Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples (SPOILERS)

[fenway]

Re: Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I just picked this up on a whim when I was stranded in a comic book store in downtown Halifax. I felt bad about imposing my presence on them for for (potentially) hours, so I bought Saga because I've been meaning to read it for ages and it had a trade.

Then I read it (over beer! there was a pub next door!), went back and bought the back issues I HADN'T read, finished those, and read it all again. I plan on starting it a third time soon. I love it that much, and really wish I could have included it as an option in my gr. 11 classroom last term (even though it's probably a tad too inappropriate for that. WHATEVER THEY COULD HANDLE IT). I haven't read anything that feels so fresh and instantly likable in ages.

Halifax NS? Which store if you don't mind me asking? (I'm from NS)

 

[Zeek]

Re: Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Strange Adventures.

 

[E]

Re: Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I haven't read anything that feels so fresh and instantly likable in ages.

I love this series so much. It is everything that comics should be - something new and amazing conceptually, funny, or brilliant every other page. There is absolutely zero filler; every single page is amazing. I've never read a comic before that was so conceptually brilliant and engaging like Saga. There is so much going on and so much to think about and pour over, but it's simple and easy enough to follow. I feel like anything can happen in any issue.

 

[fenway]

Re: Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Strange Adventures.

Haha - bet the pub was Maxwell's Plum?

(sorry for hijacking the thread - I LOVE Saga!!)

 

[Zeek]

Re: Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I - bu- wha- damn you Brian, you...you...JOSS WHEDON.

VAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGHAN!

 

[Friday]

Re: Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I - bu- wha- damn you Brian, you...you...JOSS WHEDON.

VAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGHAN!

*******edsinofa*****betternothavedonethat.

 

[E]

*******edsinofa*****betternothavedonethat.

Wonder if this opens up the door for Slave Girl to become his sidekick.

The planet baby thing in #10 was awesome. I was hoping it would start flying around and start doing, like, Galactus stuff.

 

[E]

Re: Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Posted on Image's Tumblr page:

 

[Zeek]

As much as I'm sure Vaughan is on the "dead is dead" bandwagon, I want to believe. I mean, didn't The Will imply that Lying Cat was hard to kill, or something? Some one-off line about having tried to kill her? AM I OKAY WITH THAT NOT BEING A JOKE IF IT MEANS HOPE? (yes).

The planet baby thing in #10 was awesome. I was hoping it would start flying around and start doing, like, Galactus stuff.

What did The Will call it? TimeSuck? I really wanna see why it's called that.

 

[E]

didn't The Will imply that Lying Cat was hard to kill, or something? Some one-off line about having tried to kill her? AM I OKAY WITH THAT NOT BEING A JOKE IF IT MEANS HOPE? (yes).

I'm pretty sure it was a joke. Or at least it was said as a joke.

 

[drvshft dazy]

One of my many favorite things about this book is the endings. Vaughan goes for surprise endings and not shock value each month. Sometimes it's intense like #10, but sometimes it's just a curveball like when Marko's parents show up. The narrative leading to that was hilarious. Like you said, it's complex but easy to follow and I think the ending always give enough of that "Aww man just one more page please" feeling.

 

[DIrishB]

One of my many favorite things about this book is the endings. Vaughan goes for surprise endings and not shock value each month. Sometimes it's intense like #10, but sometimes it's just a curveball like when Marko's parents show up. The narrative leading to that was hilarious. Like you said, it's complex but easy to follow and I think the ending always give enough of that "Aww man just one more page please" feeling.

Agree completely (though I haven't read #10 yet). It's something BKV does exceedingly well (in his series like Y The Last Man and Ex Machina before this). Great twists--but perfectly logical given the story and characters for each book--that propel and build on the story before them instead of just being monotonous or unimaginative chapters from a sci fi or fantasy novel or zombie/vampire mythos hoopulah like many ongoing comic books have become.

Saga is a great and satisfying read from beginning to end, a logical exchange of humorous, character-enriching dialogue paced perfectly with crazy-****-****-twisted balls-to-the-wall action, insanity, and the unglamourized side of romance.

Holy crap, I just created the tag line for the next TPB. Quick, someone put "--DIrishB, The Comic-est Board Gazette!" (and yes, the "!" is part of the name) under that and send it over to Image.

But seriously, if it's BKV, especially a BKV monthly creator-owned book? Yeah, I'm usually buying it monthly and again in TPB form. And it's always been in my top 3 books (usually top 1) each month. Lots of fun.

 

[E]

(though I haven't read #10 yet).

Go read it right now.

 

[ProjectX2]

"I came like a dump truck"? "Please shoot it in my ****"? My God, BKV, think of the children!

A guy proposed to his Saga-reading girlfriend in the letters page. I can only imagine the reaction of her friends and family when they ask her how he proposed and she has to show them this issue.

