Saga: Volume Five is another action packed volume in the world of Saga. The three main story lines continuing from previous volumes are the focus for this volume. Alana and Hazel are currently captured by Dango, Marko and Prince IV has teamed up to find their children, and Gwendolyn, Sophie and The Brand continue to search for a cure for The Will. Without giving too much away in case you have yet to read the latest volume; this volume is a mixture of happy endings and painful loss – not all characters will make it to the end of the volume.
As I have said before, it is the character development and their interactions with other characters that make this comic. Even if the character is only in a few chapters, you quickly grow to either love or hate them. This is no more poignant than in this volume with two main characters’ who meet their maker; one dies as a hero and one is a much unexpected death. I will not reveal which character dies unexpectedly because this would ruin the surprise. I was genuinely surprised when this character was killed, which had an emotional impact on me as a reader. However, let’s talk about the hero’s death. (Skip the next two paragraphs if you don’t want to know who dies)
SPOILER ALERT: Yuma dies are heroic death repairing the wooden rocket ship to save all those aboard. She is one of my favourite characters for her personality. She is not particularly good or bad; Yuma just never had much luck in life and so avoided the reality of it all by being constantly high. Hazel’s final tribute to her is extremely moving and really sets up the scene.
‘The last thing Yuma ever wanted was to be a soldier. She always thought it was way too easy to convince young people to forfeit their lives playing hero. After her childhood sweetheart was killed in combat, a grieving Yuma eventually declared herself a “sensualist”. Amidst a galaxy of misery, the artist dedicated her life to chasing pleasure, avoiding pain, and helping others do the same. Yeah, she wasn’t always perfect… but who the hell is? So here’s to another victim of the goddamn war, a woman who at least managed to die exactly as she lived. High as fuck!!!’
This powerful paragraph uses strong blunt language that suits who Yuma was. Characters are not made out to be someone they are not, this adds credibility and realism to this comic. This makes them real and gritty reflecting the situation they all face. In contrast to the hard, honest language the art is bright and humorous which as a nice contrast stopping the whole comic from becoming all doom and gloom.
Sex and sexual references are once again in full swing in this volume, which is another way of lightening the mood though, as mentioned in my previous review due to the explicit content in some chapters you may want to be careful of where to read this comic.
Though not all the main story lines are sewn up, this volume does not end on a cliff-hanger. All the mini story lines within the volume are wrapped up neatly. All characters are accounted for and safe for now. While some readers may find this a disappointment, I myself, enjoy volumes not always ending on a cliff-hanger, especially when you have to wait so long for the next instalment. So when is volume six out, I hear you ask? The answer is unknown. Now are you glad it didn’t end on a cliff-hanger…..
Once again, let us know your thoughts and opinions on the developments in this latest volume. We would love to hear from you.
