Saga by Brian Vaughn and Fiona Staples

Writer Brian Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples have created an engaging fantasy / science fiction adventure for adults in Saga. Against all odds, winged Alana and horned Marko are deeply in love. They met in prison where Alana was Marko's guard. When we meet this pair, at the start of this graphic novel series, Alana is giving birth in a garage. The new parents were soldiers from opposing sides in a longstanding intergalactic war. They and their baby daughter are on the run, pursued by various powerful forces that want them dead.

The characters, dialogue and setting are all fantastic. Saga has robot royalty, a spider-like alien assassin, a magical sword, a ghostly teenage babysitter cut off below the torso, a grease monkey in the form of an ape, and rocket ships that grow from trees. I'm really looking forward to volume 2, which is coming out in July 2013.

Readalikes: The Finder Library (Carla Speed McNeil); Fables (Bill Willingham et al).

NOTE added April 10: Apple has refused to carry Issue 12 of Saga on any of its platforms because of depictions of gay sex. See story on the Comics Beat website. I should have mentioned that the edition I reviewed, volume 1, is a paperback compilation of the first 6 issues. Issues 7 through 12 have been published (Image), but not yet compiled into volume 2.