Saga, Volume Two

Volume 2 of Brian K. Vaughn's award winning Saga sees some lineup changes. Hazel's grandparents, Marko's mom and dad, arrive after answering what they thought was a distress beacon. The Will, all of the known universe's most feared bounty hunter is still obsessed with freeing that young girl from sex slavery. That's all very noble. But without any cash or a good plan for rescue, there's very little that the Will can do. That is until another blast from Marko's past makes themselves known; his very jilted fiancee!

Meanwhile, Prince Robot IV is suffering from PTSD from his recent experiences in the great intergalactic war. Plus the Blue-blood really pissed the Will off when the prince killed a fellow bounty hunter, so the royalty is trying to lay low. As he examines a sleazy romance novel that was a favorite of Alana's, Prince Robot IV thinks he's cracked the code to why Marko and Alana fell in love in the middle of a prisoner of war camp. However as Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples shows us how the two members of opposing warring races actually meet, I think the prince is really grasping at straws.

And then that climatic last page might have just proved me wrong!

I really should have checked out more than just one volume of Saga from my local library. I was afraid of a sophomore slump. Yet nothing could be further from the truth here. The story keeps getting more engrossing. Sure, there's just as much sex. A lot of violence. Still, Vaughn gives this entire universe heart. I had to read ahead, fearful a beloved character was killed off. (SPOILER- they weren't). Then I had my heart broken when a new, adorable character was introduced and wantonly killed off in a most gruesome way almost immediately. 

Next time I head to the library, I am gonna have to make sure I get more than just Volume 3, because it's just killing me not knowing what happens next!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Saga, Vol. One (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Brian K. Vaughn's Saga is the story of a family. From two warring sides, the horned Marko and the winged Alana have abandoned their posts. Already on the run for desertion, the pair have married and with a newborn in their arms, the stakes for their deaths or capture have increased their notoriety; for a hybrid child could very well destroy the war effort and disrupt the coffers of those who profit from the lucrative war machine. 

Saga has action, humor, and heart. There's also quite a bit of sex. To the point that its inclusion has gotten publisher Image and the book itself into a lot of trouble. 

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund lists two major occasions in which issues or trades of Saga were censored or challenged. The first incident was in 2013. Apple iOS and the Apple store made issue #12 temporarily unavailable due to two panels which showed scenes of explicit sex. The ban was due to ComiXology's misunderstanding of Apple's content policy. The issue was soon added to the app. But this wasn't ComiXology's first instance of restriction of content and it certainly hasn't been the company's last. 

The second instance of censorship reported by the CBLDF occurred over the year of 2014. Vol. One of Saga was listed #6 of the American Library Association's Top Ten Most List of Frequently Challenged Books. The ranking was due in large part to a challenge of the book by branch of the Oregon Public Library. The reasons for the challenge were 'over sexually explicit content — content that the complainant perceived to be age-inappropriate and propagating anti-family values.' Not much else about the challenge was disclosed, other than that the book was eventually returned to shelves. 

The reason for the challenge is probably due to the detour one of the bounty hunters hired to capture Marko and Alaina take. Known as The Will, the character heads to a pleasure planet where he encounters various acts of debauchery; the most heinous of which is being offered a 6 year old girl by a pimp. The Will attempts to free the girl but he must abandon his noble quest when his sidekick's life is held as ransom for the child's return.

The story of Saga was conceived by Brian K. Vaughn while he was a child. Over time in high school, he spent many of his math classes fleshing out this new universe with influences by Star Wars, Flash Gordon and his most inspiring influence, Silver Surfer. With artist Fiona Staples, Vaughn has produced 65 issues of the series, with a brief hiatus from 2018-2022. Issue #66 is set to debut in early August. 

Pardon the cliche, but the saga continues...

Completing this review completes Task #8 (Book that was Banned/Challenged (https://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

AND WITH THAT, my 2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge is COMPLETE!

Archie #1 (2015)

Archie #1 came out with over 20 variant covers.
This is the cover to issue #1U, art by T-Rex.

    

 74 years after his debut in issue #22 of Pep Comics, the powers that be decided to reboot Archie Andrews and his gang. Tackling that momentous task are Mark Waid (writer) and Fiona Staples (art.) Now Archie is a character that's going through many incarnations- Little Archie, a caveman, a rocker, a zombie, and countless other roles. But at the heart of each story, the Riverdale gang was wholesome and innocent.

   Archie couldn't decide between Betty or Veronica. Jughead was lazy and addicted to food. Reggie was also trying to one up Arch and Moose and Midge were the perfect couple. That was the Archie gang in it's very essence; whether they were living in colonial times or performing a parody of MASH (as the Archie Players.)

    It's not like Archie didn't adapt with the times either. Moose wasn't stupid, turns out he was dyslexic. Archie entered a bi-racial relationship with Valerie from Josie and the Pussycats. Even a gay character moved into town in the form of Kevin Keller.

   So why did Archie have to be completely remade? Don't get me wrong, I love Mark Waid. If you've read my blog much, you'll know how much I am a fan of his recent work on Daredevil. Waid is a great writer and when I met him a few years back, at a mass signing he was only 1 of 2 who actually talked to the fans and not just grunted 'hey' before passing the book to the next guy to sign.

   In Archie #1 Archie and Betty have just broken up but neither is sure if that was the right thing to do or not. Complicating matters is that Betty decides to go to a school dance with another guy as Archie keeps avoiding her. But thankfully, the day is saved when Archie fills in for the lead guitarist who is a no-show. However, things are not all hunky dory as at the very end of the book, Arch walks past a giant billboard proclaiming that Lodge Industries are moving into town.

    That's right folks, Veronica doesn't even appear in this book. Along with that, Jughead is more of a slacker than ever before as he doesn't even have food as a motivator for him to do anything and Reggie is virtually a non-entity.

From what I can tell about the future of this book is that when the Lodge's move to Riverdale, the love triangle between Archie/ Betty/ and Veronica will begin and I am assuming so will the Archie/ Veronica/ Reggie one as well. Why did we have to reboot Archie for that? Presumably, Mr. Lodge's company moving to town will impact someone, probably Mr. Andrews, into losing their job and Veronica's dad will probably be more cunning in trying to remove Archie from the picture altogether. But, you don't need a reboot to do that stuff either.

   Making Archie black or gay, or even a woman would be a true reboot. All Mark Waid does is take a beloved childhood icon and make him unrecognizable with new art and designs by Fiona Staples. But again, why do that at all? It was just announced this weekend at Comic-Con that Archie and the Ramones will be teaming up for a special issue. The artwork is to be in the classic Archie Comics style that have thrived for over 40 years.

   This issue also reprints the very first appearance of Archie in that issue of Pep I mentioned earlier. It's supposed to show the reader that times change. Yes- the Archie of 1941 looks very different from the Archie of 1970,96, or 2014. But so did Superman, Batman, and Captain America when they first arrived in the Golden Age of Comics. But with all of these characters, their iconic looks evolved while maintaining a timeless style that any child could point out of a line-up. (Don't believe me- take a picture of Batman from 1938 and a picture of Archie from this issue. The child will instant point out Batman but be clueless as to who this red-headed guy is.)

My point is: the Archie gang of 2015 looks more like kids you would see at the mall- not Pop's Chok'lit Shoppe.

   If this was a book made up of completely new characters, I would be singing it's praises. For a contemporary look at teen life in the New Millennium, it's flawless. But as the next generation's Archie- it lacks depth, nostalgia, and recognizability.

    Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.