Saga is an epic space opera fantasy comic book series written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples, published monthly by the American company Image Comics. Based on ideas Vaughan conceived both as a child and as a parent, the series follows a husband and wife Alana and Marko, from long-warring extraterrestrial races, fleeing authorities from both sides of a galactic war as they struggle to care for their daughter, Hazel, who is born in the beginning of the series, and who occasionally narrates the series as an unseen adult.
The comic has been described in solicitations as "Star Wars meets A Game of Thrones", evocative of both science fiction and fantasy epics such as The Lord of the Rings, as well as classic works like Romeo and Juliet. It is Vaughan's first creator-owned work to be published through Image Comics, and is the first time he employs narration in his comics writing. Vaughan has stated that the entire series will span 108 issues, or chapters.
The first chapter of Saga was published on March 14, 2012 to positive reviews and a sold-out first printing. It was published in trade paperback form in October 2012. It has also been a consistent sales success, with its collected editions outselling those of The Walking Dead, another successful Image comic.Johnston, Rich (February 5, 2016). "Saga Appears On The Big Bang Theory Over *That* Cover... (Art Ops UPDATE)" . Bleeding Cool.Bricken, Rob (February 5, 2016). "Reminder: The Big Bang Theory Is the Goddamned Worst" . io9. The series went on hiatus after reaching its midpoint at Chapter 54 in July 2018, and resumed in January 2022.
Saga has been met with widespread critical acclaim, becoming one of the most celebrated comics being published in the United States. It has garnered numerous awards, including twelve Eisner and seventeen Harvey Awards between 2013 and 2017. The first trade paperback collection won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. It has also been noted for its diverse portrayal of ethnicity, sexuality, and gender social roles, and for its treatment of war.Paul, Andrew (July 7, 2016). "10 Fantasy Comics to Hold You Over Until "Game of Thrones" Returns" . CBR.com.Bauman, Nadia (March 20, 2015). "The Hidden Message of Saga" . Women Write About Comics.
Publication history Writer Brian K. Vaughan conceived Saga in his childhood,Kit, Borys (March 14, 2012). "'Lost' Writer Brian K. Vaughan Debuts New Comic With Damon Lindelof and Friends" . The Hollywood Reporter. calling it "a fictional universe that I created when I was bored in math class. I just kept building it."Wolk, Douglas (August 5, 2013). "Masters of the Universe. The space story Saga is the comic world's big hit". Time. p. 54. He was inspired by Star Wars, Flash Gordon, children's books, and the awe and wonder of first seeing the Silver Surfer, which seemed an "incredible and different" concept to him.Lewis, Shane (February 26, 2012). "IMAGE EXPO: Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' "Saga" Panel" . Comic Book Resources. When his wife became pregnant with his second daughter, he conceived of the protagonists, the winged Alana and the horned Marko, two lovers from warring extraterrestrial races who struggle to survive with their newborn daughter, Hazel, who occasionally narrates the series. It was also at this point that the central theme that Vaughan wanted for the book emerged. Vaughan explains, "I wanted to write about parenthood, but I wanted to Trojan-horse it inside some sort of interesting genre story, to explore the overlap between artistic creation and the creation of a child." Vaughan intended to return to writing a comics series following the 2010 conclusion of his previous series, Ex Machina, and notes that the publication of Saga #1 was connected to bringing a new child into the world.
Vaughan explained that the main characters' romance would be a major theme of the book, and that the series would observe the young protagonist grow up in "real time" across roughly eighteen years. Touching upon the juxtaposition of the book's mature subject matter with its Star Wars inspirations, Vaughan jokingly described the book as "Star Wars for perverts."
The book was announced at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, and was billed as "Star Wars meets A Game of Thrones" in solicitations. Saga represents the first time Vaughan has employed narration in his comics writing, a decision influenced by the whimsical interaction between the text and images in the children's books he reads with his children, and by his desire to try something new that he felt would work well with Sagas narrator, Hazel. It is also his first series to be published through Image Comics,Renaud, Jeffrey (July 23, 2011). "CCI EXCLUSIVE: BKV Builds 'Saga' at Image" . Comic Book Resources. which he selected as the series' publisher on the recommendation of the writer Jay Faerber. Vaughan elaborated on his selection of Image thus:
Although Vaughan has written for television and has endeavored to have his previous works adapted into film,Rogers, Adam (April 24, 2007). "The 2007 Rave Awards: Print: The Storyteller" . Wired he stresses that he developed Saga strictly to be a comic book and not to be adapted to other media, explaining "I wanted to do something that was way too expensive to be TV and too dirty and grown-up to be a four-quadrant blockbuster." Vaughan has also indicated that he has an ending in mind for the series, and that he plans five chapters ahead, having written the first six Chapters as the first story arc, which would have ended with the two main characters dying on the rocketship launch pad in Chapter 5 if the series had not been successful. By June 2016, Vaughan indicated that he knew what the last page of the series' final chapter would be.Cunningham, Joel (June 22, 2016). "Brian K. Vaughan Talks Saga, Paper Girls, and Why We'll Never Get That Lying Cat Series" . Barnes & Noble.
