Saga Vol. 4 (2014)
Saga Vol. 4 Review
Saga is an epic space opera fantasy comic book series written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples. The fourth volume covering issues 19 to 24 was published in 2014.
This volume is somewhat less eventful than the previous volumes for better and for worse. Here, we follow Alana and Marko falling apart. Marko is lonely while Alana is working constantly to provide for the family. I found those theater scenes overabundant and they halted the pace of the story quite a bit. Still, their relationship suffered for the first time in this volume and it was quite heartbreaking to witness. I respected the writers for actually not following on the tired cheating story, but making sure to depict it as problematic and evade it.
An anti-monarchist rebel robot called Dengo is introduced here for the first time and he was a terrific, competent villain worthy of this series. He was instantly memorable and terrific. He kills the prince’s wife and kidnaps his son and those scenes were so menacing and impactful. This development holds great storytelling promise for the future of this series.
That half-man, half-seal alien hybrid Ghus is introduced and he was just adorable in his design and so endearing. The Will’s story is brisk here, but quite well done. The sex and violence in this volume is the most graphic and grotesque by now and it worked as it led to such memorable adult imagery. The illustration work continues to be stunning, especially the larger panels. The writing is top-notch, particularly the dialogue. And the characterization is superb. I just wished that this volume was better paced and structured.
