As Alana and her family prepare for their short split, The Will has a gift for the Robot royals in Saga #57, by writer Brian K. Vaughan, artist Fiona Staples, and letterer Fonographix. This is yet another great issue, building plots that will play into the future of the book.

The issue starts in flashback, revealing that Alana had her wings removed after Marko's death because one of them had been ruined. This plays into the present, where her fellow Captain sees she's without wings, and they discuss the job he wants her to do. Hazel, Bombazine, and Squire watch the band and love it, after which Alana comes and says goodbye. On a mission for Gwen, the Will brings Marko's skull to the Robot royals to forge an alliance between the Horns and the Robots. Back on the ship, Bombazine has a talk with Guitar, and she says he reminds her of someone.

Vaughan does a great job of building nice little plots in this issue. The issue serves to remind readers of Marko's death twice, both in the flashback and in the section with the robots, the latter of which serves to show how much the galaxy has changed, something that has through these three issues. Before the time jump, the Robots certainly wouldn't have accepted a gift from the Horns, but now, with things seeming as bad as Vaughan has built in the previous issue? They'll not only accept it but do so graciously. Also, it's great that Vaughan establishes that the royals hate Lying Cats, which is the only reason Gwen and The Will's plan works.

There's a lot of character development on the pirate ship, including a glimpse at a sweet relationship between Alana and Squire. Hazel loves her mom, but she's older than Squire. Squire lost everything he had, and he and Alana forged a very close relationship during the time jump. It's rather sweet. With Bombazine and Guitar, the last few pages bring up an interesting little plot element that is either a complete red herring by Vaughan or something sinister to come.

There's not really much that needs to be said about Staples' art that hasn't been said before. Her character is superb, especially with the Robots. When their screens are blank, it's all down to body language and lettering, so Staples works the body language, and Fonographix supplies the lettering to make the whole thing work perfectly.

Saga #57 is yet another issue showing off what this comic does so well. Vaughan, Staples, and Fonographix build a marvelous issue, fitting in a lot of heart and developing multiple plots. There are few other books out there that can compete with Saga.

Grade: A