I successfully read three graphic novels this year (Persepolis and the two volume memoir by Alison Bechdel), so I decided it was time to try out a real, legit comic. NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast is my normal source for comic/graphic novel recommendations-- it helps that co-host Glen Wheldon is a comics expert, while the other hosts are mostly novices. The Saga series has been recommended on the show no fewer than three times, including a ringing endorsement from friend-of-the-show Maggie Thompson, a former librarian and co-author of the Comics Buyer's Guide. She mentioned Saga specifically in regard to a ComicCon panel on strong female characters and feminism in comic books, so it seemed like as good a place as any to start. I'd also like to mention, I'm hardly of the opinion that everyone should be reading comics and graphic novels -- plenty of people don't find them appealing and that's fine. My approach in blogging about them is that of curiosity; I'm a novice to the genre, but I'm interested enough to at least read a few and get a better sense of what it's all about. I'm hopeful that by doing some of the heavy-lifting myself, I can recommend comics and graphic novels that my usual blog-readers will find appealing, even if they are comic novices as well.
Most people, myself included, think of comic books as being largely superhero-oriented, but Saga is decidedly a science fiction story. It reminded me quite a bit of the original Star Wars trilogy and the Joss Whedon Firefly series. The premise is that of a war between a planet and its moon, and the impending nuclear holocaust that would destroy them both. If either side succeeds, both will be destroyed anyway, so all the fighting and warfare is out-sources to other planets. A female prison guard from one side helps a POW from the either side escape, and they race around the galaxy with their baby daughter Hazel being pursued by bounty hunters from either side. Hazel serves as the narrator which makes for a really interesting framing device, especially in a graphic genre-- she is therefore able to describe and narrate what we are "seeing" as we are seeing it. It's used very effectively, especially in a genre where so many readers struggle with the narrative flow from panel to panel.
Currently, there are three volumes of Saga currently; each volume contains the equivalent of about six comics. After getting caught up on these volumes, an interested reader could wait for the next published volume, but those with access to a good comic book store could go and buy individual chapters as they are published.