Saga (comic book)

The author of the story is Brian Keller Won , conceived the "Saga" while still a child ^{[4] [14]} , calling the story "a fictional universe that he invented while missing math lessons" ^[15] . Vaughn was inspired by such films as Star Wars ^[14] , Flash Gordon and children's books, he also admired a character such as Silver Surfer , in which young Vaughn saw an “incredible and different” self-image ^[16] . Much later, when Vaughn's wife became pregnant with his second daughter, the author came up with the idea to connect her story with her lovers - Alana and Marco, who belong to two irreconcilably warring races, trying to hide and survive with her newborn daughter Hazel, who also acts as a storyteller. This moment was to become the central point of the plot of future history. Vaughn noted that “he wanted to talk about parenthood, but with a hidden“ Trojan horse ”in the context of an interesting genre story, in order to explore the connection between artistic creation and the miracle of creating a child” ^{[15] [17]} . Vaughn was determined to write a new story after completing his previous Ex Machin story in 2010, but also noticed that the first volume of the Saga coincided with the birth of his daughter ^[15] . He saw this in parallel with the warnings of his colleagues against the release of a new comic book due to the unstable economic situation in the late 2000s with those who warned against the birth of a new baby ^[14] , noting the following:

I realized that creating comics and having a baby is one and the same thing, and if I combine them, it will not be so boring, especially if I put it in a science fiction universe and not just create diapers .. I did not want to talk about Star Wars with all these noble heroes fighting the empire. These are people who play a minor role in history, who want to escape from this ongoing intergalactic war ... I belong to a generation of people who just do that complain about prequels and how they let us down. And if each of us who is aching about how the prequels of [Star Wars] do not meet our expectations would just start working on our own science fiction story, this would be a much better way to waste our time.

Original text

I realized that making comics and making babies were kind of the same thing and if I could combine the two, it would be less boring if I set it in a crazy sci-fi fantasy universe and not just have anecdotes about diaper bags ... I didn't want to tell a Star Wars adventure with these noble heroes fighting an empire. These are people on the outskirts of the story who want out of this never-ending galactic war ... I'm part of the generation that all we do is complain about the prequels and how they let us down ... And if every one of us who complained about how the prequels didn't live up to our expectations just would make our own sci-fi fantasy, then it would be a much better use of our time.

- Brian Won in an interview with Hollywood Reporter ^{[14] [18]}

Vaughan noted that the novel of the main characters was to become the main theme of the story ^[16] . The author was inspired by the Star Wars saga, but he also touched on adult books, so Won jokingly called his story “Star Wars for Perverts” ^[14] . The language of the crowns shown in the comic is nothing more than the artificial language of Esperanto ^[19] .

The comic book was announced in 2011 at the international Comic-Con in San Diego ^[3] and was positioned as a meeting of Star Wars stories with Game of Thrones ^[20] . The Saga is the first story where Vaughn uses a vivid interaction between text and images as a way of narrating, as is usually the case in children's books. Vaughn explained this decision with the desire to try something new and original and, in his opinion, this concept is well connected with the fact that the child is the storyteller ^[4] . This is also the first Vaughn story to be published by Image Comics ^[21] . The author chose this publishing house after the recommendations of the writer Jay Faerber who noted that Image Studios do not limit writers to creative freedom ^[16] . Won noticed the followingː

I like the companies I worked with before, but I believe that Image is the only publisher who would still offer me a contract to publish a fully authored work - Sagas. This is really a very important thing for me, so I needed guarantees that there would be no restrictions on my content and that I could maintain 100% control and ownership of copyrights not even related to publication, including the right to never turn my a comic in a movie, a television show, or something else ... [Image Publisher] Eric Stevenson was the only publisher who after this conversation was delighted with this transaction, as well as the co-founder of Fiona Staples and I didn’t and did not need to sign special documents or agree to work on a bunch of corporate names to achieve what I wanted.

