Panelology is a weekly podcast about comics. We talk about current books, what we're looking forward to, and how to get into reading comics in the first place.

Saga (Image Comics, 2012)

Yes, I’m playing the Saga card*.

You probably already know you need to read it if you like comics.

If you have never read a comic before, Saga’s a great way to start.  Just, uh, be ready for some shocking images.

Here’s the short version:  Alana and Marko have a kid, Hazel.  She narrates the story, by the way, starting with her own birth.  The problem is, they’re from warring sides in a big ol’ intergalactic war, and nobody is happy about them fraternizing.  And they’d be furious to know the two of them had a kid together.  So they go on the run, and life happens and things get messy.

I’ve talked about a lot of Brian K. Vaughan on here.  I’ve loved all of it.  This may still be my favorite anyway.  And Fiona Staples’s art is clean, imaginative, and beautiful**.

It will punch you in the gut.  Mercilessly.  And you’ll ask it for more, because you like it.

* I spent my morning baking for a cast party and reading comics to record and ran out of time, okay?  It’s been six months; let me take a bye round.

** Yes, even the disgusting stuff somehow.

Collected in

  • Six-issue trades—There are seven of these at present.
  • Eighteen-issue hardcovers—There are two of these right now.

Credits

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan | Artist: Fiona Staples | Letterer/Designer: Fonografiks | Coordinator: Eric Stephenson

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Green Lantern: No Fear (DC Comics, 2005; Green Lantern #1-6)