Note: Some spoilers within for previous issues in this series.

Saga tells the continuing story of the little family of (the late) Marko and his wife Alana - a mixed-race couple - and their daughter Hazel. The family struggled to stay together in spite of a war between their two races.

Alana is from the planet Landfall, where inhabitants have wings on their backs, and Marko was from its moon, Wreath, where all people have horns on their heads. The two defied all convention (and propaganda, viz: those people have horns on their heads!) and fell in love. Hazel was born with both horns and wings, and it is Hazel who narrates the story.

Marko and Alana just wanted to find a way to be safe and happy and live in peace, but it wasn’t possible. The three of them were pursued throughout the galaxy by a number of beings trying to exploit them or kill them (or first one, then the other).

In Volume 9, however, both Marko and Sir Robert - once an enemy but eventually an ally - were murdered. It is now three years later. At first, Hazel and Sir Robert’s son Squire were being raised by Hazel’s mother and a male named Bombazine, or “Bomba” for short. Squire hadn’t spoken a word since his father’s death, but they all got along fine. Then Bomba ran into a nasty blackmailer, and had to part from the little family.

In this issue, it is a month later. We meet Special Agent Gale again, the Landfall government operative directed with not only finding and killing Hazel, but finding and killing everyone she had ever met, lest they spread the idea that mating between Landfall and Wreath was somehow acceptable. Gale is in the process of interrogating Marko’s mother Klara in her detention center, who apparently was unaware Marko had been killed.

Alana and Hazel were selling baby formula while Hazel’s adopted brother Squire (whom Hazel calls “Brobot”) was waiting for them at home along with their newest fellow passengers, the former bandmates Dranken and Hectore (“Drums” and “Guitar.”) Last month, Squire had confessed to Hazel he was in love with her, and she hadn’t spoken to him since. When they got home, Alana announced she was taking them all to “the greatest, most magical place that’s ever existed.” At this restaurant/music/gaming venue, Hazel and Squire finally communicated about their feelings. Hazel wanted to continue to be siblings, but not more than that.

All seemed to be working out, except when they went back home, a disaster awaited them.

As always, to be continued...!

Evaluation:Excellent story by Vaughan and art by Fiona Staples, as always. ( )