I grew up on comics so they hold a special place in my heart for recreational reading. However as I get older I find myself becoming harder to satisfy when it comes to comics, much to my chagrin. What used to be a satisfying escape into fantasy now sometimes feels like an empty pursuit ... sometimes because I'm more acutely aware of the troubling gender / cultural stereotypes, and sometimes because the writing just isn't that good, even in a campy way.I picked up Saga because a few people recommended it to me, and it's the most satisfying comic I've read in a long time--it is a comic for people who don't normally read comics. The dialog is natural, smart and funny, and the themes are powerfully poignant. Sure there's a sci-fi / fantasy setting, but the story it tells is compelling and incredibly well done. Fiona Staples' artwork is beautiful, and turns Brian Vaughan's well-written characters into actors on the page. By Vol. 2 I found myself getting choked up at certain emotionally loaded moments. I'm so glad I have a new comic series that I can now look forward to. I first came across this at my job at a bookstore and from the first time I saw it I could not take my eyes off of the art. Over and over I found myself looking at the cover or pages of this, the glimpses of the art drawing me in each time. I finally grabbed myself a copy and I have no regrets. It isn't just the art that is fantastic, everything about it is.As mentioned, the art is lovely. But actually reading it makes this even more apparent. Beautiful work, with beautiful attention to detail. Every facial expression was an expression I believed, could picture on a real person. This is honestly the first time I've ever had the art in a comic or graphic novel actually move me.But the story itself is fantastic. The humour is great, the emotion is great, and every story, every character, is interesting to me on so many levels. Whether the characters are "good" or "evil," so much of everything has been put into them so that they all feel like real life people with real life problems and feelings rather than strictly a good or bad guy. There isn't a single story going on that I'm not eager to know the next thing about. From the first page to the last, I was hooked. I will be looking forward (impatiently) to reading the next one. I would recommend this wholeheartedly to anyone.
What do You think about Saga. Capítulo Uno (2012)?
There's not a lot I can add to the legion of voices rightly praising this monumental work, so I'll just say this: I have been reading comics all my life, and this is one of the best.Two things I want to highlight for prospective readers: 1.) Don't get put off by the sex. It is not nearly as graphic/intrusive as I'd been warned, and it always serves the narrative in a real way. There's no gratuitous pornification a la Game of Thrones (the HBO TV show).2.) This book is incredibly topical, an unintentional (perhaps) commentary on how committed people are to our own destruction, and to the misery of one another, how much easier/happier all our lives could be if we'd just leave one another alone. Alana and Marko might as well be a Palestinean and an Israeli Jew, or members of rival Afghan tribes in Kandahar.I'm heading out to Midtown Comics to get volume 2 today. I anticipate having it read in under an hour.
—heavensdreamchild
Wow....just....wow. This story was AMAZING. If you haven't dove into the world of Graphic Novels yet, you should with this one. It has been said its "Star Wars, meets Romeo and Juliet, meets Game of thrones". I can't wait to get the rest of the series. Some of the art is out there, but not too much to push you away, but rather pull you in. I definitely recommend to anyone looking for a good story.
—honeybear16
Very strange but at the same time I want to read more. 3.5 stars.
—stek
