Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Image Comics (2014), Edition: Illustrated, 504 pages
Description
At long last, a deluxe edition of the Eisner and Hugo Award-winning SAGA is finally here! Collecting the first 18 issues of the smash-hit series, this massive edition features a striking new cover, as well as special extras, including never-before-seen sketches, script pages, and a roundtable discussion with the creators about how SAGA is really made. Altogether, this deluxe edition contains over 500 pages! Written by Eisner Award-winning "Best Writer" BRIAN K. VAUGHAN (Y: The Last Man, The Private Eye) and drawn by Harvey Award-winning "Best Artist" Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, North 40), SAGA is the story of Hazel, a child born to star-crossed parents from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war. Now, Hazel's fugitive family must risk everything to find a peaceful future in a harsh universe that values destruction over creation. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in a sexy, subversive drama for adults that Entertainment Weekly called, "The kind of comic you get when truly talented superstar creators are given the freedom to produce their dream book.".… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
I've heard Saga compared to an adult version of Star Wars, and it really is in a way that few space operas are. Like, you could call Battlestar Galactica or The Expanse "adult" versions of Star Wars, but they're not really-- they're too "grounded." Star Wars isn't really science fiction (in some
Yet it's not the immature kind of "adult": the sex and violence and so one give the story weight and heft, and elevate it into something fully itself. Saga may remind you of Star Wars or Romeo and Juliet or Battlestar Galactica in some ways, but it's not trying to be any of them. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples have created something really unique, with star-crossed romance (the main characters are from the opposite sides of a deadly war), pathos (there's a bit with Lying Cat that was just heart-wrenching), and the right amount of kookiness (the main characters bond over a cheap paperback romance novel that turns out to have a deeper meaning).
Despite the darkness of it, it's beautiful: Fiona Staples I don't think had done much before Saga, but as in Y: The Last Man, Brian Vaughan has found the perfect artistic collaborator for the story he's telling. Horrifying creatures, human emotion, forbidding vistas, beautiful emptiness, all are rendered perfectly by Staples. A lot of depth comes from the narration, which hits the balance between corniness and insight, and is hand-written by Staples herself, the perfect finishing touch. Everything about the book is beautifully done, down to the page and font design by Fonografiks. (The deluxe hardcover has a very in-depth making-of feature, which I really enjoyed. Both Vaughan and Staples have fascinating processes.)
The sprawling story (seriously, there's not just our main characters, and their daughter, but also the parents of one of them, and a ghost, and the bounty hunter chasing them and his companions, and a robot prince, and a pair of investigative journalists, and probably others I'm forgetting) moves in genuinely inventive and surprising ways across in first eighteen issues, and I finished it eager to see where it would go next.
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senses of sf, anyway), it's space fantasy: it's got ghosts and magic and bizarre, implausible aliens. Saga has these in spades: its aliens are humans with animal parts, or maybe even just animals, and its robots look like humans with tvs for heads, and one of the main characters is a ghost, and there's a cat who says "LYING" whenever it hears someone lie. But it's adult: there's swearing and viscera and sex and all the gory details of pregnancy and prostitution.Yet it's not the immature kind of "adult": the sex and violence and so one give the story weight and heft, and elevate it into something fully itself. Saga may remind you of Star Wars or Romeo and Juliet or Battlestar Galactica in some ways, but it's not trying to be any of them. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples have created something really unique, with star-crossed romance (the main characters are from the opposite sides of a deadly war), pathos (there's a bit with Lying Cat that was just heart-wrenching), and the right amount of kookiness (the main characters bond over a cheap paperback romance novel that turns out to have a deeper meaning).
Despite the darkness of it, it's beautiful: Fiona Staples I don't think had done much before Saga, but as in Y: The Last Man, Brian Vaughan has found the perfect artistic collaborator for the story he's telling. Horrifying creatures, human emotion, forbidding vistas, beautiful emptiness, all are rendered perfectly by Staples. A lot of depth comes from the narration, which hits the balance between corniness and insight, and is hand-written by Staples herself, the perfect finishing touch. Everything about the book is beautifully done, down to the page and font design by Fonografiks. (The deluxe hardcover has a very in-depth making-of feature, which I really enjoyed. Both Vaughan and Staples have fascinating processes.)
The sprawling story (seriously, there's not just our main characters, and their daughter, but also the parents of one of them, and a ghost, and the bounty hunter chasing them and his companions, and a robot prince, and a pair of investigative journalists, and probably others I'm forgetting) moves in genuinely inventive and surprising ways across in first eighteen issues, and I finished it eager to see where it would go next.
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LibraryThing member albertgoldfain
Consequential and character-driven. It was nice to read these as a collected volume. Definitely explores themes that are unique for the medium.
LibraryThing member nicole_a_davis
Interesting story, great mix of characters, good writing, and great illustrations.
LibraryThing member shabacus
Epic does not begin to describe this story. Rarely have I empathized so fully with virtually every character in a story, both protagonists and antagonists. I feel emotionally invested in them in a way that is hard to describe. I take no pleasure when the different sides come into conflict. Perhaps
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the story is making me into a pacifist, too, someone who really just wants to see everyone get along. I am avidly awaiting the next collection. Show Less
LibraryThing member drewsof
Just an absolute blast. I could go on and on about the joys of this book - what's another thing I haven't mentioned yet... the scrawled narration, in a different font? the humor? the heartwrenching violence? - but let it suffice that they are all just freakin' great. It's a big ol' sci-fi
Of course with a title like Saga, we have to realize that we're going in for the long haul. The first issue came out in March 2012; it's now December 2014. I know, I know, I could pick up the individual comics themselves in order to stay in the world of the story... and who knows, I might do it. Come back and get the big book(s) later on down the road.
