“Doesn’t matter if it’s personal or professional, a good partnership takes work.”
– Narrator in Saga (Volume 1)
Who would’ve thought that science fiction and fantasy could give birth to such a beautiful piece. I have been reading countless number of comics for a couple of months but I’ve never really dove into something more galactic. I have to say that I’m really glad that I came across this comic series and got the chance to read the first issues of this beautiful and promising story. Saga (Volume 1) by Brian K. Vaughan collects issues #1 to 6 and vows to get you hooked till the end. This trade paperback introduces us to some major characters while giving us a good idea of the setting and the overall situation. It also gives us amazing and very entertaining background stories that never cease to intrigue you. Saga familiarizes us with two soldiers, Alana and Marko, from two different planets, Landfall (the biggest planet in their universe) and Wreath (an orbit to Landfall). These two planets have been in war for years yet these two fellows fall in love after escaping a prison where she worked and he was imprisoned. Giving birth to a child in the midst of this war, this trade paperback focuses on these protagonists running away from their pursuers (people from Landfall and Wreath) who have concluded that these two soldiers have betrayed them while learning on their own backstories and personalities. Narrated by the new born, Saga unfolds several episodes of this newly founded family that seek peace in a universe condemned to violence and war.
“Violence is stupid. Even as a last resort, it only ever begets more of the same.”
– Marko in Saga (Volume 1)
Well-written, the story in each issue is also brilliantly thought out. There’s always new and fascinating creatures that appear and bring depth and surprise to Saga. We get to see stories unravel like never before and learn so much on the characters. Every issue gives us great insight on the protagonists and the antagonists. The dialogue makes it so much more relatable and empathetic to them. I’ve never been so interested in the characters, like Alana and Marko, as they put forth their beliefs and thoughts through their actions and conversations. Even the artwork by Fiano Staples helps us believe even more in the characters. Every little detail come into play and adds credibility in what’s said and done. The artwork is one of the best out there, beautiful and vivid. It’s highly unlikely that you could find problems in it that could hinder the story. It truly is amazing how the comic has such a fast pace while covering so much of everyone’s personas.
The level of maturity and all the adult themes makes this a really fun and compelling comic. In just six issues, Brian K. Vaughan touches upon more themes than fingers on your hands. From sex slavery to violence, this comic doesn’t lack in ideas. Some people might say it was overburdened by themes, but if you think about it, every issue had just the right amount to give us a creative, thoughtful and beautiful story. Even the narration by the new born child is amazing. Since when were babies so insightful? Not only are the themes mature and thought-provoking, there are really nice cliff-hangers. Saga (Volume 1) is always ready to leave you hanging. Good thing it’s a trade paperback. Throughout the trade paperback, you’re also bound to crack a smile and even laugh a couple times as you follow the adventures of the characters. You just can’t foresee what’s about to happen in the next panel and the astonishment of what you’ll read will beg you to react, laugh and sometimes be disgusted. In fact, some scenes has some pretty nasty gore. I have to say that gore never seemed so enjoyable before.
“When a man carries an instrument of violence, he’ll always find the justification to use it. If we really want to escape this war, we have to stop bringing it with us.”
– Marko in Saga (Volume 1)
One thing’s for sure. When I finished this volume, I absolutely wanted to get my hands on the next volume. And the volume after that. And then the volume after that. It’s really insane how hungry this comic can get you once you sift through the first six issues. Gripping, colorful and provocative, this comic series is absolutely promising and has so much in store for us. With only the first issues, you’re sure to find it too short (might be the only flaw for any fan of Saga, but really, it isn’t) yet unquestionably satisfying. Serving especially as an introduction to set up the characters and the setting, Saga is bound to have a lot of mind-blowing events in store for us. This trade paperback is definitely worth a read and you will definitely discover a beautiful world you’d want to know more about.
