tinasimms

In its sequel to 2012's graphic novella Saga, Vaughan picks up this story right where it left off. No, seriously... like, SECONDS after its cliffhanger first installment.

     I am so excited about the new tension, now that Marko's anti-Landfall parents have come aboard their escape tree-rocket. This is after they blast the couple's zombie babysitter off the ship. This is a family drama.
     I was so impressed at how Vaughan kept up realistic friction between Marko and his mom without making their fighting sound stupid. Landfall-Wreath prejudice hasn't faded from the story and, even though steps have been made in Alana's favor, it's clear that there are still some hard feelings.
     While I am relieved that both the heroes and the villains are surviving--a new sensation while reading--I am wary of the death-loopholes. (The lance that saves the Lying Cat was the most obvious.) I have mixed feelings about character deaths. Sometimes the greater threat of doom can keep suspense going during the story. This isn't a hard-and-fast rule, of course; body-bagging half your characters isn't the recipe for a riveting plot either. But after the little girl is rescued--and Izabel is found, and Marko escapes from the baby-monster-planet--I missed some of the suspense from the previous story.