Original text

I love all the other companies I've worked with, but I think Image might be the only publisher left that can still offer a contract I would consider "fully creator-owned." Saga is a really important story to me, so I wanted a guarantee of no content restrictions or other creative interference, and I needed to maintain 100% control and ownership of all non-publishing rights with the artist, including the right to never have our comic turned into a movie or television show or whatever ... [Image Publisher] Eric Stephenson was the only publisher I spoke with who was thrilled to make that deal, and co-creator Fiona Staples and I didn't have to sign exclusives or agree to work on a bunch of corporate-owned titles to get it

- Brian Won in an interview with the Comics Alliance ^[4]

Although Vaughn wrote scripts for television films earlier and wanted his films to be made into films ^[22] , he insisted that the Saga remain only a comic book and not become an adaptation in other media, noting that he “wanted to create something that will be too expensive for the television series and too “vicious” and adult to be a blockbuster quarterly ” ^[14] . Vaughn from the very beginning conceived the end of the story ^{[16] [23]} , also when writing the story he had already planned issues for the front ^[16] . In the event of the failure of the first chapters, he wanted to end the story after the first six chapters, but to a tragic outcome in the fifth chapter, where the heroes die in an unsuccessful attempt to take off on a rocket ^[23] . Won knew of how the story would end, by June 2016 ^[24] .

The comic book was illustrated by the artist Fiona Staples ^[25] introduced to Vaughn by their mutual friend Steve Niles . Fiona worked with Niles on the comic strip Mystery Society ^[4] . There, I had never met Staples in person before and first saw her on the panel at the Comic-Con exhibition in San Diego in 2011. There Vaughn first got acquainted with her works and was deeply admired by the artist’s artistic style, noting that “her works are delightful, unique in their kind. She is unique. When I looked at her images, I realized that this is exactly what will work. " So, Staples decided to take part in the creation of the comic strip "Saga" ^[16] . With the release of the 31st chapter of the comic book, its image first graced the cover of the publication ^[26] . Staples worked on the design of all the characters ^[15] , vehicles, alien races. She also wrote text on behalf of Hazel's handwritten signatures, with which she completed her comic book illustrations ^{[4] [17] [27]} .

Staples first worked on pen and ink lines, and then painted scenes inspired by video games and Japanese animation ^[15] . At Image Expo in 2012, Staples described the drawing process as working on animated frames in which the emphasis is on the shapes and background ^[28] . Staples also sought to portray a great racial and external variety of characters, noting that this makes the Saga universe more realistic and gives the setting its authenticity, the artist noted that “if most people on Earth are not white, then why should they be like that in the galaxy ? ” ^[29] . There is no discrimination in skin color in the Saga universe, but horns and wings are a clear marker of racism and xenophobia ^[29] . Vaughn noted that the Staples art style strongly influenced the further direction of the plot ^[16] . For example, the character Gus was completely invented by Staples ^[24] with Another example is the organic forms of fictional technology in the Saga, for example a spaceship in the form of a magic tree, on which the main characters travel. Staples admitted that she was not pleased to draw mechanical objects ^[15] . Working on locations and planets, Staples was inspired by landscapes from the real world, then re-creating them in an exaggerated form in the Saga universe. For example, some of the rooms on the planet Cleve were inspired by Cambodian architecture ^[27] .

The price of each chapter was $ 2.99 and it should have remained unchanged under the Won contract with Image, along with the condition that each chapter will include at least 22 pages ^{[4] [18]} . The first chapter contains 44 pages, without ads ^{[3] [18]} in print and digital versions ^[4] . At the end of each issue was a list of letters under the heading “To Be Continued”, which printed letters from readers sent exclusively by mail, which also did not indicate the sender's email address. Won usually personally processed this column and answered letters ^[10] .

The comic’s release was marked by a launch party at the Meltdown Comics store in Los Angeles , during which Vaughn spoke publicly with Damon Lindelof ^[14] , Vaughn’s former colleague who worked with him on the 2007 Lost screenplay ^{[ 30]} . Vaughn also promoted his comic book by conducting an autograph tour at Midtown Comics in Manhattan ^[31] and at the Bergen Street Comics store in Brooklyn in the first week after the release of the first chapter ^[32] .

After releasing six chapters in August 2012, Vaughn announced a two-month interruption after the first chapters were published as a paperback in October for $ 9.99. In November, the release of new chapters resumed ^[23] . Vaughn and Staples decided to continue this practice of the hiatus after the publication of each story arch and its release in the form of a paperback ^[33] . In the same month, Vaughn and Staples promoted the comic at the Comic-Con exhibition in New York, where for the first time the author and illustrator made their debut together after the release of the first chapter of the Saga ^{[23] [34]} . Some retailers refused to show the book because its cover (reuse of the cover of the first issue) depicted Alan's breast-feeding ^[10] .