Don’t forget to share your thoughts on this trade paperback as well as like and follow us as we continue to provide you guys reviews to read in the comfort of your homes. So what are you waiting for? Get yourself a copy of Saga (Volume 1)
My overall rating: ★★★★★/
Roars and Echoes 
I own the first four volumes of Saga, and I don’t usually go more than a few weeks without re-reading them. It only gets better too, which is awesome (As long as you’re not squeamish, that is, because that aspect doesn’t let up either).
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If we had the volumes, we’d probably do the same. It’s insane how hooked we are to Saga. We can’t wait to read the next volumes.
-Lashaan
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Great review man! This graphic novel has some fcked up scenes haha but I wanted to share my thoughts with you . I agree on all the aspects and I really hope you get your hands on other volumes as well mann it just keeps getting better and it’s true. Your reviews are always fun to read and believe it or not we’re a bunch of guys here who wait for your comics related reviews. We dont always comment but we read it all haha #laziness you know. Photos and concepts are always great. Cheers!
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Wow man, I really didn’t see that one coming. Who would’ve thought I had such loyal and awesome fans waiting for my comic reviews. It’s definitely great to know you guys are out there. I’ll definitely keep on bringing you guys more content and I sure do believe you on what’s to come in the next volumes. I’ve heard just too many people say that it gets better and better. We just can’t wait to purchase the next volumes, it’s become a huge priority. Thank you so much for taking your time to tell me this, I’m really glad to hear all the kinds words and to hear the existence of a secret guy gang praying to see more comics drop on this blog! Hope to see you around on our future posts! Don’t forget to follow and not miss out on anything. 😉
-Lashaan
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SAGAAA ❤ Your gf told us to share on comments now so we can discuss more about it! First off, BEAUTIFUL PICTURES. I'm pretty sure that I know where the girly touch comes from 😉 Second, very well-written review you liked this first vlume so much I wonder what you think about others to come ❤ Character development is really ON POINT. I particularly love **SPOILERS HERE PEOPLE** when he visited the Sex city thing and omg found out.. it has a child. That was such a powerful scene right?! Nice review , I'll come back for future posts!
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YASS TO SAGAA ! We can’t emphasize how much we adore volume 1. It was so promising, we just knew it was bound to get better. And from the looks from things, everyone we’ve come across seem to agree and repeat how much better it gets, we just can’t wait anymore. We’re so sure to get our hands on the next volumes really soon ! 😀 I mean… that scene was really unexpected. Who would’ve thought the comics would introduce themes like those into the book and make it its thing to blow our minds away? The Will acted like a boss in that scene too. I’m really glad that you took the time to read through the review and even comment on WordPress for us to reply. Hope everyone of her fans will tag along to the trend and move onto our blog cause we know you guys are out there ! 😉 She definitely does an amazing job with the pictures too, just look at them, they’re just so damn sexy. She deserves as much credit as I would for the success of my reviews ! ❤ Thank you so much for all the kind words and I hope you'll be around for our future posts! Make sure to follow us and spread the word ! 😀
-Lashaan
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Hey Finally I can talk about saga with someone ! Amazing blog you have there and I know that due to a lot of asks maybe your gf cant answer but she told us that here you a re going to reply easily. A little presentation, My name is louis and I love everything manga, graphics and comics. I followed your reviews since the beginning and wow reallly impressed! Saga is one of my most favourite you know the ones..so good.. you dont want to share? But Ironically, I do want to share it and talk about it :p Dont read from here Spoilers coming : I love everything, from the sex scenes between two tv headed to weird models guarding Sextillion or the fact that the general can poop and still his assitant can come in . That was hilarious ! I think shocking can be bautiful and they did it amazingly with the colors and graphics.
