SAGA Issue #17 Review
December 31, 2013 1:41 am | Leave your thoughts
I often ask fellow comic book fans this question. “If you were stuck on a desert island and could only read one comic every month, what comic would it be? And Saga doesn’t count as an answer.” Why? This is the passive aggressive compliment I give to the most epic space opera in existence today. Since it premiered in March of 2012, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples have been setting the bar for excellence in the industry today.
This entire Image Comics series has been nothing lower than a strong taste it rating throughout its entire run. Even when Vaughan’s narrative choices leave me feeling adrift, Staples phenomenal art always shines like a lighthouse against dark shores. Prince Robot IV graces the cover of issue seventeen as he learns a moral lesson that could have been far more easily taught if the Beatles existed in this world. He learns about the nature of war and spouts some very defensive claims about his fellow troops that would definitely support the repressed orientation that was foreshadowed in issue 12.
Vaughan uses character deaths to give release to the tension he has been building over the last few issues. I will not spoil the afflicted party or parties, but I didn’t feel like the death was used for shock value as I often do when I consume my comics as an older, jaded reader. I found Marko’s ideas regarding mercy killing to be unsettling, but Alana’s response to the entire topic made me love her just a little bit more. I often feel that I am being emotionally manipulated by Vaughan’s Spielbergesque storytelling methods, but I see where he is going with this, and I want everyone to come along for the ride. I do hope that Upsher and Doff do not give up in their crusade to get the truth out. These two characters annoyed me in the beginning, but Staples is to blame for the fact that I care so much about these characters. Her facial expressions are, in this writer’s opinion, the best of the best. The subtle emotional framework for every character action is earned through the detail in her line.
This issue is absolutely Tupperware. If you are not reading Saga, you are doing yourself a disservice as a member of the Leftover Army.
Tell me about what comics you want to hear about at domesticateddave@gmail.com
Tags: Brian K Vaughn, Fiona Staples, Image Comics, Saga
Categorised in: Comic Reviews, Random Reviews & News
This post was written by David Griffin
Leave a Reply