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.From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults. ~ Goodreads
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Review: As part of my quest to start reading outside my comfort zone, I’m dabbling in graphic novels. I’ve had mixed results. They’re often difficult for me to follow and tend to jump around so fast and end so quickly, that there’s little time for me to connect to the characters/plot.
When I saw Saga, I had a feeling this was one I would enjoy because there’s already an established couple and a lot on the line right from the start. Ok sue me – I like my romance lol
Marco and Alana are soldiers from different worlds sent into battle against each other. Marco is captured but Alana helps him escape and they fall in love. Alana gets pregnant and the baby is born while they on the run from her government and bounty hunters who want the baby.
Things get really wild and gruesome. I feel like some of it (especially the explicit sex) was meant to shock but is balanced by poignant moments, tense action and creative wackiness like ghosts, robots, some really wild spider chick and a lie detecting cat.
While Marco and Alana and their star-crossed love are at the core of Saga – the bizarre and compelling supporting cast round this world out and make for a nice set up for future installments.
The artwork is gorgeous and vibrant. The best I’ve seen so far (in my admittedly limited experience) and for once, the dialogue felt clear and easy to follow for me even though there were multiple people conversing in each panel.
If you can handle sometimes gruesome violence, explicit sex scenes (nudity, orgies) and dark subject matter then this rip roaring space adventure with heart might be for you.
Yay finally! Glad you liked it :-) I think some of the art is there to shock, but like you said, there's such a great balance of everything that I really don't mind.
ReplyDeleteI was a little surprised, just because of my limited graphic novel experience and hadn't read about it in any reviews but yeah, it's balanced and works for this world//story.
DeleteReally? I feel like every review I've read talks about how graphic and explicit it is, haha.
DeleteI knew about the opening scene but maybe because gore doesn't really bother me I glossed over it? lol I hadn't heard about the sex at all. And like we talked about before - that wasn't anything I even considered when reading gn's lol
DeleteSomeone I know said that Saga was written/illustrated in such a way that it would make it nearly impossible to make it a film. Something like that. LOL I really love this series though - I need to read the last couple volumes - so I'm glad you liked this one. It's a fascinating story, with all sorts of wild characters!!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
That's interesting. I could totally see it as a film though. But maybe a wild one like Jupiter Ascending or something.
DeleteThis has been on my list for yearrrrrssss. I like my romance too and I'm already invested in their journey.
ReplyDeleteHow gruesome is gruesome? I gotta prepare myself!
Gah! I'm trying to remember. There's blood flying around I think lol A birth scene. I thought the sex was more graphic but it was more of a shock because I had only read YA or mid-grade graphic novels up to this point - not because it was anything bad.
DeleteI'm so glad you loved this! I read it rather recently myself and fell in love. I can't remember if I mentioned the violence in my review because I'm scarily immune to it. I also agree this could easily transfer to film. Heck, they were able to adapt Preacher for tv! Anything is possible ;)
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't bother me either. I just like to mention it for people who don't like it or need a heads up.
DeleteDo you watch Preacher??? I love that show!
I've never heard of this before but it sounds interesting. GN's are hit or miss for me. Especially when it comes to the artwork. However, this sounds like one that I'd love. I will have to see if it's something my library carries.
ReplyDeleteSame and I'm bad following dialogue but this was really good all around - solid story.
DeleteI like those names , Marco and Alana.
ReplyDeleteThey're both awesome characters
DeleteI really need to check if the library ever got more
ReplyDeleteI think you might like this one.
DeleteI've heard really good things about this one. I've often thought about reading it but I'm just not a huge huge graphic novel fan. I wonder if I'd like these since there's romance? I should at least give the first one a try.
ReplyDeleteMe either. It was the romance - not that it was super romantic or anything - there's too much going on for that but it's a solid couple to root for right from the start.
DeleteI might have to try this! I'd heard the name of it before but not what it was about so thanks!!
ReplyDeleteIt's a good one!
DeleteYeah I like my romance too (obviously) but I do admire you for reading outside your comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't usually work but in this case I enjoyed trying something new.
DeleteI see this series touted as one of the best, if not THE best, adult graphic novel series out there. I've been meaning to try it. Glad you liked it, Karen!
ReplyDeleteIt was good Sophia! I was surprised by how much a well rounded story there was.
DeleteOoh you're reading Saga! I think I'm an outlier though as I didn't love it? I'm up through Vol. 5 and I'm just kinda... there with it. I do like the sprawling space opera flair? But I definitely think the gratuitousness is there for shock value, and it irritates me frankly. :)
ReplyDeleteI do like Lying Cat!
I'm interested to see where it goes. The shock value was on the edge for me. I don't mind it, in general, and I thought it was balanced really well by the human element and relationships. So far. Not sure how I'll feel after I read more volumes. I also tend to get bored easy.
DeleteWhat gn's would you recommend Greg?
I see everyone say good things about this series. Saga is meant to be so so good and I just haven't got around to reading it yet. I know it's a bit more mature but it seems really good, I can't wait to read.
ReplyDeleteYES! So glad you liked this, Karen. Fiona Staples is one of my favourite artists in comics -- her work perfectly mixes over the top visuals with subtle clues. Hazel's narrative panels are really cool too, and I enjoy the dual-timeline storytelling thing they've got going on here.
ReplyDelete