In December 2014, Igame published a hardcover Saga Deluxe Edition Volume 1, which included the first 18 chapters of the story, including three story arches. Since Vaughn sees the Saga as the story of Hazel, he and Staples decided to show Hazel at each of its different stages of growth with each hardcover edition. For the reason that the first edition contains scenes of her birth and infancy, on the cover of the publication it was decided to portray Hazel breastfeeding her mother in close-up against the planets of Ladfall and Wentz, however, Eric Stevenson is in cautioned that some retailers and distributors would object to this cover image, thereby limiting the comic book audience. After a little processing of the image, Stephenson came to the conclusion that the image will not have a negative impact on sales ^{[10] [11]} .

Each chapter in the comic is called a chapter number, for example, “Chapter 1”. Every six chapters make up a story arch, designated as a “volume,” which was published as a paperback edition. Every three volumes are designated as a “book”, which was published as a hardcover publication ^[35] .

The plot represents Alana and Marco, two young people, representatives of two warring races, who fell in love with each other. Alana is a “winged” representative of the high-tech Landfall race and a former soldier of the Landfall coalition, the ruling planet of Landfall, the largest inhabited planet in the galaxy. Marco is a “horned” native from Wenz — the planet of Landfall’s satellite, whose population uses magic for battles. From time immemorial, the people of Wentz and Landfall have been at odds with each other, but since the war between the planet and the satellite is fraught with a shift in the orbits of the planets, which will turn into a catastrophe for two worlds, the battles of the two races were transferred to other inhabited planets, where they continued to expand their power and influence, and the local population was forced to take one of two sides. The main characters Alan and Marco met on the planet Cleve, which is under the control of the Landfall coalition. Alana, having fallen in love with Marco and got pregnant from him, deserted from the army and was forced to hide with Marco and then with her newborn daughter named Hazel from the “winged” army ^{[36] [37]} .

The voluntary union of Alana and Marco is regarded as shameful and unacceptable by both parties. They became the target of persecution of both Landfolians and Venetians, because the news of the forbidden alliance and the birth of the half-blood could undermine the morale of the armies on both sides. On the part of Landfall, the task of capturing the fugitives was received by Prince Robot IV ^[17] , on the part of Wentz, a mercenary named Will ^[23] is the persecutor. Robot IV and Volya enter the race with each other, who will quickly find the fugitives ^[17] . Meanwhile, the main characters intend to find a way to leave the planet Cleve and they decide to help the ghost of a girl named Isabelle, who was a representative of the local race of Cleve, destroyed by the "winged". She is bound to the baby Hazel’s soul ^[38] . Heroes leave Cleve on a magical woody spaceship. Soon, with the help of magic, Marco's parents find them, but they accept the union of their son with the “winged”, including their newborn daughter ^[23] .

The second volume tells the story of Marco's parents and his upbringing ^[39] in childhood and how he first met Alana ^{[40] [41]} . Marco's ex-bride, Gwendolyn ^[40] , hoping to destroy Alana and her offspring voluntarily joins the mercenary Volya, like a six-year-old girl named Sofia, who was saved by Volya from sexual slavery ^[42] . Will also wants to take revenge on Robot IV, who killed his partner. Meanwhile, the main characters take refuge with Oswald Heist (author of Alana’s favorite novel) ^[43] .

The third volume, released in August 2013 and described by Vaughan as the “big tonal shift” ^[15], tells of two tabloid journalists, Absher and Doff, who conduct their own investigation into Alan and Marco. Meanwhile, the main characters live and take refuge with the famous writer Oswald Heist, however, the idyll does not last long, because in the footsteps of the heroes there arrives Prince Robot IV, who is damaged as a result of a skirmish with Marco, and then the heroes are attacked by Gwendoline, killing Oswald and for the first time meeting with Alana. By the end of the story, Hazel began to walk, and the journalists Absher and Doff were limited in their freedom of investigation after the attack by Brenda, the mercenary and sister of Will ^[44] .

