By Zack Quaintance & Cory Weber — The Saga re-read rolls right along this week, as me (the returning reader) and Cory Weber (the first-time reader) continue to share our thoughts and the book continues to settle into the powerhouse comic it would later become. Three is a bit of a subdued issue, albeit one with a pretty excellent cover.

We left off last week with Marko gravely injured by The Stalk, who was in turn chased off by The Horrors, who aren’t exactly what they seem to be. Meanwhile, The Will is heading with Lying Cat to Sextillion (whatever that is!) and Prince Robot IV is losing his cool while integrating Wreath prisoners about what went down between Alana and the escaped Moonie she is said to have fallen for, ultimately giving birth to a child.

Saga #3

Here’s the official preview text for Saga #3:

BKV's and FIONA STAPLES' controversial epic continues! Stranded on a mystical alien world, new parents Marko and Alana encounter their greatest fear.

That’s not a lot to go on, and, really, it’s maybe a little appropriate since this is the first issue where things tend to slow down just a little bit. It’s maybe worth noting that I can’t remember what the controversy was about now. I think it had something to do with breastfeeding? Which is maybe why they ended up putting a breast-feeding Hazel on the first omnibus cover? Either way, controversial epic now strikes me as a mostly quaint way to describe Saga through it’s first three issues. Let’s get to our takes!

A Re-Reader’s Perspective by Zack: Saga’s whole deal, as it were, is just so seamless now, that it’s easy to forget that a big part of what marked the earliest issues was a give and take between action sequences and family drama, almost like a jockeying for territory before we got fully invested in both. This issue is a bit heavier on the family drama side of things, especially the end. It’s definitely a slower issue of Saga (which bums me out, because I recently invested in a CGC-rated 9.8 copy of Saga #3), but it’s by no means a bad issue.

A New Reader’s Perspective by Cory Webber: First off, I just want to say, again, how much I love Staples’ character work, especially her facial expressions. They can almost tell the story without any words. Second, Lying Cat is growing on me, and I have a feeling it will become one of my favorite characters. Finally, as a parent of three children, this issue of Saga hits some strong notes. Parenting is hard, and I have the luxury of a house with running water, electricity and not much threat of war breaking out. Needless to say, I can’t imagine having a newborn, while on the run, on a war torn planet. But I digress, the family drama in this third issue is intriguing, what with a grotesque spirit requesting to bond with a newborn baby, and Marko making an accidental deathbed confession, while being semi-conscious — who the #&%! is Gwendolyn?!

Cory’s New Reader Predictions: I’ll tell you who the #&%! I think Gwendolyn is! It’s Marko’s wife, whom he has conveniently failed to mention prior to this. Also, I feel Alana wants to let him die, but her desire to get some answers will be a smidge stronger.

Thanks for joining us, and be sure to check back next Friday for a discussion of Saga #4! Tweet us @BatmansBookcase with your own thoughts, and we may run them here next week...

Cory Webber is a work-from-home entrepreneur who also reads and reviews comics for fun. Find him on Twitter at @CeeEssWebber. He lives in Lehi, Utah with his wife and three sons.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.