Saga #40 Review: Sir Robot Has A Televised Acid Trip

Time for another epic issue of Saga! The warring planet Phang is about to be in trouble, and everyone’s in danger! Yet is the TV head of Sir Robot IV not in the game?

Saga #40

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Artist: Fiona Staples

Just Don’t Ask How They Change Channels!

Meanwhile, the rest of the cast, as always, have their own problems. Marko is keeping an eye out for the endless battles which rage on the war torn asteroid they’re on. When he sees the forces of Wreath pull back from a battle they were clearly winning, he smells a rat. The former soldier and prisoner of war then has a debate about violence with Jabarah, head mother of the “Meerkat People.” Marko wants to be a pacifist, but his lust for blood can be easier to unleash than he’d like.

Image by Image Comics

Petrichor is on the look out for Izabel, Hazel’s ghostly babysitter who vanished on behalf of Robot. She instead encounters a talking mushroom (or “Bluecap”) who offers more foreshadows of doom. Once again, Fiona Staples designs an alien creature who has a root in something obvious and familiar to all readers, and Brian K. Vaughan quickly establishes what it’s about. Hazel and Kurti continue to have innocent interactions, this time chatting about siblings and the unfairness of life.

Image by Image Comics

Across the galaxy, Marko’s ex, Gwendolyn, arranges for a secret magical meeting with a high ranking Landfall official. This is none other than Gale, whose demonic bat-wings make his intentions obvious. As evidenced last issue, while the war between Landfall and Wreath may have consumed the cosmos, the two planets are willing to secretly cooperate on mutual goals. The endless warfare on Phang over fuel has irked both worlds, and each wants to end it with genocide.

Image by Image Comics

Saga Is Always Especially Relevant!

Naturally, the entire affair on Phang is a metaphor for many third world conflicts. Proxy wars between two larger nations which take place on some smaller one over a resource. It is usually the natives who end up treated the worst, with neither side of the war looking innocent. Ultimately, smaller lands and those within them become little more than pawns or collateral damage to those who think they’re superior. That’s what Gale represents, and this arc demonstrates it beautifully.

Image by Image Comics

And as Robot demonstrates, those who think they’re superior for various reasons usually have their own damage. Hailing from a royal society with a monarchy, Robot started Saga as an elite. Now he’s a peasant at best and an intergalactic fugitive at worst, with plenty of blood on his hands. As a widower, he also has plenty of unresolved sexual feelings. Robot hits rock bottom, deciding to take the infamous drug “Fadeaway” and experience something new.

Image by Image Comics

“Fadeaway” has been the drug of choice for the series, much like cocaine or acid would be on earth. Alana used to be hooked on the stuff when she worked for “the circuit” (which was a mix of professional wrestling and superhero satire). Marko nearly overdosed on it during a previous low point while searching for Hazel, and Robot helped save his life. Its effects on his mechanical biology are unknown, but it seems that Alana, and his unresolved feelings towards her, arise.

Image by Image Comics

At Least Robot Has Killer Abs!

Yet, obviously now is hardly the time for such drama. The March, who is the latest bounty hunter seeking “the family,” is even closer to finding them. The two-headed warrior has already proven able to literally kill a ghost, with magic as his weapon. And the unleashing of Gale’s smuggled “ultimate weapon” will effect all of the souls on Phang, which include nearly the entire cast. Readers really get their money’s worth with every issue, and this one is no exception.

Image by Image Comics

Fiona Staples’ artwork remains some of the best in the industry. She’s done plenty of other work, and occasionally branches out for covers or brief runs on stuff like Archie, but Saga is career-defining stuff. Her designs combine simplicity, creativity, and diversity at every turn. It’s fair that she’s credited first, as it’s impossible to imagine Saga envisioned and visually built by anyone else. This issue alone gives her dream sequences, a cosmic double-page splash, and emotion to play with.

Image by Image Comics

As always, Brian K. Vaughan turns in a script which mixes philosophy, humor, and passionate emotion near effortlessly. Things like space or alien races are details and trappings; it’s the humanity behind it all that matters. In just a few panels or pages he can introduce a new race or define a character’s entire life. Robot’s been around since the beginning and is on the lowest end of his roller coaster. His journey may be ending next month, but who knows?

Image by Image Comics

In the End the Kids Will Inherit This Universe!

In Saga, no character is “safe” aside for Hazel, who has to survive long enough to grow up and narrate it. I can imagine that in due course as we see her grow up, many of the younger characters will replace the adults over time. Her brother, Squire, Sophie, even Kurti may all inherit the mess their parents made for them, and have to be the ones to resolve it. The war between worlds may wind up enveloping their parents, but it will be a diverse cast of the next generation who may win.

Image by Image Comics

Next: Check out Hazel and Kurti's antics from issue #39!

Saga is genuinely a once-in-a-lifetime work, and I think everyone involved knows it. It’s already Image Comics’ second best selling title, and it didn’t take nearly as much time and promotion as The Walking Dead needed. It is already being heralded as a 21st century version of a 1980s Vertigo title, and for good reason. Virtually no other comic out there is as innovative, poignant, creative, visually stunning or sarcastically funny. Saga is what real “mature comic books” look like.

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