Review by Frank Plowright

With their craft destroyed, Alana, Hazel and Squire spent Volume Eleven trapped on a planet requiring Alana to take another dead end job before a way off-planet presented itself in the form of a travelling circus. That where we pick up on the cast, Alana having taken the post of circus bouncer.

Brian K. Vaughan is excellent at involving readers in the constant changes of circumstances imposed on Alana and Hazel, largely via the latter’s appealing narration from an undefined point in the future, but after a dozen volumes there’s a feeling of repetition. Yes, the locations change, but there’s a template to the way Vaughan plots Saga with portentous comments from Hazel a strong feature, and characters repeating the same behavioural cycles. Hazel explores every new world sucking in the environment and people, and here introduces us to Emesis, described as her greatest friend.

With Emesis and other new characters Fiona Staples extends an impressive talent for design still further. From the very beginning Saga has embraced design randomness. Animals mix with variations on humans and technological modifications. If Saga runs on long enough eventually all life will be here. Staples is also good with the big emotional moments. It’s difficult to both write and draw a child realistically over so many pages, yet both creators succeed.

The pacing of this volume is exceptional. Alana believes she’s safe, but she’s been recognised. It means assorted threats are closing in, and she takes some faltering steps back into normal life just as the vultures are circling ever nearer. Vaughan also moved the bigger picture forward significantly last time, only to show the architect of it disintegrating here, yet it happens anyway and an excellent final chapter tours a vast cast checking in on reactions.

However, what it also prompts is Alana and Hazel yet again on the move at the end of the volume, although at least the destination this time is familiar territory, albeit somewhere not seen for some while. The potential here outweighs the misgivings about repeated patterns, so bring on Volume Thirteen.