14 Years Ago, One of the Greatest Sci-fi Comics of All-Time Was Released (And There May Never Be A Movie)

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Writer Brian K. Vaughan was known for his longform series, like Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, and The Runaways. Artist Fiona Staples was less well-known, but she quickly became one of the most beloved artists in the comic industry thanks to Saga. Their sci-fi war/family drama epic drew readers in from the beginning, and it became the comic that comic readers were able to recommend to their non-comic reading friends and get them hooked. It is one of the most beloved series of the present day, and yet there are little to no hope of it ever getting an adaptation. Saga isn’t what it used to be, but that doesn’t change just how amazing it was for such a long time.

Saga Took Readers to a Universe That Still Hasn’t Let Them Go

Saga dropped readers into a fully-formed universe of animal human hybrids and went to town. The war between the moon of Wreath and the planet Landfall, the people of Wreath depending on magic and the Landfallians more tech-oriented, has drawn the various powers of the galaxy into the conflagration, and the book stars Alana and Marko. Marko was a Wreath POW and Alana was his guard. The two of them bonded over books they liked by the same author, fell in love, and escaped with Alana pregnant.

Their two governments decide to go after them to keep the secret of their relationship, so no one can find out that their species’ “blood feud” isn’t as clean cut as it seems. We are told the story by their daughter Hazel in the future, a saga that combines the kind of big intrigue you can only get from an intergalactic conflict with family drama, coming of age, sci-fi, horror, action, romance, and nearly every other kind of genre mixed in. The cast of characters are amazing; Vaughan and Staples give readers numerous lovable (or reprehensible) fully realized characters. The politics of the conflict is perfect, and the book’s tone and pacing was marvelous for its first half.

For six years, the book was the most beloved indie comic around. Collected editions sold like hotcakes. The book’s letters page was full of praise. The story kept shocking readers, and 2018’s Saga #54 was the most shocking moment in recent comic history. Vaughan and Staples announced a hiatus, one that was supposed to last a year. The book wouldn’t end up returning until 2022.

Issue #54 was the halfway point of the series, and fans were fine with the long hiatus, as the book had been going strong since 2012. However, the hiatus kept ballooning and a lot of fans fell out of love with the story. Absence made the heart grow fonder, but it got to the point where fans were very unhappy. The book’s return never really lived up to what came before; there are a lot of cool moments, and the characters are still fantastic, but the longer wait time between issues has killed a lot of fan’s enjoyment of it. Many people have went back to trade-waiting (basically, not buying single issues and only buying collected editions), and a lot of the book’s hype is dead.

Saga Will Always Be Beloved

Back in March of 2012, Saga was one of the most beloved books that had come out in years. It sold like hotcakes, with copies of the first issue going for a rather pretty penny very quickly, and showed everyone that Image Comics wasn’t playing around. It’s a comic that fans have been dying to get adapted, but the long hiatus-induced cooling down of the story, and the consequences of Game of Thrones lapping its source material, has made some fans less than excited for the prospect in 2026.

Saga is definitely no longer in the place it was, but that doesn’t change how flawless the first 54 issues are. The funny thing about the book is that it’s nowhere near bad; the problem is that the story is in a rebuilding phase (that’s the best I can say without spoilers and it’s a book that you need to experience going in blind) and the hiatuses take so long that it kills anticipation. Fans still love it, still want it to finish, and support the creators, thougnh. The fire doesn’t burn as high for as long as it did, but it’s always waiting to catch. And who knows, if Vaughan and Staples stick the landing, fans may beg for an adaptation again.

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