Saga Chapter Forty Six

Art by: Fiona Staples
Written by: Brian K. Vaughan
Published by: Image Comics

We begin this issue with the culmination of the “B” story that began last issue which saw the capture of Petrichor by bounty hunters on this new planet our heroes have found themselves on, and her subsequent rescue by Prince Robot. However, it doesn’t seem like Petrichor is all that happy from the rescue, as we learned, she had come to accept the capture and pending execution, tired of battling her inner demons.

Transitioning to our little family of heroes, Marko and Hazel arrive at the not so legal pregnancy termination facility, greeted by wolf like creature - who gruesomely made her first appearance on the final page of the issue, to terminate Alana’s failed pregnancy before she suffers a similar fate. This all leads to another appearance in Hazel’s mind by her “not” younger brother and a most awkward conversation between Marko and the wolf in the operating room.

That conversation is interesting in the fact that it reveals quite a lot about Marko and how his beliefs were first formed. We’ve come to learn over this series that he considers himself a pacifist, but is also quite a formidable warrior. And these values were passed down to him by his own father, who believed that you should take a life, except in the theater of war. This offers a nice juxtaposition to the current storyline where Marko is confronted with what is essentially a late term abortion clinic.

Staples and Vaughan, it has been said, and should be said over and over, are a powerhouse of a team. This issue continues the trend of excellent self-contained stories that explore many different topics that could easily be seen in our own, real world. In addition to Marko’s story, we are shown what a cruel world can do to even the strongest of person’s psyche in Petrichor, and we get to explore the topic of loss and remembrance with Hazel and her little brother. There is a reason why this is one of the top rated comics month in and month out.