WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Saga #55, on sale now from Image Comics.

Image comics' critical hit Saga (by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples and Fonografiks) finally returned to comic shops late last month. Despite the book being on hiatus for nearly four years now, the story and characters feel just as fresh as ever. Several changes to the status quo were introduced in the latest issue, making the future of the series seems more ambiguous than before.

Squire, the young heir to the Robot kingdom, was left orphaned after issue #53, when The Will decapitated his father, Prince Robot IV. He's since been adopted by Lana, making him Hazel's younger brother. Losing his father was so traumatic that the child hasn't spoken in three years. It's sad to imagine a Saga without more Prince Robot, but Squire has the same charm as any of the comic's TV-headed robots. This issue indicated that The Will is headed off to the Robot Kingdom to solve some problems for the Wreath Government, so maybe Squire's rights as an heir will become a factor in the coming arc. Will heritage pull him away from his adopted family?

Related: How Saga Redefines Science Fiction's Grimy And Traumatic Underbelly

Of course, the biggest ripple in the pond has been Marko's death. Readers were heartbroken when this lead character got the axe back in 2018. Saga #55 hasn't made managing that pain any easier, as it contains The Will passing his skull to his ex-fiancé, Gwen, who's ascended Wreath's political world in the years since. Gwen and The Will have been flirting the entire run of the series, so they finally tie the knot, right in front of Marko's decomposed head. Pretty extreme on the evil spectrum.

Alana, now a single mother of two, has had to make some major life adjustments. Being a combat vet with no degrees and a price on her head has left her with very few job prospects. To keep her family afloat, she's resorted to... smuggling. Her front of selling infant products covers up the drug stuff, but as this issue indicates, there's very little stability in it.

Related: The Most Powerful Saga In Comics Is Returning - Here's Why You Should Care

Saga has always kept its characters in muddy situations with the law. But more often than not, these events have been a consequence of exterior circumstances. With Alana's smuggling operation, the characters find themselves taking a more proactive stance against the powers that be. Authorities are always two steps behind. Socially, they're set several steps back. The family used to immerse themselves in the community of each planet they'd move to, but with Alana's operation, that might not be feasible anymore.

Saga was wild before the hiatus, and it's only getting wilder. The return issue alone is enough to excite any Saga fan about the future of the series, and issue #56 seems just as promising. If this issue has proven anything, it's that Saga is as unpredictable now as it was back in 2012.

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