The fourth volume tells how the main characters settled on the planet Gardenia, where Alana works in an underground entertainment program called Open Circuit, in which all actors wear masks. Hazel begins to speak, meanwhile a son is born to Prince Robot IV ^[45] . However, he is kidnapped by Dengo, a robot cleaner, having killed Robot IV’s wife in an attempt to influence the politics of his native world, which, in an effort to help the “winged”, deprives the attention of its own subjects ^[46] . Meanwhile, Alana and Marco are moving away from each other, Alana, absorbed in work, is addicted to drugs, and Marco seems to fall in love with a local girl. The kidnapper of Dengo, by the will of fate, goes to the planet Gardenia, where the main characters hide and find out about them, including the half-blood child ^[47] . Dengo takes the whole family hostage and leaves the planet in a tree ship, Marco remains on the planet, who unites for the first time with Prince Robot IV to save his children ^[48] .

The fifth volume begins with a scene where a woody ship lands on a frozen region of the planet. Dengo meets with members of The Last Revolution, a radical anti-war group who want to use Hazel as a pawn in their campaign against Landfall and Wentz. Meanwhile, Marco and Robot IV are trying to find a common language and find heroes with revolutionaries. Towards the end of the arch, Dengo turned against the revolutionaries, but was killed by Prince Robot IV, who managed to regain his son. Marco and Alana reunite, but Hazel and Clara go to the Landfolk prison. Meanwhile, Brenda joined Gwendolyn and Sophie and went in search of an elixir that will cure Will, but Brenda was killed ^[49] .

In the sixth volume, Alan and Marco track down Hazel and Clara, who remain in prison at Landfall. Absher and Doff resumed their investigation after hearing of Brenda’s death. Journalists are opposed by Will, who renewed his vendetta against Prince Robot IV. Meanwhile, Prince Robot abdicated and brings up his fast-growing son Squire. Alana and Marco save Haisel and Clara from prison. They are also joined by the new heroine Petrichor, who is a transgender woman. Alana found out that she was pregnant again ^[50] .

The seventh volume "The War for Phang", released on August 31, 2016, unfolds on the populated comet Phang. Alana has a second child - a son. Heisel, meanwhile, communicates with the locals and finds a new love. Petrichor finds a common language with the main characters. However, the heroes are forced to leave the comet, which was destroyed along with all its inhabitants. Also, the ghost of Isabelle disappears forever ^[35] .

The eighth volume, "The Coffin" tells of how Alana is trying to get rid of the fetus, who died in the eighth month of pregnancy. Will becomes a victim of vendetta ^[51] .

Alana

The main character of the story, wife Marco and mother Heisel. She comes from the landfall planet ^{[17] [37]} , like all landfolk, she has wings ^{[17] [39]} , but before the 18th chapter she cannot fly ^[52] . If we compare the appearance of Alana with real people, then she was conceived as a representative of the mixed race ^[53] . She joined the war against the crowns and left college ^[17] , as she considered her life boring and conflicted with her parents (her mother remarried) ^[37] . Soon she was expelled from the front line, as she was recognized as a “coward” ^[17] for being unable to kill civilians ^[54] , after which she was transferred to the planet Cleve, where she met Marko as a prison guard ^{[17 ]} . She made friends with him, and when Alana found out that Marco was supposed to be transferred to another prison, from which the detainees never return, she decided to help him escape and as a result she became a deserter ^[41] . She later married Marco and gave birth to a daughter, Hazel. Alana was pregnant again, but her child was able to last term. At the end of the story, one wing loses.

Marko

The protagonist of the series and father Hazel. He is from Crown, whose representatives resemble horned people and possess magic. Marco was an infantryman in the war of his people against the Landfall Coalition. ^[17] Comparing Marco’s appearance with real people, he thought about how a character with an Asian appearance, his appearance, including his parents copied in Japanese models, while the artist tried not to emphasize stereotypical markers of Asians (narrow eyes, flat nose), so readers will mistakenly decide that Marco has a European appearance ^[53] . He was brought up from a young age with knowledge of the atrocities that the landfolk committed against his people ^[55] . When Marco left Venetz while still a fanatically devoted warrior and patriot of his nation, he quickly changed his views after he personally saw the battle and since then began to adhere to pacifist views. This was the reason for the cooling of relations with his fiancée Gwendolyn, who, on the contrary, adheres to the Jingoist views ^[56] . Marco surrendered to coalition forces as a “refuser of military service” 18 months before the start of history. He was a prisoner of war on the planet Cleve until his guard Alana escaped with him. The high command of Wentz sent the mercenary Will to find Marco, because he “refused his oath and betrayed his people”, fraternizing with an enemy soldier ^[17] . Although he is a pacifist ^{[17] [56]} and even vowed after the birth of his daughter to never stick his blade out of the scabbard ^[17] , he was forced to use his power several times when his family was threatened with death ^{[56] [57]} . He was killed at the end of the story ^[58] .

