Saga #1 & 7 (Image)

writer: Brian K. Vaughan
artist: Fiona Staples

(via comicbookresources.com)

I consider myself to be a fan of Brian K. Vaughan.  He's known for a lot of comics at this point, but it's still Y: The Last Man for me.  If you have no idea what Y: The Last Man is, picture The Walking Dead and substitute a world full of women instead of zombies.

Saga, however, has me head over heels.  I named it in my top ten favorite comics for the 2012 QB50.  I knew Vaughan was pretty imaginative, which Lost acknowledged by bringing him into its prestigious family, and Lost is among the most imaginative stories I know.  Saga is a little like Lost if it featured aliens.  Main characters Marko and Alana are a little like what Jack and Kate (or Jack and Juliet, or Jack and Ana Lucia) if they weren't surrounded by a billion other characters.  Except Saga does have some notable supporting characters, like Prince Robot IV (who has a TV monitor as his head, and is named Prince Robot IV) and The Will (who wears a cape, and is a bit like what you'd get if you somehow combined Han Solo and Boba Fett into one character).

Image recently printed some dollar editions of some of its more notable current series.  I started reading Saga with its third issue (for some reason I thought or hoped it was the second), which is another way I knew I loved it at first sight because you have to be good to have a continuing story and not be at all confusing for someone to jump in after the beginning.  The story of Saga is simple enough, so you don't necessarily need to read the first issue, but it's also good enough that you'll want to.  It details the birth of Hazel, the narrator of the series who happens to be the daughter of Marko and Alana, and therefore only really present as a wordless baby as the story is actually happening.

The birth is complicated in that Marko and Alana are at this point prisoners, and so the issue also features them breaking out of prison, at the start of their life on the lam (which is why characters like Prince Robot IV and The Will are very much interested in tracking them down).  It's the introduction of the mythology you'll be following eagerly from here forward.

The seventh issue, meanwhile, finds Marko and Alana after they've escaped into space, with the awkward development of meeting Marko's parents.  It's awkward because Marko and Alana are technically from rival alien species (you can tell from the cover images because Marko has those ram horns and Alana doesn't), and Marko's parents are keenly aware of this.  Most of the issue follows Marko's father as he interacts with Alana, which is a good way for Vaughan to express some of the more human elements of the narrative, while Marko attempts to explain himself to his mother.

All of this is rendered in breathtakingly gorgeous art by Fiona Staples, as you can tell from the covers, which have all been iconic representations of the main characters.  Staples has a way of presenting fairly straightforward work in the most effective way possible, focusing mostly on the characters and leaving background details alone for the most part, allowing equally lush coloring to help flesh out the world of Saga.  I called Staples my favorite artist of 2012, by the way.  When Image was initially known for its art, I'll bet no one thought twenty years later that Fiona Staples was going to show up and steal everyone's thunder.  This is the best looking book Image has ever produced.

I'm in awe of Saga.  It's one of the best comics to come around in years, and it proves it with every issue.