Hi everyone!

Last week, I posted about how YA and comics really aren’t all that different. It inspired me to want to do a series that we’re going to call Comic Crossover where we take a YA book and compare it to a comic up close.

Sometimes you may not see straight away why I have matched up books and comics the way I have, but rest assured that there is always method to my madness! Sometimes it’s because of the characters alone, the storyline, the genre or another feature about the YA book that I have found that draws parallel to a comic.

AND for those of you who are new to comics, which I think I am about right in assuming it’s most of our audience, in turn, the comics that I select to talk about are always comics that you can pick straight up off the shelf without knowing anything prior about them and enjoy. So if comics have made you feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable in the past, you don’t need to feel that way about the comics that feature in Comic Crossover.

In all cases, I have read both the YA books and the comics, so if you have any questions you can comment on this post!

First of all, and I mentioned this last week, but I wanted the opportunity to go into more depth this week.

If you enjoyed These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, then you might enjoy Saga Volume 1 by Brian K Vaughan.

YA Book Breakdown: These Broken Stars had this element of Romeo and Juliet happening for me. Star crossed lovers (quite literally, they’re in space) Lilac comes from a really rich upper class family and Tarver is a war hero but according to everyone out of Lilac’s league. But when their spaceliner crashes in the middle of nowhere on an unknown planet, and they’re the only ones alive, their worlds collide and they’re forced to stick together if they want to live.

Comic Book Breakdown: Saga hands down is also a re-telling of Romeo and Juliet but with a sci-fi backdrop. If you’re like me, and you’re not really into sci-fi, listen to me pleaaaaaaaaase. Still read it. I am personally not a fan of sci-fi (and if I do read it, it’s very selective on my part), but this book is so beautiful and the characters so ‘human’ given they are alien species that this is absolutely appealing and charming to all kinds of people. Basically, it’s about a horned guy named Marcus who is a prisoner on a planet, and a chick with wings named Alana who was his prison guard. They both come from different planets, and their people are at war. Marcus and Alana fall in love and give birth to baby Hazel, and when the people from their respective planets find out, they’re on the run in an attempt to save their lives and Hazel’s.

Why the comparison? This one is quite obviously the parallels in the story to Romeo and Juliet. Whilst they both put a really unique sci-fi spin on it, and on paper look like they could be the same stories, they are (excuse the pun) worlds apart. I really enjoyed them both though, and in particular Saga is extremely addictive. If you do read Volume 1, you can move straight on to Volume 2 or Volume 3 etc and continue the story as it unfolds. Saga has won so many awards, and rightfully so. It’s utter genius.

Want to grab yourself a copy? Right here, or check your local library. Many have a good stock of current comics. You’ll be asking for Saga Volume 1 not issue one. Saga Volume 1 collects issues 1 through to 6.