Age Group/Genre: Adult/Science Fiction, Fantasy

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.

From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults.

Collects Saga issues #1-6. (Cover and synopsis from Goodreads.)

I remember seeing a Goodreads giveaway for Saga back in 2012, and I remember thinking that it looked really cool. And I’m now here to tell you, after reading the first volume, that it is definitely very cool. It’s weird, and it’s definitely for adults, but it’s super cool.

The story in Saga kind of reminds me of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series, with the two characters who fall in love being from opposite sides during a war. And I love the artwork, and all the different characters. I think it’s cool that the story is told from the perspective of a baby.

I had a few issues with this first volume: 

• In the first few pages, one of the main characters gives birth. And she says that it doesn’t hurt, but “feels good.” I’m sorry, but she has birth on a table in a mechanic’s shop and she’s saying it doesn’t hurt? Sure, these are fictional characters who are of fictional species in a fictional universe, but let’s keep things kind of realistic, right? I don’t know, maybe I’m harping on it unnecessarily, but it just seems like a slap in the face to women whose bodies HURT during labor and delivery. (With both of my deliveries, my body hurt worse than anything I could ever imagine, so no, this is not my reality.)
• There are some sexist comments, along with the word “retarded” being used in a deroggatory way. Come on, people! We need to get past this! There are also some instances of characters using the words “slut” and “whore” but I was okay with these (not with the words, with the usage) because they are being said by the bad characters. But the sexist stuff and “retarded” were used by the main characters. NOT COOL.