Review by Frank Plowright

Brian K. Vaughan is the master of the chapter ending cliffhanger. Over pretty well every serial he’s written that’s been a strength, and Volume Ten’s conclusion was Alana, Hazel and Squire’s home being burned to the ground. It was more than a home actually, enabling them to travel from planet to planet, and without it they’re stuck on an unhospitable planet in the middle of the ongoing galactic war. These episodes also feature are some great cliffhanger endings. You’ll think Vaughan’s blown it with the ending to the penultimate chapter, believing it to be a volume closer if ever you’ve seen one, and you’ll be right. The actual closer is different and good, but no match for the previous one.

As much as anything Hazel’s peripatetic childhood as rolled out via Saga has been about lessons being learned, some of them rather sooner than would be wished for a child of her age. The explanations Alana provides about what Hazel can’t pick up on are of necessity less than fulsome, and that leads into Hazel’s misfortunes here. Another thing Vaughan’s really good at is misdirection, or to be more precise, hiding in plain sight. While we’re concerned about Hazel and others, toward the end it suddenly drops into place that as far as the bigger picture is concerned Vaughan has something potentially massive in play.

Due to being stranded on a less than welcoming planet Alana has another new look, Fiona Staples this time giving her cropped green hair. Otherwise there’s been a slight change to the art. It’s always been digitally created, but in places here there’s the look of objects more obviously shopped in. Signs are more conspicuous than they ought to be, and some furnishings also have that look. That’s being picky. The remainder of the art is classy and emotionally rich.

Vaughan returns more old friends, and the thought occurs that perhaps a plot about a chase for Alana is merely the narrative excuse to do just that. Either way, you’ll welcome them back.

Are Alana, Hazel and Squire in a better or worse place at the end than they were at the beginning. Well, one of them is definitely worse off, and their problem is one likely to recur. Let’s head to Volume Twelve.