I wanted to like Saga way more than I did. I wanted to
love it like I love other Brian K. Vaughan comics. This was supposed to be his
great return to the medium and, depending who you’re talking to, it is. I agree
with them that Saga is a very good comic and that BKV and Staples are doing
something important with their comic but I don't love it. I think it's important
that they're doing a vertigo style maxi-series at Image. I also think it’s very
important they're creating something new because comics, like any other medium,
is always in need of new creative energies.
The first few pages of the first issue are groan worthy.
Really, this is how BKV decides to return to comics? An interspecies hipster
couple who are experiencing the birth of their first child in a random garage
the whole scene peppered with trite dialogue? You're better than that. The
scene continues with Marko telling us about his vow to never take his sword out
of his scabbard again. He kept it in for four issues.
The comic isn’t all bad though. To be fair, it’s mostly
good. Fiona Staples has a large role to play in that. She’s a very talented
artist. I like that her colour is an inseparable part of her art. The colouring
embellishes her line work to such a degree I'm convinced that seeing her work
in black and white juxtaposed with her colour pages would make it seem like the
work of two different artists. Look at a page to see how much detail she adds
to a law without the use of lines, using colouring alone.
This is one example where Staples's background is very well done. I like how mysterious and strange the ice cave looks. |
I've never seen Staples’s art until I heard about this
project and I really like it. The problem is I don't think she's the best
artist for this story. Her backgrounds leave much to be desired. Often times
they're not even really there. Fantasy and science fiction as genres are
dependent on visuals. That's primarily what defines them and it contributes
greatly to what separates them from other genres. A big part of these visuals
are the surroundings. Her backgrounds look likes scenes taking place on a holodeck.
Some of her character designs are excellent, I really like them. But her
locations, her vistas, they're practically non-existent. I really like her art
but the jury is still out on whether she's a good fit for this story.
When taking a look at the story and plot of the book, I’m
also a little disappointed. It’s essentially Shakespeare in space with a heavy
dose of Star Wars. The Shakespeare part makes me hopeful because despite it’s
simple beginnings, it can easily grow into a story filled with interesting
conflict between characters. The Star Wars influences will undoubtedly ensure
it’s filled with science fiction and fantasy action. The combination of both
those genres is a very difficult thing to do and that’s also something Vaughan
is struggling with in these early issues. The balance isn’t quite there yet and
both the magic and the technology are being used as storytelling devices to
increase conflict and add melodrama. It’s not always done to the best effect.
Fiona Staples really knocks it out of the park with her covers. This is where her colouring is the most interesting. |
One of the things that Vaughan does well is play with the
dialogue and the narration. They both play off of each other and it regularly
has nice effects. They support each other. Hazel doing the narration makes for
some humorous panels but it also adds some nice weight to the events taking
place in the future. It’s not a new technique to have a narrator in the future
telling a story in the pass without letting the reader know who or when the
narrator is talking, but Vaughan uses it well here and it helps to keep me
interested in the story. I like Hazel more than I like her parents based on her
narrations alone.
I know I sound like I didn’t like the comic at all, but
really, I did. There is a lot to enjoy here, including Fiona Staples’s artwork
or Brian K. Vaughan giving his readers nice parenting advice and baby raising
factoids. It’s refreshing to read a comic by BKV that isn’t shock full of pop
culture references. There aren’t any because the story takes place in an
entirely fictional universe. Sure, he’s replaced the pop culture with parenting
tips and tricks, but maybe he just needs to have his characters referecence something. Either way, I’m enjoying it
and I’m actually learning things too! Educational comics with spaceships,
freelance bounty hunters, Shakespearian family conflicts, dismembered ghost babysitters
and magic. There’s something here for the whole family!
Below is a good example of how well Staples uses her colouring. Look at how she enhances the texture of Marko's horns. Look at the baby, look at the background even. It's a pretty good splash page. (Click on the image to make it bigger.)
Below are two more examples of Staples's backgrounds. I find that first the first six issues her backgrounds are either hit or miss. Sometimes it has to do with what she's drawing as the back ground. Certain scenes taking place in the forest at night beneath a starry sky at well done, but they're also simple and the colours being used work to Staples advantage. When the backgrounds are good though, they're undeniably good. It's just unfortunate that the same can be said when the backgrounds are bad because they're muddy, undefined or seemingly rushed. (Click on the images to make them bigger.)
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