If they were titling these collections, this one could have been "Meet the In-Laws." Marko's parents had arrived at the end of the previous volume (via a magic helmet, so maybe "appeared" would be more accurate). The tension between them and Alana is immediate: they're very conscious of the ancient enmity between Wreath and Landfall. I'd almost forgotten that the Marko/Alana union is a classic Romeo and Juliet story. The fact that they have a child--which is apparently something that was not even thought to be possible--makes things even more complicated.
More on this later. I know I'm getting to this late, but feel free to jump in! I know there are lots of Legionnaires reading Saga.
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The action continues on three other fronts. Marko and his mother Klara use the teleporting crash helms to rescue Izabel, the dismembered specter who has been serving as guide and babysitter. Klara hit her with a banishment spell when they first appeared, taking her for a captor. So they find themselves on a nearby planetoid, and immediately encounter a huge giant. Marko's ex Gwendolyn joins up with freelancer The Will. The Will had given up on finding Marko, but he needs Gwendolyn's help to rescue a little girl from the slave planet Sextillion. And the drone Prince Robot IV is still at large (you know, the guy with a computer monitor for a head). We also meet Lying Cat, The Will's sidekick. The cat has the annoying habit of detecting and announcing untruths.
I've enjoyed the first two volumes. I'm trade-waiting. All the characters are interesting. Marko and Alana are very likeable, as is Izabel, my favorite half-person. The Will is likeable for a professional killer. Lying Cat is a kick.
I'm trade-waiting as well. In fact it's worse than that, because I'm waiting for my library to get copies of most things. I'm a book selector, but I have no control over when things get ordered! The series really clicked for me with this second collection. I'm sure the arrival of Marko's parents was a big factor, as it just increases the family dynamics that form such a large part of the series.
Marko and Klara do find Izabel, and they get her back to the ship just in time. The planetoid turns out to be a gigantic egg, which hatches into a Timesuck, a planet-sized predator. Staples provides a stunning double splash page of the birth, a nice flashy visual in a series that generally favors a more subtle look. The Will's ship (with Gwendolyn and the Slave Girl) arrives just then as well. But the reunion is postponed as both ships make their escape.
In the final issue in the collection we catch up with Prince Robot IV. It turns out "blueblood" is a literal description of royalty in this universe, as we see him get injured on a battlefield. Later he finally tracks down the author named Heist whose book served as such an inspiration to Alana and Marko's romance. The prince decides to wait on the planet Quietus for the insurgent couple to arrive. But they'd already been there a week (presumably undetected), which sets up the next volume.