Saga, Vol. 1 & 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona K. Staples
"When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe."
I've seen book one of this graphic novel on the shelves of bookstores for a long time, but it never piqued my interest until recently. I started catching up on my graphic novel series since reading puts me to sleep as of late ha. *Cry* Saga follows Marko and Alana, citizens of rivaling planets currently at war, as they seek a place of sanctuary for their newborn daughter. It was reading about the plot that interested me, then when I saw a few reviews and saw how surreal it was, I was sold. The plot isn't exactly original, but the presentation makes it feel that way. The story is held up by dynamic and likable (Okay, lovable) characters, who are all flawed. Another thing that really drew me to the series is Alana and Marko's relationship. It's passionate, yet subtle in it's sweetness so that it doesn't dominate the story with cliche. It just adds some extra depth and attachment to the characters.I'm in love. I tear through these things like they're nothing. They are pretty quick reads in the first place, and the only thing that will slow you down is stopping to admire Fiona's artwork. She is a master at conveying written emotion through the characters' expressions and body language. You feel their emotions instead of trying to guess, which kind of distracts me in some comics.The story, artwork, characters, and dialogue make this gold.
This was one of those series of issues that I wish I would have read a long time ago. It's a compilation of almost a year's worth of issues and it doesn't quite have the same effect when read in fast succession. I was also familiar with the villain beforehand, which took away that surprise ending that I live for in graphic novels. All of my faults aside, I really enjoyed it. It's a well-written, beautifully illustrated story. I especially enjoy the glimpses of Bruce's personal conflicts. "Bruce Wayne" usually serves as the alter ego or mask, while Batman is his true self, so it's always interesting to see him as a human in a personal sense. Also, Catwoman is my jam, and anytime their paths cross I'm there. And lastly, Bruce's and Clark's friendship is so endearing in this volume.
Finally got around to reading these. I was originally reading them from the compendiums, but the wait between them is killer so we switched to volumes and they're much more convenient to read as well.
Volume 24 left off with a big cliff-hanger, but instead of immediate action and retaliation, these volumes were more about plans and preparations. There isn't tooo much I can say about these otherwise, but they were still entertaining reads and I'm looking forward to starting the next volume.
This is technically a re-read. I want to jump back into the series so I revisited Vol. 1. What initially drew me to this series was the concept of Fairytale characters in the real world with real conflicts (And I have no interest in Once Upon a Time, Which I've heard was inspired by this series.). Snow (White) partners with the sheriff, Bigby ( Big, Bad Wolf) after her sister, Rose Red, disappears and leaves behind a blood-soaked apartment.
This isn't a series that I tear through in an hour like Saga, but it's still enjoyable to pick up and read here and there. I enjoy the classic art style and the ornate fairytale touches to certain panels are genius. The settings pertaining to the fairytale characters are gorgeous and imaginative and really prevent you from falling into the reality side of the synopsis and forgetting the fairytale side completely. I like that the wrongdoings made by the characters in their stories still exist, but have been forgiven after the amnesty so they could start with a clean slate. And the way that the more creature-like of the characters, like Bigby, are forced to purchase "Glamour", a concoction that gives them human form, or they must live on "The Farm". All in all, it's a fun read and a new take on some old characters, so if you want to see the likes of Beauty and Beast in marriage counseling and a sleazy playboy Prince Charming, grab an issue or five.
I received this issue with one of the Walking Dead Volumes and had heard Robert Kirkman talk about it on the Nerdist Podcast, but that was the extent of my knowledge on it. It's another dark horror series like The Walking Dead, only dealing with demon possession. There isn't a whole lot of ground covered in the first issue, but you do get the gist of strange happenings surrounding Kyle Barnes and a dark curse that has followed him his entire life, wreaking havoc and causing him to lose his family. It's a good read and definitely interested me, but I'm not dying to get my hands on another issue at the moment.
Thanks for reading my graphic novel edition of recent reads. Reading time has been a little scarce, not to mention the fact that it put me to sleep before having a newborn. I'm going to try to ease back into it, but graphic novels will definitely be making appearances as I catch up on my favorites and possibly start new ones. I would love recommendations for books or graphic novels as well!
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