Larry's Library

One of the (early) Father’s Day gifts I got from my daughter was this fantastic trade-paperback collecting the first story arc of Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga.

Brian K. Vaughan is one of my favorite modern writers. His credits include Y:The Last Man & Lost -two of my very favorite works in comics and television…probably of all time. So I was looking forward to this one. I was NOT disappointed. I was NOT familiar with the work of artist Fiona Staples but as you can see from the examples I’m inserting (click them for larger views) through out this review that she is quite great.

The story is unique and defies pigeonholing. On the surface the plot seems similar to Romeo & Juliet or maybe West Side Story – a boy and a girl from two warring factions fall in love against all odds and certainly against the wishes of the opposing sides.

But in typical Brian K. Vaughan fashion things are not quite that simple. There is a baby, a benevolent ghost, galactic bounty hunters, wooden rocket-ships, powerful magic, cyborg royalty & a lie detecting feline!

This trade was a quick read and the plot seems a bit faster paced than Y:The Last Man. That’s not a good or bad thing…just a difference I noticed. He doesn’t waste anytime whatsoever explaining the setting or the mechanics on how things like magic or technology work in this world. But that’s OK & everything works out anyway. The reader learns as the story pulls you along and you will never want it to end.

It’s a fun ride and it will be interesting to see how Marko and Alana -two dedicated pacifists will survive in a violent racist world that condemns their love as an abomination. I can’t wait for volume two!