 

[DIrishB]

"I came like a dump truck"? "Please shoot it in my ****"? My God, BKV, think of the children!

A guy proposed to his Saga-reading girlfriend in the letters page. I can only imagine the reaction of her friends and family when they ask her how he proposed and she has to show them this issue.

This is a much better motivator than E telling me to "Go read it now."

Of course, it's not like any additional motivation is necessary. Saga is fantastic. I'd love to see it adapted as a hard R sci-fi/fantasy film for adults. The craziness and heartfelt touches all retained, hopefully, right down to that giant with the massive scrotum. Or maybe even a premium cable TV series.

Of course, I'm still hoping for Y The Last Man and Ex Machina adaptations to happen (and they better be faithful to the original comics...there's really no reason to alter much of anything).

 

[E]

This is a much better motivator than E telling me to "Go read it now."

a) That's not the reason I was telling you to read it now

b) I was avoiding spoiling the end of #10 for you, because it was pretty major.

Of course, in #11 we find out it wasn't that major. But it was at the time.

 

[drvshft dazy]

This is a much better motivator than E telling me to "Go read it now."

Of course, it's not like any additional motivation is necessary. Saga is fantastic. I'd love to see it adapted as a hard R sci-fi/fantasy film for adults. The craziness and heartfelt touches all retained, hopefully, right down to that giant with the massive scrotum. Or maybe even a premium cable TV series.

Of course, I'm still hoping for Y The Last Man and Ex Machina adaptations to happen (and they better be faithful to the original comics...there's really no reason to alter much of anything).

I love all the other companies I've worked with, but I think Image might be the only publisher left that can still offer a contract I would consider "fully creator-owned." Saga is a really important story to me, so I wanted a guarantee of no content restrictions or other creative interference, and I needed to maintain 100% control and ownership of all non-publishing rights with the artist, including the right to never have our comic turned into a movie or television show or whatever ... [Image's] Eric Stephenson was the only publisher I spoke with who was thrilled to make that deal, and co-creator Fiona Staples and I didn't have to sign exclusives or agree to work on a bunch of corporate-owned titles to get it.[5]


Although Vaughan has written for television, and has endeavored to have his previous works adapted into film,[11] he stresses that he developed Saga strictly to be a comic book, and not to be adapted to other media, explaining, "I wanted to do something that was way too expensive to be TV and too dirty and grown-up to be a four-quadrant blockbuster

So I doubt it. Also "Go Read It Now" really motivates me. I once read the nutritcious information on the back of a Snickers bar because E told me to "Go read it now!"

 

[DIrishB]

a) That's not the reason I was telling you to read it now

b) I was avoiding spoiling the end of #10 for you, because it was pretty major.

Of course, in #11 we find out it wasn't that major. But it was at the time.

Oh ok. Well I'll be reading #10 and 11 very soon, I'm sure.

I love all the other companies I've worked with, but I think Image might be the only publisher left that can still offer a contract I would consider "fully creator-owned." Saga is a really important story to me, so I wanted a guarantee of no content restrictions or other creative interference, and I needed to maintain 100% control and ownership of all non-publishing rights with the artist, including the right to never have our comic turned into a movie or television show or whatever ... [Image's] Eric Stephenson was the only publisher I spoke with who was thrilled to make that deal, and co-creator Fiona Staples and I didn't have to sign exclusives or agree to work on a bunch of corporate-owned titles to get it.[5]

Although Vaughan has written for television, and has endeavored to have his previous works adapted into film,[11] he stresses that he developed Saga strictly to be a comic book, and not to be adapted to other media, explaining, "I wanted to do something that was way too expensive to be TV and too dirty and grown-up to be a four-quadrant blockbuster

So I doubt it. Also "Go Read It Now" really motivates me. I once read the nutritcious information on the back of a Snickers bar because E told me to "Go read it now!"

Eh, I still would love to see several of Vaughan's comic series (including Saga, but mostly Y) adapted for TV or film. Vaughan's dialogue and ideas just scream for a chance at a larger audience than comics themselves provide (much as I love the medium). I'm just dying to see Y adapted, and someday, if Vaughan and Staples were willing, Saga also. It's a very original, somewhat crazy but heartfelt and hilarious setting and characters which deserves as large an audience as possible. I understand Vaughan designed it for the comic medium, but I can't help but wonder at the spectacle of a TV or film adaptation.

 

[ProjectX2]

BKV is largely responsible for the Under the Dome adaptation airing sometime this year.

 

[drvshft dazy]

Agree. As I've been reading Saga I wish the same thing. Hopefully it's just one of those cases where it cannot be turned into another type of media unless BKV feels it's right. With something like this book all the people on board have to be on the same page or it would be a disaster. For example we don't want Bruce Willis to be cast as The Will.