It’s back. It has been gone for so long. Saga has returned. But more importantly, the family, the characters we all love that inhabited the world of Saga are back too. Saga #55, the return, the second half of the overly acclaimed series from Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan, has arrived. Is it worth it? Was the wait worth it?
Image Comics
Written By: Brian K. Vaughan
Art By: Fiona Staples
Story
Doesn’t miss a beat. The story is fresh, it’s exciting, it’s funny, it’s sad and is as it always has been with Saga … important. The big stand-out aside, from how awesome Saga #55 is: Vaughan does masterful work filling in some holes for new readers. Not everyone has read Saga, even though it’s one of Image Comics most popular and successful titles. Vaughan introduces the characters again … the ones who are alive anyways. Vaughan also builds the world out. New characters, new places are introduced. Time has passed in the story, but the way Vaughan writes the return issue, it’s like we all never left.
Pages turn quick and are filled with inner monologue and dialogue. Both from Vaughan, that have made Saga easy and a joy to read over the years. Nothing feels forced. Nothing feels out of place. The Will, Alana and even Lying Cat are all exactly who they should be. If the characters all sound and read the same, so does the conflict. Over the years and the issues of Saga, the conflict has been the same. One family trying to find peace and love in a world littered in War and Destruction. Sure, they aren’t perfect, and are missing a few members, but it just feels right to be with them again. The comedic aspect of the story is also there and with it comes the eagerness to find out what’s behind every page turn.
Art
The true star of the return, of Saga #55? Fiona Staples. Lines are precise, colors are immaculate. The issue is an oversized 44-page delight for the eyes. From our first page, to our last, the landscape changes quickly. New characters, new backdrops, new landscapes. Colors leap of the page with imagination and scale.
Issue #55 follows Hazel and Alana and the family mostly, with The Will and Gwendolyn also making an … emotional appearance. All of them have aged, all of them have changed. But all of them are recognizable to old readers. Wings sore, horns are bold, and over the top and sexualized pages and panels leap off the page. With everything that Saga issue #55 has to offer, the art and lettering is the best it has ever been.
Overall Enjoyment
For roughly $3 you will get 44 pages of Saga #55. That’s cheaper than anything the big two publishers have to offer. Vaughan and Staples have returned three years later with an entry into Saga that is one of the best issues of the series thus far. It sets Saga up beautifully in 2022 and beyond, and moves our characters further into peril, and hilarity. Hop on the flying tree now, it’s about to blast off.
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