$oss' Pull-List Reviews 3/21/12

Saga #1 

When the first line of dialogue is a woman saying "Am I shitting?" you know you might have a weird read in front of you. Thankfully this is not a story about the battle against last night's spicy dinner. Saga is a fantasy tale of the planet Landfall and it's moon Wreath. The inhabitants of these two worlds have been at war since time began. As the destruction of either place would result in the demise of the other their war must be fought through out the galaxy. At the heart of this conflict are Alana and Marko, lovers from opposite sides of the conflict that are being hunted not only for deserting their posts but for their newborn child, Hazel. Saga is brimming with crazy fantasy elements, soldiers with rams horns, pregnant chicks with bats wings, robots with television heads having sex. There is a mixture of technology and magic that I can get behind. 

Brian K. Vaughan has a tough task making all of this strangeness gel into something readers can process. Since this is a new series you kind of have to be a little patient and open-minded with this book. Luckily Vaughan gets to the meat of the story fairly quick. Fiona Staples artwork is beautiful. Her character design is interesting while not exceedingly outlandish. This book has one of the most appealing color palettes I've seen in a while. Saga may not be everyones cup of tea but I certainly think it has potential. 

Batman & Robin #7

Now THAT is how you write a fight scene! Batman shows up in what looks to be a vehicle he borrowed from Tron to confront Nobody. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason have great balance and pacing with the fight. The dialogue is fantastic and the images are brutal. Batman's rage is tangible as he lays waste to the man who first tried to corrupt his son then tortured him. 

After the fight there is touching exchange between Damian and Bruce about whether or not Damian really would have betrayed him. Bruce gives a genuine response that he wasn't 100% certain. It's refreshing to see that Batman doesn't always have all the answers.

All of that and the best part of this book happens in the last two pages when Morgan pushes Damian to do what he has been trying to get him to do all along. The fallout from Damian's actions will shake up the Batman universe for years to come. -$

Panel of the Week: A kiss before the storm.