Saga #9 Review

Saga #9 changes up the formula to the series thus far in that it follows only one portion of the overall narrative, and it’s probably not the one you’d expect. As you can infer from the cover, this issue focuses entirely on The Will and his mission to rescue “Slave Girl” from Sextillion, not to mention cope with the loss of his partner and lover The Stalk. Brian K. Vaughan continues to build The Will as a sympathetic character, which makes his meeting with Gwendolyn and the ultimate decision to continue hunting down Marko and Alana all the more conflicting for the reader.

BKV kicks things off on an emotional note, reminding us of The Will and The Stalk’s relationship, before traversing into more light-hearted territory. Light-hearted in terms of dialogue, at least. The interactions between The Will, Gwendolyn, and Lying Cat are simply hilarious, despite the deeper notions of inherent mistrust mixed with a mutual desire to rescue an innocent young girl from the miseries of Sextillion. The focus of the narrative in issue #9 also allows us to spend some time with new character Gwendolyn, though Vaughan keeps her at arm’s length for now and allows The Will (and Lying Cat) to lead us through the scenes. Though I wouldn’t say I trust her completely, BKV gives us enough of a reason to believe her motivations as far as teaming up with The Will goes.

Fiona Staples hits another home run on art duties, this time injecting Lying Cat with some much deserved personality. The character is often the impetus for some good jokes in this issue, but gets to show off a softer side as well that’s more akin to, well, your everyday house cat. Ironically, the softer approach to Lying Cat is sharply opposed by the violence in this issue. Perhaps more than any issue before it, Staples revels in rendering beheadings, lightning strikes, gun battles, and sword lance play. She also gets to put her design diversity on display here with Slave Girl, getting the chance to portray a sincerity and innocence that is so often missing from the war-torn world of Saga.

Lastly – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the letters column of this book adds tons of value to the single issue purchase. It’s personable, funny, and informative. While there might not be as much content as something like the back-up essays in Ed Brubaker books, it’s absolutely a boon to the issue-to-issue reader.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. He will love Star Wars until he becomes one with the Force, and then he will continue loving it as a blue ghost.

Source : ign[dot]com