INDIE SPOTLIGHT: ‘SAGA’ IS ONE FOR THE AGES

With superheroes raking it in at the box office, it’s hard to remember sometimes that there’s more to comics than just Marvel and DC.

Saga–written by Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Runaways) and art by Fiona Staples (Archie, Mystery Society)–has been described as Romeo and Juliet meets Star Wars meets Game of Thrones” and all of that is absolutely accurate. This expansive, critically acclaimed sci-fi fantasy series follows a series of events centered around an unlikely family; Alana and Marko and their daughter Hazel. Although they’re from opposite sides of a galactic war, Alana and Marko fall in love and decide to start a life together, far away from the fighting, but of course, things don’t work out as planned. Hazel’s very existence poses a threat to the perpetual war between the peoples of Landfall and Wreath and before she’s even born, Hazel and her family are hunted for it. Pursued by government agents, bounty hunters, and angry exes, Alana and Marko are forced to make countless impossible decisions while trying to do what’s best for their daughter.

AS HUMAN AS YOU AND ME

Despite all the wings and horns and robot heads, Saga is one of the realest comics out there right now.

Be warned, although the art is beautiful and even whimsical at times, this story is NSFW. Rife with casual nudity, sex, swearing, and bodily fluids, you probably will want to be careful about buying this comic for your kids–unless you are an exceptionally cool parent, I guess.

It goes without saying but adults are definitely the target audience here. Exploring complex themes of alienation, loss, betrayal, love, what it means to be family and many more, this story hits pretty hard in a lot of different ways. The characters actually have to face realistic consequences for their actions and if there’s one moral that stands out above the rest it’s that you can only outrun your past for so long.

Despite the (fairly gratuitous amount of) violence, most of the characters are against killing except as a last resort. Marko even takes a vow to never kill again, despite–or more likely because of–the fact that he was apparently pretty great at it. Marko’s choice to become a conscientious objector of the war is what ultimately led him to Alana. They were both soldiers who decided that they didn’t want to fight anymore, however, both he and Alana prove over and over again that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep their daughter safe.

And they do it together (or at least, try to). They fight each other as much as they fight anyone else, but there’s obviously a lot of love and a lot of passion in their relationship. It’s something a lot of writers take for granted, but characters can’t just be together because you say they should be. There has to be chemistry and enough shared qualities to make the characters compatible and these two have all that and more. At various points, Alana and Marko both exemplify bravery, cynicism, humor, despair, weakness, fear, ferocity, and every other emotion and quality on the spectrum, and, taking it one step further, neither character behaves in a blatantly stereotypical fashion. Race and gender roles are important, but only because of how they’re subverted throughout the course of the series.But what’s really satisfying is that rather than simply flipping the script and giving Marko all feminine traits and Alana all masculine ones and calling it diversity, there’s variety. Marko is more sensitive and nurturing, but he’s also dealing with some pretty deep-rooted anger issues. Meanwhile, Alana is foul-mouthed and trigger-happy, but she’s still openly affectionate.

And they’re not the only ones. Pretty much every character in the series challenges preconceived notions regarding gender or race at one point or another and that’s really, really important to see.

Because Alana and Marko are both blatantly people of color, as are most of the supporting characters, which is amazing and refreshing to see. For some reason, there’s still this idea that stories not focused around straight, white males don’t sell–which is nonsense–so a lot of studios and publishers are hesitant to pull the trigger on stories like this. That’s why creator-owned stories are so good. Writers and artists can tell the stories they want to tell without worrying about how corporate is going to feel about it.

Which is effectively to say: diversity is good. We need more.

All of this is happening against the backdrop of a war so big, it’s practically a character in its own right. No one quite remembers how it began but the war has since spiraled completely out of control, being fought as a series of proxy wars all across the galaxy. Sounds kinda familiar but I can’t quite put my finger on why…

The war has touched almost every planet and species in the universe, making the idea of safety for our protagonists almost laughable.

Also because no one is safe in Saga. Except in Game of Thrones, the idea of killing off main characters is still pretty uncommon, at least until the final chapters, then all bets are off. Readers who are familiar with how writing works will often be able to predict who will and won’t die throughout a story, however, that’s really not the case with Saga. Characters who are given intricate introductions and backstories and seem like they’re going to stick around for a while might be dead by the end of the issue. It’s shocking and sometimes upsetting, but the series seems to be trying to remind the audience that sometimes, that’s life. Death can strike anywhere, anytime, so don’t get too attached to anyone, and in a series where every character is written with depth and complexity, it can be hard not to.

And when I say every character, I mean every character. The antagonists have redeeming qualities and the protagonists have flaws and sometimes it’s not clear which one is which. Everyone has their own goals and ambitions and their own sense of morality and it becomes really difficult to judge who’s right and who’s wrong. That’s not just good writing, that incredibly realistic. Morality is complicated and everyone is the hero of their own story, it just happens to be that this one is Hazel’s.

“ALL THIS HAPPENED, MORE OR LESS…”

The series is narrated from the perspective of adult Hazel once she’s grown up enough to understand the events of her childhood. This provides a guiding, omniscient voice to keep the narrative moving forward and also provides context that the audience wouldn’t have otherwise. Adult Hazel knows what happens next, sometimes referencing past or future events as necessary. So at least we know that Hazel survives the story, at least long enough to tell it.

Or maybe she’s narrating from the grave. It’s been done before.

The narration style itself is actually pretty unique. Instead of being partitioned into boxes the way most comic narration would be, the words are built into the page, almost to the point of interacting with the story. It has an effect similar to that of a voice-over in a film. In this way, it doesn’t distract from the events and the story feels like it progresses organically.

Between the creative world-building, the compelling narration, and the gratifyingly diverse cast, Saga stands alone as one of the most unique comics out there. No superheroes, just a lot of flawed people. The series is fun and as a whole is pretty satisfying (as long as you don’t mind its eccentricities). Definitely one you shouldn’t skip if you’re a fan of science fiction or character driven stories.

Issue #43 will be out at the end of May, which makes this is a good time to catch up with the rest of the series. Vaughan and Staples have already said that they’re never planning to option Saga for television or film, so if you’re interested, this is the only way you’re going to be able to experience it.