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Whatup Louis ! This is probably the first time I ever addressed anyone by their name in the comment section but that’s still pretty cool. Before anything else, I have to thank you for taking the time to read through our reviews and for all the kind words you had in stock for me. It’s really appreciated, it definitely motivates me keep on putting up reviews for you and every follower to enjoy. I find real pleasure in writing the reviews and sharing my thoughts and it’s always really satisfying to see the readers interact and leave feedback afterwards. Big thanks for that ! I used to be a huge, really huge, manga/anime fan back in the days but I gradually stopped watching and reading and moved on to movies and TV shows. I then found immense pleasure in reading comics and following my all time favorite superhero (Batman, if that wasn’t already obvious enough) and gradually opened up to all these amazing comics/graphic novels that exists nowadays. Of course, I also find huge fun and intellectual stimulation in reading novels/classics. I’m glad to hear that I can reach out to other people who see common interests as me ! Boy, when it comes to Saga, I so feel you on the sharing/not sharing dilemma. It’s so amazing, you just don’t want other people to love it as much as you do but you also want to share your love for it with others. That’s when you know something is really, REALLY good. You’re always right when it comes to the shocking elements. The comic makes unusual things to our common lives so mundane in their universe. It’s crazy. Everything is yet so believable and always gets a reaction out of you. We so loved that aspect of the series. Before this comment gets any longer, I just want to thank you again for all the kind words and for taking the time to read our reviews again ! It really is appreciated and we hope to see you again on our future posts ! I’ll make sure to keep on bringing more comics to our blog cause, you know, they’re books too right. 😉
-Lashaan
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OH HELL YEAH THEY ARE BOOKS ! Man so happy you took time to write all of this. Were you really a huge fan of anime ? Thats so cool! What did you watch ? I’m sure I’ll always spam your section comments now that I know you reply and we can discuss. It’s really cool for me too you have no idea ! I’m really a shy introvert in real life so getting a little bit of interaction and talking about what I like always makes me happy. Your interests phase look like a reverse phase ahah people usually start off comics, anime and then books. But I get it. Like Totally. Some works are areally too awesome to be ignored. And yes exactly about the making unusual things to our common lives so mundane. Couldn’t say it better! By the way, if you are looking for some recommendations Im telling you 100 bullets, Y the Last Man are must reads.
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Yehh, I was. I’ve watched/read all them classic animes/mangas that were BIG back in the days. Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach, Shaman King, Death Note, Code Geass, you name it, I read/watched it. I just stopped after realizing all my friends got into those less known animes and when animes started using “fillers” instead of focusing on the story. I just dropped anime/mangas at some point and focused a lot more on TV shows and movies and then novels. Comics got into my realm when I found out they were actually pretty accessible (I thought they were real hard to find and to get initiated in). Your recommendations are already in my must-read series. There’s just so many series out there I wanna jump into, but so little time and money ! Thanks a lot though for the recommendations, it just emphasizes more on how good they are and why we should hurry up and read them already ! Glad to know you like to share your thoughts cause we love to know what our readers think about the books we review. No matter what you got to say or what your personality is, there’s always room for everyone and anyone to share with us what they think about the book/review on this blog. As long as its not to just purposely insult us or something of course. Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep them review coming and keep everyone interested in our blog ! 😉
-Lashaan
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Omg ! I understand completely about no money and no time..Oh god seriously if I had money I would want to only buy books and comics and the most expensive ones like action figures and stuff. Thank you so much for your warm comment! It’s not really easy to survive in the world out there when youre shy and introvert #shame but its nice to know people you can talk about stuff like this ! Keep it up man!
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Hi, I nominated you for the Liebster Award. Please, for more details check here https://anaslanina.wordpress.com/2015/08/16/the-liebster-award/
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Thank you so much Ana!! It’s such an honor ❤ 🙂 We'll do it !
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Glad to see the variety of books you guys are getting in there! Definitely one of my faves. Vaughan has such a great way of crafting stories. I the Last Man is fantastic as well.
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We’ve recently got our hands on the first volumes of Y the Last Man. We can’t wait to start that series. Since the day you’ve mentioned the idea of varying our books in our arsenal, we’ve went on a hunt for absolutely great series and now have more than just Batman to review on our blog ! 😉 Thanks for stopping by again, glad to hear from you ! 😀
– Lashaan
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You guys are doing a great job and putting some well-rounded reviews out there that will help open up comics for people looking to get into them. Keep it up!
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Thanks a lot for the kind words ! Will do ! 😉
-Lashaan
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