And for the first time in a very long time with a serialized story, I'm tempted to do it. The breadth of this story is breathtaking and in the two hours it took me to burn through the entire collection (seriously), I was as giddy as a kid watching The Empire Strikes Back - or, frankly, as a 25-year-old watching Guardians. Goodness but I want to live in this wild, lurid, crazy, beautiful world that Vaughan and Staples have created. It is that cool.
Full review TK.
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adventure, written with joy and imagination. Just what the doctor ordered.Of course with a title like Saga, we have to realize that we're going in for the long haul. The first issue came out in March 2012; it's now December 2014. I know, I know, I could pick up the individual comics themselves in order to stay in the world of the story... and who knows, I might do it. Come back and get the big book(s) later on down the road.
And for the first time in a very long time with a serialized story, I'm tempted to do it. The breadth of this story is breathtaking and in the two hours it took me to burn through the entire collection (seriously), I was as giddy as a kid watching The Empire Strikes Back - or, frankly, as a 25-year-old watching Guardians. Goodness but I want to live in this wild, lurid, crazy, beautiful world that Vaughan and Staples have created. It is that cool.
Full review TK.
Show Less
LibraryThing member drewsof
Just an absolute blast. I could go on and on about the joys of this book - what's another thing I haven't mentioned yet... the scrawled narration, in a different font? the humor? the heartwrenching violence? - but let it suffice that they are all just freakin' great. It's a big ol' sci-fi
Of course with a title like Saga, we have to realize that we're going in for the long haul. The first issue came out in March 2012; it's now December 2014. I know, I know, I could pick up the individual comics themselves in order to stay in the world of the story... and who knows, I might do it. Come back and get the big book(s) later on down the road.
And for the first time in a very long time with a serialized story, I'm tempted to do it. The breadth of this story is breathtaking and in the two hours it took me to burn through the entire collection (seriously), I was as giddy as a kid watching The Empire Strikes Back - or, frankly, as a 25-year-old watching Guardians. Goodness but I want to live in this wild, lurid, crazy, beautiful world that Vaughan and Staples have created. It is that cool.
Full review TK.
Show More
adventure, written with joy and imagination. Just what the doctor ordered.Of course with a title like Saga, we have to realize that we're going in for the long haul. The first issue came out in March 2012; it's now December 2014. I know, I know, I could pick up the individual comics themselves in order to stay in the world of the story... and who knows, I might do it. Come back and get the big book(s) later on down the road.
And for the first time in a very long time with a serialized story, I'm tempted to do it. The breadth of this story is breathtaking and in the two hours it took me to burn through the entire collection (seriously), I was as giddy as a kid watching The Empire Strikes Back - or, frankly, as a 25-year-old watching Guardians. Goodness but I want to live in this wild, lurid, crazy, beautiful world that Vaughan and Staples have created. It is that cool.
Full review TK.
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LibraryThing member BenjaminHahn
If you are a new parent and you happen to like science fiction and graphic novels then this is pretty much a must for your reading list if you haven't partaken yet. I can't say enough about this series. Lot's of fun. I'm always excited when the next volume comes out.
LibraryThing member Birdo82
Visceral, fantastic, visually arresting, this is one space opera of a comic book that undeniably deserves the praise bestowed upon it by critics.
LibraryThing member Kiddboyblue
This graphic novel is a work of art, literally. The artistry and creativity in it's vision is epic. I was blown away by the design of it all.
I enjoyed the overall story as well, though for me, having the daughter narrate it ended up taking away from it for me. It pulled some of the suspense away
However, everything else really fell into place for me. The artistry, the story, the characterization, the pace, the writing. It all worked really well together.
And how sexy is Marko!? Am I right?
I enjoyed the overall story as well, though for me, having the daughter narrate it ended up taking away from it for me. It pulled some of the suspense away
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from the story. Every time she was in danger or her parents were in danger, I didn't feel that rush or suspense I should have because I knew she would survive, simply because she is narrating the story from the future. So for me, that really took away. However, everything else really fell into place for me. The artistry, the story, the characterization, the pace, the writing. It all worked really well together.
And how sexy is Marko!? Am I right?
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LibraryThing member AnnieHidalgo
This reminds me of Steven Universe a lot, but maybe that's because I only know so many examples of media about animated space wars. It was much better than I expected, as a person who doesn't really do very 'comicy' comic books. I loved the old horror comics, and there are other things I like now -
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Neil Gaiman comics, the Fable comics that The Wolf Among Us are based off of, and probably a few other things I'm not thinking of right now. Normally, the cartoon quality, for lack of a better turn of phrase, separates me from an emotional reaction to the work, but I found with this work that this was not the case. Show Less
LibraryThing member quondame
A Space Opera about the/a chosen family's flight through space pursued by both sides of an inter-planetary war told from the view of the infant offspring of two combatants, one from either side of the conflict. The parents are the undistinguished deserter and his jailor/lover and are joined by his
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parents in their flight. The artwork is interesting and very good at expressing the young father's fecklessness and the young mothers intensity as well as the many delights and horrors of the planets they flee through. Show Less
LibraryThing member djshiva
The dialogue is fantastic, the characters are trippy and imaginative, and I love Lying Cat so much. Totally hooked on this.
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Excellent story -- like the art, like the arc, like the characters. An imaginative universe, but what is up with the Robots? Man, they are weird.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2012 - 2014 (original issues)
2014-11-19
Physical description
11 inches
ISBN
1632150786 / 9781632150783