Watcha Reading in May/June

[Michelle, Overrun By Pets]

Some co-workers and I started an informal graphic novel reading club and I embraced the challenge with several of the Saga books. The story in Saga, Vol. 2 begins with an interesting flashback to Marko's childhood. Marko's parents arrived at the terminus of the last book and although their introduction to Alana wasn't exactly smooth sailing, getting to know them a bit better in this chronicle lends depth to the overall story. Time rewinds in order to discover a bit more about how Alana and Marko met and we also learn about the author who inspired and united them. New characters include Marko's sexy and fierce ex-girlfriend Gwendolyn who meets up with our favorite headhunter The Will. I really enjoyed Gwendolyn and The Will as an ill-matched duo. Their interactions are highly entertaining. Ghus THE CUTEST character EVER is also introduced in Volume 2. I fell in love with his little furry white face immediately. We lose a character that I wasn't ready to lose and I was pretty bummed out. Hazel's spectral babysitter Izabel continues kicking ass with her floaty half-body.

Saga, Vol. 3 follows a tabloid reporting duo who are hot on the trail of the infamous couple and their child. Our gaggle of heroes spends some quality time with author D. Oswald Heist. There is definitely more than meets the eye (haha) as far as Heist is concerned. Is it wrong that I find The Stalk so terrifying and yet so attractive? She is the prettiest arachnid in the entire universe, even with eight legs, several scary red eyes and a ton of weapons. Even though The Will and Gwendolyn are trying to get to the same destination, getting there seems ever so difficult. They continue their travels with the small child they rescued from Sextillion in the last installment. Fortunately they stopped calling her "Slave Girl" and started calling her Sophie. Alana's stepmother is pretty much detestable, even with her cute butterfly wings.

Some of my favorite art in Saga, Vol. 3 includes the flying spotted sharks that Gwendolyn and The Will encounter and D. Oswald Heist reading to Hazel. Hazel is drawn as an irresistible nugget in an orange onesie. Prince Robot IV continues to creep me out. Sometimes the graphic visual of his subconscious mind on that face screen is too much. The Brand and her sidekick Sweet Boy are introduced in this volume. So far all of the Freelancers in this story have really great animal assistants. Another amazing character is killed off and I'm even more upset than last time. Marko, Alana, and Gwendolyn finally all come face to face and the meeting is somewhat awkward and intense. We find out how The Brand and The Will are related and I was quite happy with the reveal. The end of this story has left me quite concerned for The Will.

Dengo, a robot janitor starts off the adventure in Saga, Vol. 4. Something about his old school screen is more than a bit worrisome. His subconscious seems unbalanced at best. Marko dons a creepy disguise while out and about as a stay-at-home dad with toddler Hazel. Alana gets a day job and it is not your standard office job. Her job is a pretty awesome hybrid of Lucha Libre and a smutty novel. Alana develops some extra-curricular habits with the help of co-worker Yuma. Yuma looks like Mother Nature personified, I could barely take my eyes off of her. She is also the ex-wife of author D. Oswald Heist. Hazel's dance teacher has my hackles up as she tries, not so subtly, to make the moves on Marko. The art of Hazel dancing is precious.
My worst suspicions of Dengo are confirmed during a shocking eruption of violence. King Robot finally makes a Royal entrance at a funeral and his impressive figure does not disappoint. Marko and Alana hit a rough patch and the cast of characters is shuffled and separated in an extremely concerning way. Sophie has matured and I suspect she may near the top of my favorite characters list as this tale continues.

Saga, Vol. 5 opens with a brief historical glimpse at the war between Landfall and Wreath. I finally found an online translation guide for the Blue Language, so I went back and reread the Blue Language in previous books, now with more than a guessed-at context for reference. I can't get used to Prince Robot IV, Marko, Yuma, and Ghus being a travel-unit, it is so odd. Dengo has anted up and called for back-up on his terrorist mission. I'm a bit overwhelmed by the sudden arrival of five new characters who have shown up to help Dengo. Sophie saves the day in what looks like a futile battle with several dragons by using brains over brawn. The dragons that Sophie, The Brand, and Gwendolyn engage with are a sight to behold. You'd think I would be used to loss in this book, but yet again I am shocked by a very unhappy and unwanted surprise. One beloved character bravely sacrifices herself and one character is smitten down by a formidable beast. I was saddened by both losses. Dengo finally redeems himself and makes some difficult choices. There are several reunions at the end of this story, but they are incomplete at best. We meet the second hottest bug in Saga when Hazel goes to school.

