Saga Vol. 6 (2016)
Saga Vol. 6 Review
Saga is an epic space opera fantasy comic book series written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples. The sixth volume covering issues 31 to 36 was published in 2016.
This volume took a major time jump all the way to Hazel’s kindergarten days. This was a potentially problematic choice, but Vaughan’s writing continues to be so strong that he ended up successfully bringing us further into the future while not losing the heart of the story in the process. Hazel’s narration has always been lovely, so it was wonderful to finally see her in full flesh. She is adorable and the family love was strong in this volume.
The kindergarten scenes were pretty good, but they suffered from introducing new underdeveloped characters, including a trans woman. More could and should have been done with these new additions, but hopefully that will happen in the future. The eventual revelation that Alana is once again pregnant was exciting, but even more beautiful was that epic, heartwarming reunion between Hazel and her parents.
The majority of this particular volume, however, centers on the gay journalists, Upsher and Doff. They were quite sidelined in recent volumes, so it was refreshing to see them back and in such meaty roles. This duo is quite fun in their witty quips, but also competent on their own. Their confrontation with The Will was very well realized and he gets a solid arc here, especially as he has to grapple with his possible decisions. Ghus was as cute as ever and surprisingly proactive.
Saga continues to be gorgeously illustrated and very well paced and structured. This volume deals with a lot, but for the most part it flowed well. It’s an unexpectedly warmer and less violent entry in the series, functioning as a total opposite whiplash to its predecessor. Although disconnected in tone, I loved that choice as I prefer strong characterization and storytelling over action and violence myself.