The series is illustrated by Fiona Staples,Armitage, Hugh (March 13, 2012). "Brian K Vaughan's 'Saga' launches" . Digital Spy. who was introduced to Vaughan by their mutual friend, writer Steve Niles, with whom Staples worked on Mystery Society. Vaughan, who did not meet Staples in person until just before their panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, explained his selection of Staples by describing his reaction upon first seeing her work, saying, "Her artwork is incredible. [It] doesn't look like anyone else. She is very unique. When I opened up this file I was like, 'This is going to work! Staples is co-owner of Saga, and has received first billing since Chapter 25. In addition to designing all the characters, vehicles, and alien races in the story, she provides painted covers and hand-letters Hazel's narration using her own handwriting, which is the last thing she does after finishing the artwork on a page.Kepler, Adam W. (October 26, 2012). "Graphic Books Best Sellers: Fiona Staples Talks About 'Saga'" . The New York Times. Staples renders the characters in a pen-and-ink style line while using all-color settings inspired by video games and Japanese animation. At the 2012 Image Expo, Staples described the process by which she produces her art as harkening back to animation cels, in which emphasis is placed on figures and backgrounds.Allen, Todd (March 12, 2012). "Advance Review: "Saga" By Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples" . Comics Beat. Vaughan has stated that Staples' style has influenced the direction of the story. The character Ghüs, for example is entirely Staples' creation. Another example is the organic forms of most of the series' technology, such as the main characters' wooden rocket ship, which is derived from Staples' dislike of drawing mechanical objects. To design the series' various planetary settings, Staples looks to the real world for inspiration and then exaggerates some elements of them. Some rooms on the planet Cleave, for example, were inspired by Cambodian architecture.
The book was priced at $2.99 for the majority of its run, which Vaughan arranged as part of his contract with Image, along with the stipulation that it never be less than 22 pages long. The first chapter features 44 pages of story and no advertisements in both its print and digital versions. In 2023, the price increased to $3.99, beginning with Chapter 61. At the end of each chapter is an old-fashioned letters column called "To Be Continued" which prints readers' letters submitted entirely through postal mail as it does not provide an email address for this purpose. Vaughan usually handles the column himself, including responding to letters.
The book's release was celebrated with a launch party at Los Angeles' Meltdown Comics which featured a public conversation with Vaughan's former colleague, Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, who had hired Vaughan as a writer/producer on that series in 2007.Dawidziak, Mark (January 19, 2009). "'Lost' writer Brian K. Vaughan is a Cleveland native" . Cleveland.com. Vaughan also promoted the book by appearing at signings at Midtown Comics in Manhattan"Brian K. Vaughan signs "Saga" #1 @ Midtown Comics Downtown" . Comic Book Resources. March 15, 2012. and Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn during the week of the first chapter's release.Solan, Colin (March 14, 2012). "NYC – Saga Signing" . Convention Scene.
After the publication of Chapter 6 in August 2012, Vaughan announced that the series would take a two-month hiatus, after which the first six-issue story arc was published in trade paperback form in October for $9.99 before the series' return in November, a practice that Vaughan and Staples would continue after each successive story arc and trade paperback publication.MacDonald, Heidi (August 14, 2012). "INTERVIEW: Brian K. Vaughan on the first SAGA collection" . Comics Beat. That same month, Vaughan and Staples promoted the series by appearing together at the 2012 New York Comic Con, their first appearance together since the series' debut."Comic Guests" . New York Comic Con. Retrieved August 17, 2012. Some retailers refused to display the trade paperback because its cover (a reuse of the first chapter's cover) depicts Alana breastfeeding Hazel.
In December 2014, Image published Saga Deluxe Edition Volume 1, a hardcover volume collecting the first 18 chapter of the series, which make up its first three story arcs. Because Vaughan sees Saga as a story about Hazel, he and Staples decided to have each new hardcover volume feature an original image of that character at a different stage of her life. Because the first volume covers her birth and infancy, its cover features a closeup of Hazel nursing from her mother's breast, set against the backdrop of Landfall and Wreath, which recalls the first chapter's cover. Eric Stephenson warned Vaughan and Staples that some retailers and distributors would object to this cover image, thus limiting the series' audience, but after seeing Staples' rendition of the image, Stephenson decided that sales would not be a problem.McCabe, Joseph (January 1, 2015). "The Top 5 Comic Reprint Collections of 2014" . The Nerdist.
On July 25, 2018, Chapter #54 was published, ending the first half of the series' run on a major cliffhanger. The series then went on an extended hiatus, during which the first 54 chapters would be published in a single volume called Saga: Compendium One. In April 2019 Vaughan told Entertainment Weekly that the second half of the series would also last 54 issues, making what he called "a planned 108-issue epic".