Saga: Compendium One: (Vol. 1-9)

Saga is a masterpiece and a must read for anyone who claims to love sci-fi/fantasy. The art is beautiful in an unassuming way. The writing is raw, vulgar and always gives you food for thought without telling you what’s right and what’s wrong or how you should feel about someone or a certain situation. It just shows you how things escalate and how people evolve, encouraging you to make from the story what you want. The plot is not only action-packed and extremely engaging but finds ways to twist your insides with its unexpectedness, leave your eyes red from crying, and make you laugh and swoon with all its funny and heartwarming moments. The characters are the glue in this equation that makes everything work. I care about them as if they are real people. Alana and Marko had my sympathy and support from page one. Their love for their child, the dedication of keeping it alive from all the people wanting it and them dead, their distinct bright and unique personalities making them all the more compatible of being perfect for each other were the most important elements that lead me to absolutely fall in love with them. The cast of characters is huge and so diverse that it’d be impossible for one not to find a few faves while reading. Hazel (Alana and Marko’s kid), Prince Robot IV, Petrichor and Lying Cat are some of my personal favorites for soooooo many reasons I cannot explain in this review due to spoilers. I, also, found my most-hated character of all time that I’d gladly hunt down myself if I had the chance. He/she’s the villain of all villains and caused me so much pain that it’s not fair for him/her to exist in this fictional world I so much love. Believe me, when I tell you, I can’t wait for the next volume to be released. The way things ended left me shocked and in desperate need of some kind of resolution.

I read the first volume of Saga since it was included in Kindle Unlimited, and since then I've read just that volume about 3-4 times alone! It is imaginative, funny and touching with a storyline that keeps you guessing. I'm unsure how I can describe the plot in just a few sentences — just give it a try is what I can say! The artwork is lovely, and throughout the book you can see the illustrator's style change a little reflecting how long this graphic novel has been going for. The book is printed in full colour and beautiful to read through. I agree with other reviewers that due to the size and weight, imperfections are unfortunately common such as creases and damage to the spine. The book doesn't have a lay-flat binding, so I've been very carefully opening up the book to read. Given that there have been no updates to Saga for some time, I'm really the story very slowly :-) I would definitely still recommend this edition to fans. It's much nicer than reading on the screen, and it works out cheaper than buying separate volumes (when I purchased anyway). Just read with care!

Alana and Marko were born on different sides of the devastating war between Landfall and its satellite, Wreath. The war rages across the galaxy, consuming world after world, with no official contact between the two sides. But Alana and Marko have, somehow, become lovers and had a child, Hazel, showing that more than just coexistence is possible. This has made them the most dangerous, wanted fugitives in the galaxy and dozens of skilled hunters and assassins are on their tail. Saga is the story of a girl named Hazel, who is born and grows up under decidedly unusual circumstances. This small-scale story is a window into a much larger and more epic...well, saga. It takes in androids (here depicted as humanoids with televisions for heads), assassins, lie-detecting cats, sex, magic, guns, wooden spaceships, drugs, superheroes and cyclopses. There's so much going on in Saga that it's impossible to convey its sheer scope succinctly. The comic book's writer is Brian K. Vaughan, late of Y: The Last Man, Paper Girls and his work in television (on Lost and Under the Dome) and its artist is Fiona Staples (also responsible for a recent Archie relaunch). Both had reasonable careers before Saga, but it does feel like this is the project that both had been waiting for, something to take both their careers to the next level. Vaughan's writing is relaxed and confident (some of the misjudgements in tone that plagued early Y are here absent) and Staples' artwork is brimming with character and colour. The combination of the two is potent, resulting in a gripping and page-turning experience. Saga is a family saga first and foremost, as we see Hazel being raised by her parents: Marko, a pacifist who keeps being forced back into violence and Alana, a rebel without a cause who has suddenly found one (and then two). The cast expands slowly, bringing in Marko's parents, a ghost-turned-baby-sitter, two reporters, a trashy romance author and a lot more besides. The story also follows the lives of several antagonists, most notably the bounty hunter known as the Will (and his companion, the meme-generating Lying Cat) and the noble, mildly psychotic android nobleman, Prince Robot IV. Over the course of these 54 issues the story twists and turns unexpectedly, all narrated with aplomb by the now grown-up Hazel. This flashback device means that we know Hazel lives to see the end of the story, but everyone else is at risk. And really at risk. The series shows a George R.R. Martin Plus level of willingness to kill off established characters and bring in new ones at the drop of a hat. No-one is safe, which becomes increasingly clear as the series continues and long-running mainstays are dispatched, sometimes very unceremoniously indeed. Whilst the story has a good line in carnage, it also has a great deal of heart. The series dwells a lot on the idea of family, not just biological but also accumulated, the lifelong friends we make along the way and those recurring people who keep showing up unexpectedly. Saga's grand science fantasy, war-torn backdrop is a compelling part of the experience, but the more interesting theme the series explores is that all of us - every single one - are the protagonist of our own personal saga, and how we live our lives determines how our roles will be seen by others: hero, villain, morally ambiguous bounty-hunter or bit-part extra. Saga (*****) is a love story, a war story, a tragedy, a comedy, sometimes a vivid fever dream, often a touching story of family and childhood. It's an adult story about life, loss, literature and lovesickness. It's about the appreciation of fine boardgames and finer friends. It's certainly one of the best slices of science fiction and fantasy produced in this rapidly closing decade. Compendium One is available now in the UK and USA. Note: Compendium One is meant to gather the entire first half of Saga into one (relatively) easy-to-read collection. The first 54 issues of the comic book are collected here, totalling 1,328 pages. Saga had previously been available as six-issue collections and larger hardcover volumes (each combining three collections), but this marks a good opportunity to jump aboard the Saga hype train if you haven't been sold on it so far. Compendium One is obviously huge though, and as a paperback-only release (for now) it puts a bit of a strain on the binding, which I can't see surviving too many rereads, especially if you're transporting it around. On that basis, the hardcover volumes which collect eighteen issues at a time (into still-chunky 400-page volumes) may be a better choice. It's also worth noting that Saga went on extended hiatus after issue 54 was released in mid-2018 and isn't due back until some time in 2020. From that point, it'll likely be another seven years until the series ends and another year or two beyond that before we get Compendium Two. More impatient readers might prefer to follow the volume format to get to the end of the story faster.

