SAGA, VOLUME ONE by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Saga, Volume One (2013) collects the first six issues of the Image comic written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples. Here, two lovers whose people are at war attempt to flee the planet with their newborn baby.

Saga is an interesting and imaginative blend of science fiction and fantasy that calls to mind both Star Wars and Mass Effect, but which does so without feeling particularly derivative. Vaughan has created a cast of good characters, all with believable motivations. In fact, The Will and Prince Robot IV might be more interesting and more sympathetic than the wishy-washy Marko (although he gets better quickly) and the walking annoying rage tantrum that is Alana. The themes of parenting and family are particularly well done, though, which makes them endearing enough.  

Saga is consistently explicit, both in terms of violence and sex. At times, this is used to good storytelling effect (e.g., Prince Robot IV and his wife in issue #1), but more often, it’s just gratuitous. In combination with some of the dialogue, Saga sometimes feels like Vaughan is trying too hard to be edgy, and it works a lot better when he’s not.

Entirely apart from this issue, Staples’ art is quite good. Her characters are realistic, and she uses backgrounds to create a rich world. The highlight, though, is her faces, which are excellent both in their expression and consistency. The only real complaint with the art is that the heavy inks on the characters often make them look like paper cutouts overlaid on the much softer backgrounds.

So, while it’s got a few issues, Saga is a reasonably compelling story that’s rich with potential. I don’t know that I’d run out for Volume Two, but I was invested enough to wonder, at least, what happened next.

RECOMMENDED

THE AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD AND OTHER CURIOUS OBJECTS by Mike Mignola

The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects (2010) collects Mike Mignola’s eponymous Eisner-winning one-shot and a number of short stories, including “The Magician and the Snake,” which he co-authored with his daughter Katie, then seven years old. In the title story, President Lincoln enlists Screw-On Head to thwart the plans of the nefarious Emperor Zombie.

In many ways, Screw-On Head is very typical Mignola: great quirky characters, fantastically atmospheric art, and light and minimalist plotting and stories. There are some obvious similarities between numerous Hellboy stories and Screw-On Head, although the latter is decidedly campier. It’s also extremely amusing, and it’s remarkable how effectively Mignola juxtaposes his dark gothic imagery with silly dialogue.

Mignola states in the notes that “There are no untold Screw-On Head stories,” and he’s absolutely right – he does everything he needs to do with the characters, scenarios, and genre in this single comic. In broad strokes, he accomplishes quite a bit, and better this than running the ideas into the ground.

(A note: I picked up this book after seeing the 2006 animated Amazing Screw-On Head pilot, which I found very funny. Good as this book is, and in spite of everything I’ve just written, I think I like it better as a cartoon, what with the fleshed-out backstories and the campiness and the comic delivery.)

The other stories in this volume are only peripherally related, if at all, to Screw-On Head. The heartwarming (and Eisner-winning) “The Magician and the Snake” is popular with fans, but my favorite of the rest of the stories is “The Prisoner of Mars,” which shares the title story’s manically tongue-in-cheek tone. The others are enjoyable, if light on storytelling punch.

Fair warning: this book is 104 pages, but a large chunk of that (close to 20%, maybe) is sketches and pinups. It’s an extraordinarily quick read.

Short as it is, with great atmosphere and entertaining stories, The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects is another solid offering from Mignola.

RECOMMENDED

MESSIAH: ORIGIN

Messiah: Origin is a 2013 graphic novel by Mark Arey, Kai Carpenter, and Matt Dorff. It covers the biblical narrative from the annunciation of the nativity of John the Baptist through the beginning of John’s ministry.

This isn’t a comic book in the conventional sense; the panels are sequential, but all the text is adapted straight from the New Testament (specifically, from John 1, Luke 1–2, Matthew 1–3, and Mark 1). As such, it often feels more like an art book. This is further compounded by the fact that, as Dorff acknowledges, the layouts borrow heavily (read: copy) from various iconic painters and filmmakers.

The unequivocal highlight of Messiah: Origin is Kai Carpenter’s outstanding art. His faces and expressions are fantastic, which is essential given the more static nature of the storytelling here. His use of light and color are also excellent, and the end product is often captivating.

If you’re looking for a comic book version of the Christmas story, Messiah: Origin really isn’t it, but it is a great looking and worthwhile piece of work.

RECOMMENDED

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

THE SWORD OF SHE-RA by Roger McKenzie and Fred Fredericks

So here’s one that slipped through the cracks on me during the Mammoth Read-Along Masters of the Universe Marathon: 

The Sword of She-Ra is a 1985 Princess of Power children’s book written by Roger McKenzie and illustrated by Fred Fredericks. Here, Prince Adam takes the Sword of Protection into another dimension to find its rightful owner.

This book is, essentially, a severely abridged adaptation of the first half of Filmation’s The Secret of the Sword film. Substantial changes have been made (e.g., they’re rescuing Queen Angella from Beast Island rather than He-Man, and they get there on flying goats) and the story has been rearranged (e.g., they go to Beast Island before Adam ever finds Adora).

Aside from a single page with Hordak and Shadow Weaver, the named Horde villains are nowhere to be found – it’s troopers all the way through. One wonders whether this was done out of consideration for the PoP toyline or the delicate sensibilities of the young female audience.

Fredericks’ art is generally fine. He isn’t much for backgrounds and his male characters look stubby sometimes, but the female characters look good and the pages where he really applies himself are solid. The Horde Trooper are oddly colored, though. But an Earl Norem cover is always worth getting excited about.

The Sword of She-Ra is a passable version of She-Ra’s origin story, and it’s different enough from The Secret of the Sword that it’s worth checking out for that reason alone. Plus, where else are you going to see Cringer on a flying goat (sort of)?

RECOMMENDED

JUDGE by R. J. Larson

Judge is a 2012 young-adult fantasy novel by R. J. Larson, the second in her Books of the Infinite trilogy. Here, Ela and Kien are sent separately by the Infinite to proclaim repentance to two idolatrous nations.

Judge gets off to something of a slow start, for a number of reasons – too much chit-chat, too many story tangents, too much treating the horse like it’s an interesting supporting character. Ela is still insecure, questioning, and fatalistic – it doesn’t seemed like she’s learned much from the events of Prophet (it also gets tiresome for the reader, who has a pretty good sense of how these things go – this is, after all, a trilogy).

The second half of the book is considerably better, however, as the plot finally meanders to its destination. Siege, famine, persecution – these books do better the more serious and the more grim they get. And yet Larson has trouble juxtaposing the horrific events in the book with the PG rating she’s imposed on the story, and she always errs on the side of the latter. And while it feels that Larson takes the path of least resistance with the story (one that leads in a decidedly cheesy and feel-good direction), there’s some truly suspenseful and compelling writing here.

All things considered, Larson does an impressive job of telling a story of this sort without being too preachy (mostly) and in keeping some of the outcome uncertain. However, whereas in Prophet, Larson adopted the general prophetic mode of the Old Testament to tell her own story, in Judge, she appropriates OT stories and story elements more explicitly. She borrows extensively from the story of Jeremiah, which works well enough in her framework, but she also takes the vast bulk of the Jonah story and Elisha’s floating axe head. R. J. Larson, please stop doing that.

In short, it’s got some problems, and it plays things a little too safe for my taste, but Judge is nonetheless worthwhile.

RECOMMENDED