Saga Vol. 7

It has been awhile since I've read Saga & without picking up volume 6 or looking back at my previous reviews of the other volumes; I just wasn't feeling as emotional about this one as I was supposed to.  I will definitely be rereading this series as a whole when it's finished.  This volume was only OK for me as there's a lot that happens in this collection.  There is a time jump of six months & the story takes place entirely on the comet of Phang.  This is by far the saddest entry into the series as several characters die but in some cases the deaths don't have the same amount of emotion as some of the characters who have been around for a while.  This collection has about the same amount of death as The Walking Dead.  

From here on (SPOILERS!) abound, Hazel & her extended family are coasting through space when they discover they are running out of fuel.  Petrichor who came with Hazel from the prison instead of grandma has sort of replaced her role in this family.  Their ship has to make an emergency refueling stop on Phang an inhabited comet flying through the blackness of space.  Phang is war torn & full of refugees in fact I would say that this is Brian K. Vaughan's cosmic version of Aleppo, Syria.  Phang is the birthplace of Sophie is still off with Gwendolyn & Lying Cat.  Lying Cat is still one of the greatest comic creations of the 21st century.  On Phang our family comes in contact with another family of small rodent like characters not as cute as Gus but just as likable.  Kurti & his family are a great addition to the book.  Throughout this book we see the extended family grow as Alana becomes a mother to all while she is going through her second pregnancy.  Petrichor warns Marko of these refugees that they have taken in saying that they are not what they appear.  All of this alludes to the fact that Kurti's family are religious fanatics who will go so far as to participate in suicide bombings against at least one side of the conflict.  Marko stands up for them saying that you can not judge a race based on the actions of a few.  Izabel & Hazel get into an argument which prompts Izabel to offer to help out Prince Robot IV.  Meanwhile The Will  with Sweet Boy tracks down Gwendolyn to get the band back together so they can continue hunting down Marko & Alana only to find out that his bounty hunter status has been revoked.  Izabel runs into a new bounty hunter The March she tries to run but they capture her & kill her, permanently. There is a really touching story where Hazel & Kurti are talking remembering Izabel,  Hazel tells this story about her past & the feather fairy it is really a touching story.  Gwendolyn goes on a mission for Wreath High Command to meet with a representative from Landfall.  Prince Robot IV gets high & comes close to crossing the line between raping Alana & committing suicide.  Right when The March finds Marko & Alana's tribe, Petrichor finds out why so many people have deserted Phang.  The showdown between The March & our group ends in Marko once again taking a life to save his family.  The Last issue of this collection sees the death of Sweet Boy & supposedly The Will by an unknown assassin.   Hazels family escapes Phang just as it is being destroyed but do to some turbulence Alana is knocked down & it is speculated that she has lost the baby boy she was carrying.  Kurti & his family refused to go with them preferring to remain on Phang believing that their faith will protect them from the time of trouble ahead; all were lost.

Saga is still one of the greatest series on the shelves right now I love how Brian K Vaughan is able to balance writing multiple books at the same time.  I haven't read Paper Girls yet but that he is currently writing along with this one.