The Good
Marko, Alana, Hazel, Izabel, and Klara head to Quietus to see Oswald Heist. Meanwhile, on another planet, Gwendolyn, Sophie AKA Slave Girl, and The Will try to figure out where to go next, while The Will grows some romantic feelings for Gwendolyn.
What's so great about SAGA as a series, and this issue in particular, is that it's always moving the story line forward, but building on itself. We're introduced to Alana's step-mother in this issue, by way of Upsher and Doff, the journalists, whom we've seen in earlier issues. Instead of Alana telling her cohorts her history, we get to see her step-mother explain where she came from and why she made the decision to get into the military. It's nice to see the other side of the story, and this scene gives the reader a better insight into what makes Alana the person she is now.
Dag nabit, writer Brian K Vaughan does some fantastic things with The Will, Gwendolyn, and The Stalk in this issue. Their scene is fantastic, and I love the relationship growing between them. In addition, Sophie, once known as Slave Girl, is also becoming a fantastic supporting character to this series. The reader is starting to see the child side of her finally come out, and she's developing a close relationship with Lying Cat now. These "villains" are portrayed as real people within this book, not just something the protagonist has to fight. And frankly, they walk the fine line between hero and villain.
The last issue was a bit of a let down. It felt a bit flat, which made things worse since there was a break in the series. Issue #14 gets this book right back on track by seamlessly weaving together all these incredibly fascinating story lines. The jump between stories feels natural and the transitions are smooth.
Once again, Fiona Staple delivers some knock out art in this issue. The facial expressions and body language of each of the characters are fantastic. They all fit the scenes and are never out of character. In one scene in particular, Klara sits very upright and straight but with her legs opened a bit. It gives off the feeling that this character is very prim and proper but has a warrior inside and she's not someone to mess with.
The Bad
One bad thing about this is that this issue, along with the last, takes place before issue #12. It's a tad confusing, and I'm not a fan of the jumping back in time for the #13 and #14. I'm assuming this will actually read a bit better, out of order, after #15 comes out.
The Verdict
SAGA is back on track! The story has a nice progression, and the reader is introduced to more characters that really add a lot to this world. BKV and Staples, month after month, add to this brilliant and expansive world with a compelling story and characters that are extremely cool and just as detailed as the incredibly detailed world around them. While some of the concepts here may be a bit out there and crazy, it still all weirdly fits into this world and this book. SAGA continues to be the best science-fiction/fantasy book on the shelves. While this may not be a great jumping on point (go buy the first two trades!), I still highly recommend this issue and series.
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