Hazel

The daughter of the main characters, also acts as a storyteller. She is a half-breed - at the same time it has horns, like a father’s, and wings, like a mother’s ^[17] . She spends most of her childhood in a woodship, also with her grandmother Clara ^[23] . Towards the end of the third story arch, she takes the first steps ^[52] , and toward the beginning of the fourth arch she begins to speak ^[45] . She celebrates her fourth birthday in the sixth arch, however the next few years, she and Clara's grandmother were held in the Landfolk prison, where Hazel hid her wings and pretended to be a crown ^[59] .

Isabel

The ghost of a sprout girl from Cleve, who was killed by a mine. Despite her age at death, it is not known how old she is; she may be older than Clara. Originally from the family and resistance fighters who built tunnels to escape from the “winged” invading Cleve. She makes a deal with Alana to save Marco's life in exchange for being taken with herself, for which she connects her soul with Hazel. Later, she acts as a “nanny” for the girl and, using her ability to create frightening mirages ^[41] , to allow Alana and Marco to rest at night ^{[38] [60]} . However, its ability does not affect robots ^[61] . It was finally destroyed in the seventh arch.

Klara

Mother Marco, who first arrived by magic with her husband in a wood ship. At first, she could not recognize the relationship between Alana and Marco, since she hates the “winged” ones, although her daughter Hazel quickly recognized and fell in love ^[39] . There, the author of the story noted that it was easiest for him to prescribe this character ^[45] .

Petrichor

Appears for the first time in the Vandfall Prison, where Clara and Hazel end up. She escapes with them and joins the main characters. Petrichore is a representative of the race of crowns and a transsexual woman hiding her biological male gender. Klara does not love her, knowing her "secret". Fell in love with the Prince of Robot and acts as a nanny Hazel ^[62] .

Prince Robot IV

A member of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Robots, appointed by Landfall as the main pursuer of Alana and Marco at the beginning of the story, when his wife was pregnant with her first child ^[17] . The absurd visual design of the character comes in striking contrast with his personal qualities ^[63] . Like other representatives of his race, he is a humanoid with a small TV instead of a head. As Vaughn, the creator of the story, explained, Robot IV was created as a result of Vaughn’s fascination with old televisions when he began writing scripts for television ^{[4] [15] [17]} . The Prince also has blue blood ^[43] and the ability to turn his right hand into a gun ^{[17] [38] [43]} . At the beginning of the series, Prince Robot IV was given the task of finding the main characters. ^[52] He is cruel and quick-tempered, ready to kill even a random character on the spot. His attempts to reach the heroes led to damage in the third story arch. He temporarily teamed up with Marco to save his abducted son ^[45] . After which he abdicated and raised his son alone. Later, he and his son join the main characters ^[64] . He was beheaded in the ninth story arc of the Will.

The Will

One of the bounty hunters hired by the supreme command of the crowns to kill Marco, Alana and return Hazel alive ^[17] . A cat accompanies the will, capable of detecting a lie. On the planet of carnal pleasures - Sextilione, Marco frees a six-year-old girl from sexual slavery, killing her pimp and calls her Sophia ^[56] . Will was once the lover of The Huntress ^[39] , the arachnid woman who was killed by Prince Robot IV ^[60] . For this, Will vowed to kill the Prince ^[23] . Visions of the “Huntress” pursue the Will constantly. He teams up with Gwendolyn, who pursues a similar goal to kill heroes ^[36] . His sister Brenda is also a mercenary. He was mortally wounded by the possessed Sophia and lay in a coma for a long time, until Sophia and Gwendolyn brought him the medicine. After recovering, Volya abandons her work as a mercenary, but still pursues the goal of revenge on Prince Robot IV ^[52] .

Lying Cat

A large sphinx cat, capable of detecting a lie ^[17] . Her power is limited by the speaker’s state of mind: she can detect deliberate deception, but cannot detect a lie if the speakers believe that this statement is true. According to Isabelle, “Lying Cats” always play by the rules, which indicates that they must also recognize ethical and factual truths. When Gwendolyn, who became an ally of the False Cat, accidentally kills a person, Isabelle says that they had no right to execute this man in his own house, which the False Cat could not deny ^[52] .

