Saga Volume 1 - Review

[GreatSnowman]

So, Saga. A comic book series published by Image Comics, also publisher of the Walking Dead and other more adult comics like Sunstone and Sex Criminals (Yes, that is the actual title).

When I as introduced to Saga, I as told it was a cross between Start Wars and Game of Thrones, set in space in the middle of a war between a magical society on a moon and the technology society based on the planet the moon orbits around. Although after reading most of the other volumes, I realised it probably has a bit less to do with Game of Thrones and more to do with a more mature version of Romeo and Juliet.

The first chapter, starts in a slightly different way to what you probably expect, not in the middle of a battle, not in the middle of a city following a single person, or group of people, not even on a spaceship. It starts in a garage, with the female protaganist giving birth to their child and the male protaganist, and husband, being the overjoyous father, before being found by teams from both sides of the war.

After this, they begin the search for a way to escape off planet, all the while you see bith sides hiring hitmen to kill the family, for a reason central to the whole plit of the series, but which shall not be spoiled. Although while this is happening, they manage to pick up an awesome babysitter.

The art style of the comic is well drawn, and more realistic looking than Marvel, but also a lot lighter in tone than DC, not to say there aren’t any dark tones within the comic, there are plenty of them. There is one sex scene in the book, and other bits of nudity, which are used in a way that doesn't detract from the story itself, even helping understand some of the background of the different species.

The plot is well written, easy to pick up both via the panels and the narrator, who tells it in an autobiographical way, or even like a diary.
Volume 1 is a memorable start to a comic series, both for the unusual starting chapter, as well as showing a human side to a conflict very raely seen, both in real life and fiction, aswell as being a highly entertaining read, both for the story and more mature elements. Having a mixture of technology and magic can make a series interesting, especially in a war, where the same things have been solved using different solutions.