My favorite installment in the series so far is Saga, Vol. 6. Hazel in a classroom setting is an absolute riot. Klara and Lexis, one of the few survivors of The Revolution group, could be characters in Orange is the New Black. Petrichor, another mysterious siren joins the narrative. Marko and Alana are reunited and in rare form as they work through an adrenaline-spiked heist. The tabloid reporters are back and they have tracked down Hazel's old dance teacher. The Will has rejoined the story and he looks a lot different than in previous chronicles. He also has a sidekick that is new to him, but not new to us. Petrichor and Hazel become quick partners in crime as they try to hide an unfortunate accident. My favorite quote comes from Hazel's teacher "..anyone who thinks one book has all the answers hasn't read enough books." The Will's interaction with a giant dragon eel is bad-ass. Hazel's teacher makes a brave, yet risky, proposition. Ghus, my little fuzzy favorite, shows his true warrior colors in a David vs. Goliath battle. During a rescue mission, Klara makes a surprising decision and a portal allows an unplanned visitor to join Marko and Alana on their ship. This visitor drops a bit of a bombshell on our favorite couple and this segment comes to a close.

Overall, I am totally invested in Saga at this point. The story's attention to detail has captured my attention in a vice-like grip. Even secondary characters are interesting and move the plot forward in a meaningful way. I think it is genius to have Hazel as the overall narrator of the story. The book keeps me guessing as enemies become allies and travel companions come and go. Fiona Staples creates characters that seem both familiar but with an essence of sci-fi-newness. The novel's colors are vibrant and stimulating.

Since I was so impressed with Vaughan's Saga, I read Paper Girls, Vol. 1. I found this story just as compelling. Maybe I'm the target audience because I was about the same age as the main characters in the 80's. The art is drastically different from that contained in Saga, but its more muted colors seem authentic and relevant to the time period. My one critique of the art is that two of the girls look alike to me, especially in certain scenes that are dark/shadowy. I had to keep tabs on specific articles of clothing in order to tell them apart because their faces and hairstyles were a bit too similar.

Paper Girls, Vol. 1 begins with one heck of a scary nightmare. I'm immediately drawn to the protagonists because they are feisty newspaper delivery girls who band together during one very strange morning. The gang quickly encounters some strange pieces of equipment and other-worldly creatures, some humanoid and others a bit more monsterish. The full scale of the unnatural event isn't clear until you are well into the plot of Volume 1. It was very difficult for me to guess which sci-fi characters were "good" and "bad". I must admit that bias based on looks led me somewhat astray in this attempted assessment. The Grand Father character has me very concerned, there is something amiss with the man. The ending of this chronicle is superb. I'll definitely be reading the next installment.

I broke away from graphic novels to continue The Republic of Thieves. The book cover is of a masked woman and a masked man. Immediately I feel a bit taunted because I have been waiting for what seems like forever for Locke and Sabetha to be reunited in adulthood. Readers have had a glimpse of Locke and Sabetha in childhood interactions, but I have many more questions than answers at this point. I desperately hope to have a smaller list of inquiries by the time I'm done with the third book.

I found Locke's depression and recovery a bit tedious. I became impatient waiting for the old peppy, busy-minded, tenacious Locke to return. Some of my favorite parts in all of the books are flashbacks to the thieves as youths. Locke and Jean working themselves out of impossible situations is also part of the appeal in these stories, so the setting of Karthain was both new and exciting. I ended up being a bit disappointed in Locke and Sabetha's reunion. Maybe my anticipation was always going to be more than Sabetha could actually deliver. I came away feeling that Sabetha didn't deserve Locke's affection and that she was a fair weather friend at best, but probably not really a friend at all. I didn't like how tidy the end scheme was in relation to the two factions and the resulting vote. I think Patience may be a liar, but only time will tell. Kudos to the ending specific to the Falconer and Patience. I was a big fan of how the relationship played out between the two of them. It was chilling and thrilling!