Sophie

Former sex slave at the age of six and a half years old at the time of her first appearance ^[37] . She is rescued from the will of slavery. Later it discovers the ability to "psychometry", allowing her to track Marco and Alana ^[42] . Vaughn, the comic book author, noted that he had created Sophie to illustrate the terrifying consequences of the war and how he criticized the sexualized image of Princess Leia as the slave Jabba the Hutt in the movie Star Wars. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, "explaining that:" There are a lot of slaves in the world, less sexual and they are not like Princess Leia in a bikini " ^[65] .

Gwendolyn

Former bride Marco, who joins the Will to pursue the main characters. She adheres to chauvinist views and intends to kill the main characters also out of a sense of betrayal on the part of Marco ^[42] . Marco and Alana's engagement rings were originally intended for Marco and Gwendolyn, they also function as translation devices and originally belonged to the grandparents of Gwendolyn, whose rings were enchanted by the translator spell because they spoke two different dialects of Wenz’s native language ^[56] . She demonstrates her indifference to Will, although she became attached to him and tried to find a way to cure him ^[52] .

Oswald Heist

Cyclops . A well-known writer and author of a dozen short stories throughout the galaxy ^[23] . The pacifist criticizes the war through his novels, including writing the novel “A Nighttime Smoke” about the novel of a woman and a monster that inspired Alana and, in fact, pushed her to fall in love with Marco ^[43] . Lives on the planet Quetus. For a while, Alana and Marco, together with their newborn daughter, were hiding in the house at Oswald, who was delighted with the union of the wandfolk and the crown, but Gwendolyn was killed.

Absher and Doff ( Upsher and Doff )

Independent journalists from the planet Jetsam who investigated the Alana and Marco case, trying to pick up new information and evidence. Absher and Doff love each other, but do not publicize their relationship in public because of the deeply homophobic society from which they came ^{[61] [66]} . They themselves belong to the race of amphibian people. They are attacked by Brenda, who poisons journalists with a special substance that will kill Absher and Doff when trying to talk with outsiders about Alan and Marco ^{[54] [61] [66]} . After the death of Brenda, the poison ceased and the journalists continued their investigation. Later, Volya hires them ^[67] .

Sales and Reprints

The first issue on its release on March 14 was immediately sold out. The second seal, ordered on April 11 on the day the second issue was released, was also immediately sold out ^{[68] [69]} , the third seal appeared on store shelves on April 25 ^{[70] [71]} . The comic was reprinted five times ^[72] . By August, 70,000 copies of the chapters had already been sold. ^[33] As of 2016, the sale of the Saga surpassed the sale of the iconic comic book The Walking Dead , which however is better known to the general public due to its television adaptation ^[5] .

The first paperback edition called Saga, Vol. 1, which included the first six chapters, was released on October 10, 2012 and ranked sixth on the New York Times bestseller list of graphic novels as of October 29 ^[27] . By August 2013, 120,000 copies of the volume were sold. ^[15]

Despite the fact that chapter # 7 was sold out, Ginnifer de Guzman, director of marketing, announced to retailers in December 2012 that she would not be reprinting the comics. DeGusman explained her decision by saying that recently there has been a decrease in orders for successful titles such as Saga, despite critics' recognition and consistent sale at the distributor level. She noted that the number of orders for the eighth chapter decreased by 4% compared with orders of the seventh chapter. Instead of investing in a second print, the company decided to focus on providing all readers with copies of the first print ^[73] . This decision displeased some retailers, prompting Image publisher Eric Stevenson announce the next day that the publication of the second issue of issue No. 7 will be accompanied by a large discount, but warned that the publisher will not be able to reprint each issue of the series ^[72] .

The second paperback edition, released in August 2013, also immediately made it onto the New York Times' list of bestselling graphics ^[15] .

Criticism

The series were warmly received by critics and quickly recognized as one of the best comics released in the United States (as of October 2018) ^[7] . The average Saga score was 9 out of 10. According to the Comic Book Roundup aggregator site. This assessment is based both on a review of chapters and collection volumes ^[74] .

