‘Saga’ Comic Series Returns to Break Our Hearts All Over Again

***SPOILER ALERT: This post discusses major plot points from Chapter 54 of Saga.***

It’s been a long wait for fans of Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples’ beloved comic book series Saga. The last issue, Chapter 54, was published in 2018, after which Vaughn and Staples announced they were taking a well-deserved hiatus from the Eisner and Hugo award-winning series. The duo have spent the intervening years mapping out the second half of the series, which will run for 108 chapters.

Saga is part space opera, part fantasy, part family drama. The book follows parents Alana and Marko, soldiers from opposite sides of a brutal galactic war between their respective planets, Landfall and Landfall’s moon Wreath. The two fall in love and Alana gives birth to their daughter Hazel, who narrates the series. The series follows the young fugitive family as they travel from planet to planet, chased by soldiers, bounty hunters, journalists, and various other entities desperate to get their hands on the family. Saga is, at its core, a refugee drama about a family searching for a place they can live in peace.

The hiatus was a brutal one for fans, as Chapter 54 left readers on a devastating emotional cliffhanger (again SPOILERS here). The final panels saw bounty hunter The Will catch up with the family, where he decapitates Prince Robot IV and stabs Marko through the heart.

Chapter 55 begins three years after Marko’s murder, with Alana, Hazel, and Squire living on a new planet. Alana is peddling baby formula with the help of her new business partner Bombazine. Alana is dodging cops on the streets, having stolen an album. And poor Squire, still traumatized by his father’s death, hasn’t spoken since.

Vaughn spends little to no time recapping previous events in favor of throwing readers directly into the story. And while the family’s grief is no longer fresh, it still informs the character’s choices. While The Will is no longer after them, Alana continues to hustle and scrape by to support her blended family. As we discover in the final panels, baby formula isn’t the only thing they’re selling.

Saga continues to do what it does best: telling grounded, emotionally resonant stories within a wildly original and ever-expanding universe. Staples’s artwork continues to be a standout, with textured worlds and stunning illustrations. And Vaughn excels at discovering the humanity and dark humor within every character. The series finds the small moments of youthful rebellion against the backdrop of a seemingly endless war, as Hazel is chased through the streets after stealing an album.

So much of Saga is centered on Hazel’s resilience, and the resilience of children during wartime. But things will only become more complex as she grows older. As an almost teen, Hazel is poised to start questioning Alana’s decisions, which will be rich emotional territory to mine. Saga has so much in store, and Chapter 55 is a welcome return to form.

(Image: Image Comics)

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