Comic Vine Review

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Saga #17 - Chapter Seventeen

5

What the heck just happened here?

The Good

We're all caught up as Prince Robot talks to Oswald Heist and asks him for the location of Marko and Alana. Prince Robot remembers the time he almost died. Freelancer The Brand tries to put a stop to Doff and Upsher's story.

By far, this was the best issue of the series, as of late, and especially since after the break a few months prior. Writer Brian K Vaughan has everything come together in this issue. Months of stories all come to a head. We've finally progressing forward after a run of catching up since issue 12.

It's hard to mention anything about this issue without spoiling something. We get to meet a new freelancer here named The Brand. She's pretty dang cool. I like Fiona Staple's design. It's androgynous and dark, but she has a really cool gold helmet to throw off the business attire. She, like The Will, has her own pet/companion named Sweet Boy, which is a Saint Bernard. We don't know much about the character, but we get to know a bit about her personality from the two pages she appears on. I think it's fair to say that Brian K Vaughan is the king at introducing new characters without it feeling like an introduction.

The Heist and Prince Robot scene really gives us insight to Prince Robot. They talk about death and what the opposite of war really means. Sure, he's the villain here, but you really start to understand him a bit better through this dialogue. It's little moments like this, when we really get into the head of a character that I've fallen in love with.

I hope you like "holy s**t!" moments because the last act of this issue is full of them. Again, I'm not going to spoil anything for you, but it's non-stop craziness. That's about all I can say without giving something away. Get the book and find out what happens.

The Bad

No problems here. This was the best issue of SAGA in quite some time. It truly is a jaw dropping issue.

Don't jump on now. Start at the beginning. This is a journey you're going to want to fully read.

The Verdict

At no point in time has this book ever been bad. In fact, it's never even been just "ok." Sure, recently there's been a few lulls in the book, but the overall arcs are utterly brilliant. Issue #17 kicks it up a notch and turns everything you love about this book. and it's characters, on its head. This is one jaw dropping issue that will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time. BKV and Fiona Staples somehow keep making this series one of my favorite month-to-month reads with in-depth and fascinating characters that you will fall in love with. Overall, I highly recommend this issue. Seriously. Go out and get it.