A review by merrrry
Saga: Compendium One by Fiona Staples, Brian K. Vaughan

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I started reading Saga pre-hiatus back in high school. Every issue ripped me to shreds and the end of issue 54 w r e c k e d me. Commence the hiatus that would last through almost the entirety of my undergraduate degree. We are currently a month and a bit off of the release of volume 55, and I’ve just finished my first reread of everything just now. I did not expect everything to still hit me so hard. I thought I remembered the crucial plot points and deaths— I didn’t— but even when I did, every single punch still hurt. 

Obviously, having my two favourite characters killed off so close to each other has me going through all stages of grief right now, but the small heartwarming moments throughout killed me again too. This series is leaving me with the biggest post book depression but at the same time, I’m not ready for the next issue. I can’t handle seeing people dealing with the deaths of Prince IV and Marko. Also, The Will was one of my favourite characters since the beginning, but his killing Marko and Prince IV and desire to get back into the bounty hunting world (that he was on track to leaving) has really knocked him down A LOT. His simple dismissal of Sophie, Gwendolyn and Lying Cat was very frustrating. 

I have too many feelings about this series in general to say anything more about it coherently, but I just have to say that in this reread I realized that Prince IV is (fanfic) Draco Malfoy but with a tv head. Apparently there’s nothing I like more than a tragic antihero who is self-destructive, selfish, is generally a dick, is intensely fixated on only one or two people, but is also capable and dedicated. Unfortunately, like (canon) Draco, we will never see a full redemption arc. Poor Squire :(