Brilliant story line

Saga is an awesome story of love and hate, war and peace and everything in between. Very much NOT for children, or the feint of heart. It is gritty, tragic, and enthralling. I have never laughed and cried so much, and though this may only be half of the (as yet to be finished at time of writing this review) tale, I am sucked in and eagerly purchasing the rest of the story as it's being published.

The book itself is in good quality and a good read. The issue is that the book didn't arrive in a very good condition, edges being messed up and bent in a corner. Probably it's because the book is heavy, and has thin paper, even the cover.

A personal tale of epic proportions, beautifully told. The characters are great, all loveable, relatable, chaotic and impulsive as the rest of us. The artwork is so beautiful, you stop reading and get lost in the gorgeous full-page panels. It's sexual and violent, but not gratuitously so. The story of a couple, deeply in love who will do anything to protect their daughter. The story is beautifully told, and I loved watching it unfold. What a ride!

Somehow Saga manages to be endlessly surprising, and not in a cheap or trite way either. Every single issue has an ending that leaves you wanting more. Luckily, the compendium packs in all 54 of them... until the series comes off hiatus, that is. Getting the compendium also works out cheaper than buying the trade paperbacks independantly. I already had volume #1 and was pretty sure I'd follow the series to its end, so when I saw the compendium at a reasonable price I snapped it up. Like some other commenters I received a copy that had been scuffed either in storage or transit. I didn't adjust scoring accordingly because that's an issue with the supplier rather than the work itself. Fyi, there's probably more sex in this than you'd expect. The artwork is excellant.

This has been sitting on my to read list for quite a while and decided to give it a go after seeing it for such a good price. Reading the first few issues has proved to be very interesting so far and can’t wait to read more. This is definitely a must read for anyone into fantasy, sci-fi, adventure story or just looking for a long story to get immersed in for a while

Love this comic! If you are looking for quality, art , a solid storyline, good characters good&naughty, and just an all around worth while book to get into then you dont have to worry about spending your money here. No dissapointment... None, zilch, nada! Worth every penny. It showed up via the handy dandy amazon delivery guy ans was in perfect shape, not a knick or dent. I'm always wary of getting reading materials when i cant peruse the pages to find out if the story is quality enough to spend money on but hot d@mΩ im really glad I took a leap in this one. Saga has a storyline that isnt dissapointing amd the artwork in it alome can stand on its own 2. I really really really like it! It can be rough finding a story thata actually really good and well written and this one has be so happy its actually the first time i felt i really needed to poat a review on amazon( like this is literally my first amazon review ever) i wanted to write it to put whoever is considering buying thia things mind at ease bc the main thing i wantes to know isnif it was worth my money, if it was interesting enough and good enough of a book to soend what is roughly 3 hours of my work earnings on ut, a few days of anticipation of its delivary and days worth ir reading the thing or if it wish id not have bothered too... But honestly, this comic is amazing and i will be definetly spensing more money fir the rest of the story and I am totally pleased with what I got in thia purchase. So do it! If yiyr on the fence, yes, im as picky and particular as you are bahaha you are goid to go :-)

Yo compre el compendio 1 que contiene las historias de la 1 a la 54 en formato kindle. Valió la pena el gasto, me faltaban las historias impresas de la 20 a la 54 por lo que este gasto es muy bueno si comparas comprar uno por uno los volúmenes en inglés o si esperas a que salgan todos en español en MÉXICO. Lo único un poco molesto es el tamaño de la letra en el celular o tablet. En la kindle no se disfruta igual porque la pantalla es blanco y negro. Aun así la historia es maravillosa y muero por saber que más pasa en la segunda parte de esta increíble aventura.

Obra excelente, e tava num preço bom!

Originele comic, aanrader.