Among my favorite tidbits of wisdom is “every relationship is an education”. Even more pronounced in this edition, Hazel uncovers and puts our characters flaws and mistakes into perspective. What made me appreciate volume five the most was the incredible moments of wisdom from Hazel, the narrator.

And what this volume highlights the most, is the truly universal love we have for family. My favorite part of this volume was the expansion of the seal character, Ghus, he is a big cutie. There are stories of varying scales from the everyday romance to the commentary on war and poverty. Volume four really tested my love for this series as Alana and Marko go through some difficult, but realistic, challenges. There are beautiful moments of wise words about children, love, and books mixed in as well. It is amazing the complexity that can be conveyed with so little text and truly speaks to the craft of composition. Yet what surprised me the most was the depth of the characters, main and side alike, in this series.

The story is always detailed and funny, but more and more challenges pop up. With volume three the plot becomes more and more complex. (I can also not get over the fact that Marko and Alana fall in love through books, I mean come on!) Volume 3 Additionally, we are not able to draw black and white lines of moral character. The added characters in the mix merely develops their own relationship further. Their relationship crosses boundaries and their love transcends the over arcing war behind them. In this volume the characters are explored more and their relationship is one of my favorites in all the graphic novels I have read. This brings me to my favorite volume of them all: number two. Last, but not least, the perspective of the narrator is not only one of reflection, but the voice of their child. What is so intriguing is the relationship between the people of the Moon and the Planet. I am in love with the drawing style and the intricate and detailed world building is phenomenal. We were not overwhelmed by the characters, world, or plot. There was a fantastic balance between multiple story lines and simplicity. The whole cast of characters were fascinating and we got a taste of each of them.

The cover drew me in, a woman of color on the cover breast feeding a baby? But what kept me reading were the dynamics of the characters and their surprising depth. I cannot pick my favorite aspect between the cover, the characters, the world building, or the narrative voice.

Fiona staples books