of history. Staples boldly uses symbolism, with bingo balls, a cemetery, and a drive-in theatre eliciting emotional responses that make Vaughn’s words (or Hazel’s, if you will) that much more powerful. Staples is given free rein to show, rather than having Vaughn tell, the scale of “Saga”’s chronicle.
Continued belowThese pages are proof of Staples’ contribution to “Saga”’s emotional and thematic heft and this issue in particular. Splash pages are utilized to show both quiet moments, such as a TV-headed man holding Hazel’s hand, to a hilarious scene with a dragon performing a disgusting action upon a crew of just some the book’s menagerie of characters. A tender moment involving a father pining for his missing daughter is subtly, yet dramatically depicted on Marko’s face. Staples is a woman of many wonderful abilities and excels at both pathos, humor, and the bombastic.
Vaughn and Staples have both created a world that, in only twenty five issues thus far, seems to have always been with us. They are able to tell their story in such a leisurely fashion that it allows for intimate moments to contain such power. It also helps that Staples is able to conjure such visceral and oftentimes hilarious moments of action involving such revolting and putrid creatures pulled from her imagination. Whether entering this world for the first time (if so, buy the gorgeous hardcover “Saga Book 1” along with this issue) or gleefully returning to this imaginative title’s world, “Saga” #25 will predictably leave you salivating for the next chapter.
And that wraparound cover? How awesome is that?
Final Verdict: 8.5 – With the usual cast of characters still on their respective journeys, Hazel continuing to tell her saga, and the tease of bombshells ahead, “Saga” #25 is another stellar issue that ends too soon.
