Saga #50

By Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Getting a series to 50 issues is an accomplishment. Getting it there and not dipping in quality and keeping readers interested is an even harder task. Saga is a series that surprised many people when it first arrived on shelves. The series decided that it wanted to push the envelope in every way, and as far as issue #50 is concerned, they still are. While this is a milestone issue for the book, it gives fans of every character a chance to catch up and see what their favorites are up to, in true Saga fashion.

There should be high expectations for this issue since it’s the 50^th, but Brian K. Vaughan took a practical approach this week and just gave us a glimpse into where all the storylines are at. We start off in graphic fashion as Marko and Alana express their love. It’s not the most graphic thing this book has ever shown, but it set the bar fairly high for the rest of the stories. There is a sweet talk between Hazel and Petrichor. Vaughan has handled Hazel’s age well. She went from a defenseless baby to someone who readers can see maturing and growing into a great leader. Ultimately, this issue was a series of sweet moments for our characters before things hit the fan. As the last little thread shows us, The Will is in some trouble and Ianthe seems to be extremely serious on her mission. Vaughan allows this issue to be a good jumping on point for the series as well. All the characters are shown and named, and we’re caught up on what they’re doing. This was a solid issue from one of the best ongoing series in Image’s rolodex.

The pencils and colors are handled by Fiona Staples. It’s extremely hard to complain about anything Staples does. Her style is amazing, and her colors rock. Clearly the opening splash page will get your attention. Everything from the water to the mountains in the background is perfect in this page. One of the most entertaining things about Staples work in this series has been the images that appear on Prince Robot’s screen throughout the series. This issue has a couple of different images, but they’re both appropriate and hilarious. Staples colors are just as important as her pencils on this series, and the reason is that even though she draws and colors some very serious pages, the color palette is always light. It’s so refreshing to see things not too dark when someone dies, or too muddy. Staples work on this issue is some of her finest, which is insane because all her work is great!

As Saga #50 wraps, we should be excited for where things go moving forward. You can’t say enough about what Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples have done on this series to keep it fresh. Their consistency is the key to why this series has been as great as it is. Here’s hoping to 50 more.