By Zack Quaintance — After a hiatus that spanned more than three years, two presidencies, and one outbreak of a global pandemic, Saga has returned. Yes, friends, Saga #55 is out now. Following this sort of lengthy break, the natural question is something along the lines of, Okay yeah but is it good? Having now read the issue (twice this morning, cover to cover, without saying a word to anyone or taking any breaks), I can say, yes, I believe Saga is still good. In fact, maybe this is absence having made the heart grow fonder, but on first blush, I think Saga #55 is up there with the best issues of the series to date.

The book opens with a first page that calls back to the first page of issue one. See below:

It’s a fitting and thoughtful choice, showing from the start that Saga has lost none of its assurance and deliberateness. Writer Brian K. Vaughan has said the story is at its halfway point, between one 54-issue chunk and another. The line in Saga #1, This is how an idea becomes real, was a thesis for the first half, the grand arc of which saw Hazel created, born, and raised past early childhood. The new line, This is how an idea survives, let’s us know what we’re in for, a second half that will see her persevere, grow, and actualize. Plus also, callbacks are fun.

Saga #55 quickly launches into kinetic and heavy action, a relative standard comic book opening that reminds us Vaughan and Saga co-creator artist Fiona Staples are heavyweights in the medium. It’s a more traditional opening than Saga usually delivers. For comparisons sake, the aforementioned Saga #1 spent a dozen pages on actual childbirth before an explosion delivered us into a more familiar genre comics opening. Yet, within the action in this book, the story does an organic and effective job of reminding readers of Saga’s themes, of jogging memories that may have not engaged with this story since Saga #54 was published way back in July 2018.

Within this sequence — one of the book’s rare depictions of the actual forever war that shapes it — we get a guard seeing Hazel (her wings restrained), and noting, “It’s a moony. And it talks like us.” There’s a lot in there: the dehumanization of the enemy by using it, right alongside a hint that Hazel’s very existence still has the potential to change minds, to show that cooperation between the two warring species isn’t inherently impossible. That scene then ends with a deadly and graphic explosion, pivoting to the notion that any progress is, in fact, unlikely. It’s a fantastic, entertaining, and meaningful scene to bring the audience right back to the characters, themes, and world of Saga.

So yes, the ideas and scripting in this comic are as strong as always. The artwork, however, might have somehow gotten even stronger. The hiatus seems to have given Staples a chance to recharge, her having not worked on any other comic (that I’m aware of, anyway…) during the long break. This book is brimming with new designs, the sort that have long made Saga so memorable, a rare creator-owned comic that has given rise to plush toys and a full line of Funko! Pops. Staples does great work in this comic on everything from the action sequences, to the designs of local cops, to a couple stunning splash pages and double-page spreads that I won’t spoil in this review. Saga #55 is as good as ever, but Staples is even better than I recall, and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that her returning to do more comics is an utter gift to the medium. Shoutout as well to letterer Fonografiks, who is still making the haunting free-form distant future narration in this comic look fantastic.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the thematic throughline in Saga #55 is processing trauma while surviving tragedy and grief. The characters have all moved on from the murder that ended Saga #54, it having been roughly three years in the world of the comic as well. They all find themselves in sensical and interesting new situations, and it strikes me that the real world has strongly influenced the reality of the book. More than half of the long hiatus took place in the pandemic, where we all had to move on from great tragedy too. None of it is ideal, of course, but it does inform the story, making its return all the more poignant and necessary, to my mind anyway. The last bit I’d like to note in this comic is we do get a glimpse of the characters working against our central family, and the shades of gray that have typically hovered around their motivations are all but gone. This is, perhaps, another effect of our modern times, but part of me suspects it’s only temporary and the book will make them sympathetic again (although it’s tough to comeback from making love in front of a beloved character’s cold skull…).

Anyway, Saga is back from what Vaughan calls in his one-page backmatter note to readers a “longer-than-ever-imagined-INTERMISSION.” Vaughan seems a bit worried that some folks may have moved on — or if not worried, than necessarily realistic — but he does note that at this point the book has been sold the world over in 7 million editions across 20 languages. Saga being good for comics is undeniable. A retailer fried of mine this morning told me he had a line of 30+ customers waiting outside his shop, the longest ever in the three years he’s been doing this. Saga returning — and returning strong — feels good, for me personally as well as for all of comics.

It would all be diminished, however, if the book didn’t bring its deep heart with it, which has always played out in the quieter domestic moments set against the backdrop of the shock value sex scenes and space opera zaniness. That’s certainly here in this issue throughout a slow and gorgeous scene that nearly brought tears to my eyes. Hazel and Squire — the child of Prince Robot IV — both lost parents at the end of the last arc, and they are coping in their own ways, Hazel getting into thievery and magic (ugh) while Squire goes mute and silent.

In my favorite scene of the new issue, they get a shared moment of joy. They are listening together to a trendy song their parents don’t like or understand. It is here that Vaughan does his best writing with, “Enraptured, you asked your parents what was playing, and they replied, ‘I have no idea…but it’s terrible.’ And in this moment you began to understand that the universe no longer belonged to the generation who raised you.” I love it.

And as those words appear, the young characters lean into the happiness such a discovery entails, losing themselves in the moment and their youth. They are still two children who have seen great horror, dancing away their shared horrors together…and then we learn the song is called “Assassins of Sadness”, and it’s by an artist called Fartbox. Reminding us life isn’t clean or perfect or ideal, and kids grow up searching for joy while also having odd tastes. It’s absolutely perfect.

Overall: Saga #55 is a triumphant return for one of comics’ best series. Despite a lengthy hiatus, this book has not lost a step, and the entire industry is better for it. Pick this up at the $2.99 price point without hesitation. It’s a perfect return. Overall: 10/10

REVIEW: Saga #55

Saga #55
Writer: Brain K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Letterer: Fonografiks
Publisher: Image Comics
At long last, Hazel and her star-crossed family are finally back and here to kick off a NEW STORY ARC! So, where the hell have they been? As thanks for fans’ endless patience, the SAGA team is proud to return with a double-length issue—44 pages of story for the regular $2.99 price point—without variant covers or gimmicky renumbering. Just more pulse-punding adventure, heart-wrenching character drama, and gloriously graphic sex and violence, as SAGA begins the second half the series and the most epic chapter yet!
Price: $2.99
Get Caught Up: Three Ways to Read Saga

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.