anyone who thinks one book has all the answers hasn't read enough books…

January 28, 2022 6:59 AM

Saga is back. That's it, that's the post.

Gizmodo: Saga's Return Is Like It Never Left, in the Most Heartbreaking Way
gamesradar: Experts and insiders look at its importance ahead of its return
The Atlantic: Why You Should Read 'Saga,' Aside From Me Begging You

posted by signal (24 comments total)

Sounds like I need to do a reread of however many trade paperbacks it's up to now.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:06 AM on January 28, 2022

I believe it was nine? I read the whole thing last year so the three and a half year hiatus did not hit me as hard as others, but this is exciting news indeed!
posted by bigendian at 8:02 AM on January 28, 2022

Woot!

That's it. That's the comment.
posted by kandinski at 8:32 AM on January 28, 2022 [2 favorites]

I might start picking this up, if it doesn't suffer from the same problem that some of Brian K. Vaughn's other series (Ex Machina. Y: The Last Man) have had IMO: started very strong, but faded to the point that getting to the end was kind of a chore. (I didn't have that problem with Paper Girls, but it was relatively short and I might have gotten it just for Cliff Chiang's art.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:33 AM on January 28, 2022 [2 favorites]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:53 AM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Saga is so good. SO GOOD.
posted by Gray Duck at 8:55 AM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Halloween Jack

That was my experience with it. It starts off very strong and bursting with creativity, but by the 20s or so it felt like it had lost some steam and was just spinning its wheels. I stopped at issue 25 and I see there are 30 more after that, so maybe it picks up again.

I also felt that it got kind of lazy with the shock double-page spreads that were genuinely surprising at first but felt like a crutch after a while.
posted by star gentle uterus at 8:59 AM on January 28, 2022 [3 favorites]

I've been waiting for this (only started this series last year, so not tooooo long a hiatus)
posted by stevil at 9:20 AM on January 28, 2022

I seem to remember really liking the beginning and end of Y, while the middle sagged like crazy. I seeeem to recall that he chooses the number of issues in a story prior to writing it (probably inspired by Sandman); I'm guessing that leads to plotting out a cool start and finish with filler to hit the goal at times. But it's still better than the usual infinite serial mode, which just becomes all sag in the middle since there's no ending...

(I also thought Paper Girls was good mostly-mindless fun. Still haven't read Sage, and feel a bit silly for not having done so.)
posted by kaibutsu at 9:49 AM on January 28, 2022

I really enjoyed Saga. I even wanted a hairless cat for a while, but it turns out they need a lot of baths. I hope I can figure out where I left off from it.

(Was it ever explained why an enemy couple falling in love was so strange? I accepted the premise and I supposed it would be rare, but I thought it was weird that a consensual interspecies pairing was so unthinkable that it made somebody faint and hit her head.)
posted by Countess Elena at 9:54 AM on January 28, 2022

The trade paperbacks are indeed up to 9, I am waiting for no. 10 with, not bated breath, but hope that no. 9's horrible cliffhanger has some kind of resolution?
posted by Lawn Beaver at 10:12 AM on January 28, 2022

I might start picking this up, if it doesn't suffer from the same problem that some of Brian K. Vaughn's other series (Ex Machina. Y: The Last Man) have had

Two words: Fiona Staples

You could white out all the dialog and it would still be amazing.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:27 AM on January 28, 2022 [8 favorites]

> (Was it ever explained why an enemy couple falling in love was so strange? I accepted the premise and I supposed it would be rare, but I thought it was weird that a consensual interspecies pairing was so unthinkable that it made somebody faint and hit her head.)

I think this speaks to the general sentiment of the societies depicted -- it's just an enormous, enormous, enormous social taboo, interlaced with however many generations of war, PTSD, trauma, and violence. Not saying I'd faint if I met someone and they told me they were dating a horse (after we've been at war with the horses for decades) but I think it's supposed to be comparable to that, from both sides.
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 11:15 AM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's basically Romeo & Juliet meets Star Wars. It's like asking what's the big deal with a Montague dating a Capulet.
posted by star gentle uterus at 11:45 AM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Can't believe the hiatus was that long. Saga hasn't really done it for me (I didn't end up caring about any of the characters although having read issue #55 I can say that Hazel is starting to grow on me) but I appreciate that a lot of people have been waiting for it to return and so I'm hoping that they'll enjoy it.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:49 AM on January 28, 2022

Saga gets pretty bleak in places. I can cope with pretty much anyone in the cast being killed, but if anything happens to Lying Cat or Ghüs, I am getting a pitchfork and torch and burning the fucking world to the ground.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:12 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

I’m excited for the return of Saga but I am tempering that excitement with memories of all the other times BKV lost interest in a project halfway through it. His run on Runaways is a top five superhero comic run for me and I strongly suspect Saga had its genesis as a side storyline there (Karelian/Xavin) that BKV decided he’d rather make into its own comic (with no Marvel editors to keep dicks and boobs off the page).
posted by Parasite Unseen at 12:59 PM on January 28, 2022

Someday perhaps I should acquire more of this, I got the first trade and didn't feel compelled to get the second. I should also probably get the last few trades of Wic+Div while I am thinking about popular Image series, I have the first six and got distracted from getting more by the past few years.
posted by egypturnash at 4:12 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Saga's back! And on the loose!
posted by kirkaracha at 7:23 PM on January 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

I bought Saga for my daughter as a single, 1300-page compendium and we have both been waiting with bated breath. Now we just need to decide whether to wait until this is done and made into another giant volume, or read it gradually over time like a schmuck.
posted by fizban at 5:20 AM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

You can split the difference between monthly issues and multi-year compendiums and get the volumes every few months.
posted by Happy Monkey at 8:37 AM on January 29, 2022

I like comics but trying to follow them on a regular basis is exhausting and frequently frustrating. I did find out that Saga 1-7 is at my library today and...well, only 2-7 are actually there. Sigh.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:46 PM on January 29, 2022

What other works has the incomparable Fiona Staples done in the meantime?
posted by eustatic at 7:01 PM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

What other works has the incomparable Fiona Staples done in the meantime?

Aside from variant covers, just the first 3 issues of the Archie 2015 reboot.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:18 PM on January 29, 2022