I’ll admit that I’m a pretty recent convert to the Saga series, having only just discovered issues 1 to 11 just over two weeks ago, and when I had finally got to the end of Issue 11, I was relieved to see that the next issue was coming out very soon afterwards. Having now finished Saga 12, however, I am outraged. It’s creators, writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples, have shocked me, appalled me and enraged me with the absolutely sickening content of this issue, and the disgusing levels of moral depravity they have displayed.
What’s the problem? At the end of the comic there’s a notice they’re taking a 2 month hiatus from writing the comic so now I’m going to have to wait ages for the next one. Damn them.
This issue has courted controversy due to the fact that the Comixology digital distribution platform (originally thought to be Apple) decided not to release it due to two stamp-sized images of a some men practicising oral sex together, an utterly bizarre decision considering the very mature content of the rest of the series. After they recieved a great deal of well justified criticism, ranging from “That’s homophobic” to “Considering the content of the rest of this series, that’s bizarrely inconsistent” they’ve now released it, so it’s available from all previous platforms, but yeah, that’s my wee bit of current affairs stuff there. Onto the comic.
Saga Issue 12 is, unless I’m very much mistaken, the first issue in the series to be entirely devoted to the perspective of one of its primary antagonists, Prince Robot IV of the Robot Kingdom (for those of you who haven’t read any of Saga, I assure you that the comic has far, far odder things than mechanical monarchies and you should totally go and read it right now!). I’ve always had a soft spot for the Prince, and as such I particularly enjoyed the focus Saga 12 had on his character; the PTSD issues he’s struggled with that define his character in a pretty major manner are explored in a great deal more depth than they have been before, and they made for an interesting and compelling part of the issue’s narrative.
Considering the rather more action-driven content of the last few comics, Saga 12 takes a step back from that, and aside from a flashback at the beginning to the scene that began the development of the Prince’s personal problems, the issue is primarily focussed on dialogue and character interaction. This makes for a welcome change of pace, with the Prince questioning the author D. Oswald Heist about the whereabouts of Marko and Alana, the two fugitives he’s hunting. The scene does an excellent job of slowly building up tension, and even though Oswald is an entirely new character for this issue who doesn’t appear until nearly halfway through the issue’s storyline, Vaughan manages to provide him with a distinct personality of his own and a bit of depth, though Oswald does feel at points to be the cut-and-paste “commercially successful author who’s embittered at the success of sell-out works that he knows are trash” character archetype.
Of course, it goes without saying that Fiona Staples does an excellent job of the issue’s artwork. While the art in this issue generally lacks the surrealness of past ones, and there are no grand evocative landscapes present as there have been before, her focus this issue on the expressions and faces of characters pays off for the more muted and less interesting backdrops of Saga 12. I also felt that the visual pun of Prince Robot IV quite literally having blue blood that was in the opening of this issue was nothing short of inspired.
Once again, Saga 12 shows that Vaughan and Staples are one of the most promising duos in the modern comics industry. I’m eagerly awaiting the next issue, however long it may take, and I’ll be unsurprised if it’s as good as the rest of the series has been. If you haven’t yet read any of Saga, the first issue is available for free as a legal digital copy off Comixology, whilst Saga Volume 1, containing issues 1-6, is available for a reasonable price from most well-stocked distributors.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to glower at the calendar to see if that’s effective in making time speed up.
Verbal Fisticuffs 