This week I’m doing a slight shift from my manga reviews with a comic review of the first volume of Brian K. Vaughn’s Saga.

Title: Saga, Volume One
Story by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Fiona Staples

Available from Amazon.com

The Premise

Marko and Alana are on opposing sides of an inter-planetary war, with Alana’s world being more science based, and Marko’s being more magic based. While Marko was a POW at a facility guarded by Alena, the two met, fell in love, and ran away together, after Alena became pregnant.

Cut to now. Marko & Alena are on the planet Cleave, and Alena has just given birth to their daughter, and the three are on the run from just about everybody.

High Points

The dialog in this book is great. It’s funny and clever while still feeling natural.

Low Points

Disclaimer – if you have problems with nudity, sex, or profanity in general in your graphic novels, you won’t like Saga.

Other than that, the worldbuilding feels just a little off. It’s less “Science vs. Magic” in terms of the sides in the war, and more “SCIENCE! vs. Magic” – by which I mean, the technology operates by either Rule of Cool, or Rule of Weird, and is thus might as well be magic except for the cosmetic trappings.

Scores

Originality: 6/6

Artwork: 5/6

Story: 5/6

Emotional Response: 5/6

Characterization: 5/6

Flow: 6/6

Overall: 6/6

In Total, Saga Volume 1 gets 38 out of 42.