Comics
5 Skull Review: ‘Saga’ #4
Every issue of Saga has been great, but issue #4 is the best yet in terms of character development. The cover of this issue features The Will, and fittingly much of the issue is devoted to developing his character, along with Alana and Marko. If you haven’t been reading “Saga”, you should be, but you should also know that The Will is the most badass character in the book. Firstly his name consists of a capitalized “The”, and secondly it was revealed in issue #3 that he totally got it on with that severely gnar female bounty hunter. What happens in issue #4 cements his badassery, as well as makes the five finger palm of death from Kill Bill look like child’s play.
WRITTEN BY: Brian K. Vaughan
ART BY: Fiona Staples
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
RELEASE: June 20th
We learned in issue 2 that The Will decided to go to the “love” planet Sextillion and rock out with his unlimited credit card out. Well in issue #4, he finally gets there. Fiona Staples really delivers big time in this issue, and whether the denizens of Sextillion are purely of her imagination or what, they are definitely something twisted! The Will unfortunately has to leave his extremely badass companion, the Lying Cat, in his spaceship before entering Sextillion. This highlights an important message given to us by the narrator, that the most important partnerships in life take work. This is especially pertinent considering the revelation by Marko in the 3rd issue that he had previously been engaged before meeting Alana.
As The Will travels through Sextillion he is confronted by the usual sort of things one would expect to see on a sex planet: angels engaging in lesbian orgies, Dinosaurs with purple members(thank you for ruining many childhood memories Ms. Staples and Mr. Vaughan…), corpulent women eating while copulating, you know, it’s all very casual. Shockingly none of this is tickling The Will’s fancy, but luckily for him, The Will finds a guide who will lead him “deeper” into Sextillion. Let’s find out what horrors turn a man like The Will on, shall we? No spoiler alert here, you need to pick up the comic to find out what The Will is confronted with in the bowels of Sextillion, the aftermath of which is true horror-show. The Will literally explodes something’s head in between his hands. Of course the narrator wraps up this little scene by very enigmatically saying, “The Will wasn’t the first freelancer to come after my parents, and he wasn’t the last. Like every freelancer I had the misfortune to meet, he was a fucking MONSTER. But as my family was about to learn, some monsters are worse than others…”(p.21).
Vaughan’s writing is such a clutch part of making this comic series enjoyable, but pairing it with Staple’s artwork makes it unf*cking believable! There are grotesquely hilarious scenes like the one in which Izabel (the ghost with dripping intestines instead of legs) is making baby faces at Hazel. And then there are the questions that this issue left spinning in my head. Will The Will’s decision to enter Sextillion without Lying Cat affect him later in the series? What kind of monster is The Will exactly? And of course what happens when Marko really gives up his pacifism and lets ‘er rip on that spaceship? Questions like these drive me to pick up the next issue, and with the character development I’m invested in finding out what happens to everyone. “Saga” is truly a great read and ocular pleasure. I can’t wait for the next issue!
5/5 skulls
Reviewed by – TheSandMan
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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