Saga 1-12
I’ve always remembered this series as another Brian K Vaughan disappointment. I gave it a year, and must have stopped for the usual Vaughan reasons, right?
My first thought after finishing issue twelve: “Well shit shit shit, I need to buy more Saga.” This is so much better than my memory. Unlike Rising Stars in the previous entry, I didn’t actually go out and buy the rest of the trades. My library has all of the volumes, I’ve put the next three on hold. If they’re as good as the issues I’ve read, I’ll pick them up. (I got a couple of Amazon gift cards for Christmas…)
None of the other Vaughan titles got better with age. What makes it different this time around? First of all, it reads better in large chunks. With a cast this large, it’s easy to forget individual storylines with thirty days in between issues, even longer if a particular character doesn’t make an appearance. Issue nine, as a random example, only follows The Will and Gwendolyn. Issue ten returns to our heroes, but by the time issue eleven’s come and gone, it’s been at least three months since we’ve seen the Robot guy. (No, I don’t remember his name.)
It’s no surprise that I lost both the threads and interest. But man! Things zip along so quickly and entertainingly that I really want to know what happens next. And not just in an “I need to know so that the OCD side of me has a conclusion to this story” kind of way (like DMZ or Unwritten, which I still have to get back to).
I intellectually knew that the character designs by Vaughan and Fiona Staples were ridiculously creative the first time around, but they really flew of the page and smacked me the face the second. Highlights:
Lying Cat. I was horrified when he died at the end of issue ten. Thank God it was just a head fake.
The Stalk. Horribly beautiful.
The Midwives. Completely terrifying.
An anthropomorphic harp seal. Too cute.
Fantastic beasts indeed. Saga is chock full of them.
I haven’t even gotten to the main plot yet. Vaughan has said Saga’s just a parenting story with a science fiction wrapper to get people to read it. I’m sure I’ll get to it when I review the later issues.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: Yes
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Really good
Savage Dragon 13
As a marketing gimmick early on in its history, Image Comics’ creators swapped titles for a month. So Erik Larsen drew Wildcats and Jim Lee moved over to Savage Dragon. That’s why I have this issue. Unfortunately, Lee brought Brandon Choi along with him, and the story is appropriately generic. It also showcases Grifter far more than Dragon. Reading the letters column, I get the sense that Larsen was just as unhappy with the intrusion. Looking through the comic database, it seems like he went so far as to publish a separate issue thirteen that replaces the Lee version. Hilarious.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: No
Rating: Fine
Savage Dragon 17
High school me most likely bought this because of the sex scene in it. (More a single splash page than a scene.)
My wife got the first two volumes of the Savage Dragon compendiums for really cheap from her workplace last year, but I haven’t gotten around to reading them. I’ll review this issue as part of that run when I do.
Sex Criminals 1
A woman has the power to freeze time when she orgasms. Matt Fraction uses this hook to emphasize the confusing, often scary journey every adolescent goes on when discovering and exploring their sexuality. It’s a sad statement on the taboo nature of sex education that it felt all too real that Suzanne had no way of knowing her experiences were out of the ordinary. She simply had no one to safely talk to.
As good as this was, it was still too out there for me to keep buying. Another candidate to read in the bookstore.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Nice
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