Saga, Vol. 9 by Brian K. Vaughan

​    Look at the happy family on the cover. Remember the good times. Then prepare yourself for the devastation Vaughan has wrought with this volume upon them and their associates. Brutal, absolutely brutal. Would have been even more so, had I not been reading it years after publication. This originally came out in 2018 and then Saga went on pause. It is (whew, thank you) coming back in January 2022, which makes reading this in November 2021 considerably easier, but still…brutal.
     Mind you, I’m a pretty stoic reader, reserved, outwardly emotionless, and yet this reading experience was a gasp out loud sort of thing. Though, in a way, the level of emotional engagement here speaks volumes for the quality of these books. Not sure why the author decided to make some of the choices he made, outside of mixing things up or some sort of tabula rasa strategy, but very interested in seeing where he takes Saga next. Can’t wait for volume 10.