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OUT OF THE LONG BOX #034 – SAGA #20

By Chris Fenn

Saga #20 Hazel
Listen to anybody from the @intercomicspod or @InterComics himself and they will tell you how good Saga is, and I’m not going to be the first to disagree with them.

This issue starts in a way that reminded me a lot of the first issue; utterly ridiculous without any context. It’s good to see that Prince Robot IV will still be in this story, I was wondering if he had dropped out of the story when he seemed to forget who he was.

Following on from the bombshell that was the final page of the previous issue we see the seeds potentially being sewn here. Alana seems to be very preoccupied with work, leaving to get there before Marco is even awake. I imagine this could play in to the separation a lot, but more interestingly we see Alana start to use some drugs. Now she hints that she has done drugs in the past, but we are warned that this is stronger than what she may be used to, and I can see this really escalating into a problem for her.

Saga #20 Dance
Marco is looking after Hazel full time and is seeing more of Ginny, a parent and dance teacher. Now I know that just because a man and a woman talk to each other doesn’t necessarily mean they’re together, but seeing the two parents feeling kind of ‘alone’ in their relationships seems to suggest they will form some kind of connection; be it a friendship or more. I have to say I can see this factoring in to the inevitable break-up.

The true shocker of this issue was seeing the events unfold with Price Robot IV’s wife and son. We see a robot janitor, who has been a minor character in previous issues, confront the Princess and tell her a story of poverty and death within her kingdom.

Then the surprise comes.

Saga #20 Janitor
I don’t really know much about this robot janitor, but he clearly has a key part in the future of Saga, and his sights are set on the Open Circuit, which will weave his story in with that of Alana’s and ultimately Marco and Hazel.

It’s amazing how fleshed out this universe is, and at this point it does feel like a universe. The art is consistently brilliant; every character looks and feels unique in all of their outfits and disguises, and they all speak, think and act like real characters.

Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples are killing it again. Saga is utterly brilliant, and if you’re reading this and have never heard of the series I urge you to pick up all the back issues or trades and go from the beginning.

For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989

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Posted on June 26th, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
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