Saga Vol 1 Review and Discussion

A month ago I announced Saga Vol. 1 as the first pick in my comic book of the month club. I chose this book because Saga was a story I had a lot about and it was by Brian K. Vaughan, who wrote Y: The Last Man. Saga is a much different story than Y: The Last Man. Anyways, on to the review!

Saga starts off with two characters Alana, from Landfall, and Marko, from Wreath. They were on opposite sides of war. Marko was a prisoner and Alana was his guard. Turns out they fell in love. This is very similar to Romeo and Juliet in space but a lot better.

The first thing we see is the birth of their daughter Hazel. We find out they are both now fugitives wanted by the armies once fought for.  After the birth of Hazel they are found by both Wreath and Landfall forces. They were sold out by the person who let them in to give birth to Hazel. This person is shot by the Landfall forces, lead by Prince Robot Iv, and in a last attempt to be a good person he gives Marko and Alana a map to the Rocket Ship Forest. This is a mythical place where rocket ships grow like trees. This map is the key to the adventure in this volume.

Alana and Marko go on a journey to find this forest. While they are doing that they run into the Horrors, which are ghosts on the planet and they are charged with protecting the planet. One of the Horrors, Izabel strikes a deal to help Marko and Alana as log as they take her with them. In order for her to go with them, she must bond her soul to Hazel. It took some convincing but Marko and Alana agree.

Also, they must battle mercenaries as well. They are The Stalk, a spider like creature, and The Will. The Will is the first and only mercenary to actually interact with Marko and Alana in this volume, The Stalk is at first scared away by the horrors and then, apparently, killed by Prince Robot IV as she is trying to capture them Marko and Alana again. Prince Robot the IV had tracked them down  again and was attempting to capture them as well. The will is seen passing a test to get the assignment of hunting them down. He is also seen rescuing a child sex slave. It appears the mercenaries will have a big role going forward.

Eventually, Izabel leads them to Rocket Ship Forest and they get the last ship that was grown there. They finally get the ship to launch and they get an unexpected visit. Alana immediately goes on the defensive, but Marko  stops her because they are his parents

I really enjoyed this book. Even though the story is such a familiar conch, space aspect adds so much. The horrors were a great example of the devastation caused by the war. The help to show traditions as well because they are guarding the planet as spirits because that is tradition. Also, the characters are great because you  can easily relate to them. I would give this story a 4.5 out of 5.

Let me know what you thought of this story!

Doctor Strange #1

Marvel had recently re-launched a lot of it's series as part of their All-New, All-Different line. This takes place after their latest big event Secret Wars. One books from this line that I would like to highlight is Doctor Strange #1.  It has been out for a couple of weeks now, but the book still deserves some recognition.

I recently read it again and was reminded how much I liked it. It's a fun and interesting adventure. It also helps to readers by giving a brief overview of Doctor Strange. It explains how he became the man he is and the responsibilities that come with it. 

Without giving away the story, you see just what makes Doctor Strange such a unique character in the Marvel Universe. He is known as the Sorcerer Supreme and he deals with problems that are outside the normal realms of super hero comics. He is not your typical hero but he certainly gets the job done.
 

If you're looking for a good introduction to this hero before the movie is released, this is the book for you! 

2015 Fenway Spartan Sprint

For the third year in a row, I ran the Fenway Spartan Sprint. I ran the race this year with Rachelle and Talia. They were awesome teammates and did really great job. This was Rachelle's third Spartan Race and Talia's first. All in all, I had a great time with some great company.

Some highlights from this race were that I did not slip on the monkey bars. There were release push-ups in the visitors' locker room. My last highlight is running the stairs on the green monster. These obstacles really help to highlight that we were running in Fenway Park.

The reason I highlighted the monkey bars is that The Spartan Race tends to use fence post size poles for their monkey bars and then spaces them oddly. Normally, I slip somewhere in the middle but on this course I made it all the way to the end. After the bars we were only a lap around the warning track away from finishing.   

The other two highlights, fall into the magic of Fenway category.  Even though it was only the visitors locker room its still a really cool experience. Also, running the green monster really gives you a great view of Fenway. Even though it's race, I always take some time to just look out over the park. It is just an amazing view.

If you have to pick any Spartan Race to run, I recommend doing this one. There is no mud and you get to enjoy being at Fenway Park!