This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 2, 2014.

Saga, Vol. 1

By Brian K. Vaughan (Writer) & Fiona Staples (Artist) – Image Comics – October 23, 2012

Review by Robin Marx

While it's definitely not the first story dealing with star-crossed lovers (almost literally in this case, as it involves a romance between soldiers on opposite sides of a genocidal moon/planet war), Saga handles this high concept trope in an action-packed, engaging way.

Furthermore, Saga very skillfully blends the core family drama with grand scale space opera. This series has super science, magic, robots with CRT TV heads, lie-detecting mercenary cats, living tree rockets, and more aliens than the Star Wars cantina scene. This isn't “by engineers, for engineers” hard SF, it's “wouldn't it be cool if...?” space opera. Vast, with a barrage of cool stuff on every page. And the artwork is some of the most beautiful I've seen in comics.

The characters are ridiculously appealing. For a pair of aliens, central couple Alana and Marko feel like real people, with all the foibles that entails. They're resourceful, brave, and admirably devoted to each other, but can also be dense, stubborn, or petty. I won't spoil it, but the inspiration for Alana's initial interest in Marko (revealed in Volume 2) is funny and seemingly trivial, but also authentic-feeling. Alana and Marko talk to each other like a real couple, not like an idealized Romeo & Juliet, and as a new parent I found it easy to relate with their interactions involving their baby daughter.

Saga feels like a SF comic for adults. Not because of the sex, violence, and profanity (although it has all of these, in detail), but because it's uncommonly smart and mature. It avoids treating its aliens like mono-cultures, with members of the same alien species look and act differently, rather than being more or less interchangeable. There are different ethnicities, body types, and sexual preferences represented within the same alien species. The characters have different points of view, and even the antagonists are usually treated with sympathy and nuance.

Highly recommended for comics and/or space fantasy fans, and new parents.

★★★★★

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #ScienceFiction #ImageComics #Saga

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on April 20, 2014.

Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery

By Kurtis J. Wiebe (Writer) & Roc Upchurch (Artist) – Image Comics – March 26, 2014

Review by Robin Marx

I picked this up after reading a Tor.com review, and I'm glad I did, as this is probably the most entertaining fantasy comic I've read in quite some time.

Rat Queens chronicles the misadventures of four mercenary women. Their party matches a fairly standard D&D party composition: dwarf fighter, elf mage, human cleric, and “smidgen” (hobbit/halfling) thief, but each character has a twist. The dwarf fighter rebelled against her clan by shaving off her beard, for example, and the cleric is likewise an outcast, an atheist having turned her back on the squid-worshiping cult that trained her. Their setting is likewise familiar to role playing gamers, basically a carousing spot and base of operations for adventurers, where the mayor hands out quests and the captain of the guard is constantly having to mediate disputes between (frequently drunk) mercenaries and the local townsfolk.

Volume 1 serves mostly to introduce the characters and set up a conspiracy that looks to drive the plot for at least the next story arc or so, so it might feel a little slight to some, but I found it to be a fun, fast read. Sensitive readers might be put off by the gore and profanity, but in most cases both are used to humorous effect. In addition to the humor, I also liked how diverse the cast of characters was. People of various colors and shapes and orientations show up without it coming off as ostentatious pandering to the folks concerned by the common lack of representation of social minorities in the media.

I prefer reading comics in collected format rather than as single issues, but this is one series that tempts me to switch. I look forward to the Rat Queens' future adventures.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #Fantasy #ImageComics #RatQueens

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 6, 2012.

Blue Estate Volume 1

By Viktor Kalvachev (Writer/Artist), Various – Image Comics – September 27, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

I picked this comic up after seeing a glowing review on BoingBoing, but unfortunately the content doesn't live up to the fantastic issue covers. The interior artwork is a massive disappointment. Characters are all rendered in a sketchy style that makes it hard at times to keep track of just who is who. Characterization is likewise rendered in broad strokes, with much dependence on cliche (there's a Russian gold-digger, Italian thug, Eastern European dealer that can't resist his own product, etc.). I've been searching for a hardboiled crime comic that can live up to the standard set by Andrew Vachss's novels and TV shows like The Wire and The Shield, but it looks like my search continues. I'm not going to bother picking up future volumes.

★★☆☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #CrimeFiction #ImageComics #BlueEstate #ViktorKalvachev