Saga #57 Review

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan / Artist: Fiona Staples / Image Welcome back to the print media emotional damage marathon that is Saga. To briefly refresh your memory on the events of Saga #56, a rival drug running crew intercepted of favorite space fugitive family and however horrible we thought they were going to be, they ended up being even more horrible. Sir Robot IV’s father wanted vengeance and someone was a little too eager to reply. But before we get into any of those threads, Hazel opens Saga #57 with some much needed backstory and an emotional salve.

Saga destroys me emotionally every time, but stuff like this also heals me?

Hazel (via Brian K. Vaughan, I suppose) is a fantastic storyteller, and the anecdote that opens issues provides a very satisfying resolution to the cliffhanger threat that capped the last issue. Alana is reasonably pissed and terrified for her family. With a new job lined up, and more shenanigans, Saga #57 carries on by showcasing its wonderfully playful (and sometimes murderous) side cast and provides some brilliant meme panels. Vaughan’s interplay of dialog, narration, and exposition continues to be top-notch, and Staples’s art is still stellar. The dual narrative that has formed in the story’s back half continues to give plenty of enticing developments and there’s also more intrigue injected right at the end of the issue, you know just to make sure we don’t get too comfortable with any status quo for too long. Saga’s been one of the best comics on…