The first issue has received widespread recognition from magazines and publishers such as Publishers Weekly ^[75] , MTV , Ain't it Cool News , Complex , Comic Book Resources , iFanboy and ComicsAlliance . They all praised the ability of Vaughn, the author of the comic book script, to combine elements of different genres, work on an extensive setting and mythology, and also create attractive characters that the reader can sympathize with. A number of observers compared the story of the Saga with a combination of science fiction and fantasy works, such as Star Wars , The Lord of the Rings , and even such classic works as Romeo and Juliet , Hamlet , and even the New Testament " ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [76]} . Представитель AICN оценил ведение хроники крупномасштабных событий с точки зрения новорожденной Хейзел, которая рассказывает их, как давние события прошлого ^[2] . Алекс Залбен из MTV Geek заметил, что читая комикс, он сумел услышать такт Джона Уилльямса . Множество рецензентов также похвалили Вона за то, что тот начал историю с рождения Хейзел, не растягивая вступление истории обильными описаниями того, как Алана и Марко встретились и начали ухаживать друг за другом ^{[20] [77]} . Тодд Аллен из The Beat одобрил необычный дух книги, выделив мотивы персонажей, погружение в сюрреалистическую обстановку, необычность сюжетных поворотов и современный характер политического тона истории ^[28] . Алекс Эванс из Weekly Comic Book Review и Хейс из Geeks of Doom назвали сериал новой классикой ^{[20] [78]} . Хейс также похвалил издание Image Comics за то, что оно позволило опубликовать на столько оригинальную историю ^[20] . Редакция SyFy Wire заметила, что сюжет «Саги» избавляется от изжитого клише «бессмертных героев», демонстрируя внезапную и зачастую жестокую смерть как ненавистных, так и полюбившихся читателям персонажей ^[79] .

Критики также хвалили художественную работу Фионы Стейлс, охарактеризовав, её как великолепную ^[2] . При этом Залбен уже за раннее предсказал, что «читатели буквально влюбятся в её работы по уши» ^[1] . Грег МакЭлхаттон Comic Book Resources сравнил работы Стейлс с творчеством Лейнил Фрэнсис Ю , особенно её использование тонких линий для подчёркивая внешности персонажей, изображение крупных, резких фигур, соединение чуждых и одновременно всем знакомых образов для создании богатой и визуально сплочённой вселенной ^[77] . Критик AICN отметил, что Стейплс идеально изображает грандиозные комические панорамы, разные жанровые атрибуты, эмоциональное выражение лиц, что всё идеально подходит для чутких диалогов, созданных Воаном ^[2] . Тодд Аллен из The Beat написал, что пейзажи Стейлс иногда играют такую важную роль в истории, что и события на переднем плане ^[28] .

Историю похвалили за изображение этнического, сексуального разнообразия персонажей, гендерных социальных ролей и изображение войны ^{[8] [9]} . Критик сайта The Manial Geek заметил, что в индустрии современного кино, телесериалов и комиксов, которая по прежнему целится на демографию белой, мужской и гетеросексуальной аудитории, «Сага» является примером широкой репрезентации женщин, небелых людей и из числа ЛГБТК (например гомосексуалов , бисексуалов и транссексуалов ), которых Голливуд до недавнего времени предпочитал игнорировать, при этом всё это гармонично вписывается во вселенную «Саги» ^[29] . Критик сайта The Atlantic назвал репрезентацию в «Саге» революционной, которая делает вызов укоренившемуся в жанре научной фантастики образу главных героев, как эталону белой мужественности с редкими отклонениями. Критик заметил что если практически во всех современных медиа темнокожие женщины — это экзотические второстепенные персонажи без проработанного характера, то Алана выступает главной героиней, многогранным персонажем со своей предысторией, помимо этого другой главный герой Марко, ломает укоренившийся стереотип мужского персонажа-азиата в западной литературе и кино, как человека, со слабо выраженными привлекательными и иногда мужественными чертами ^[80] .

Последующие издания, последовавшие за вступительной аркой, состоящей из шести глав получили аналогичную положительную оценку критиков ^[81] с тремя печатными изданиями, заказанными для выпуска № 2 и вторыми печатными изданиями, заказанными для выпусков № 3 — 6 ^[72] . Данная история была включена в список IGN 2012 года в категории «Комиксы, которым мы благодарны за этот год» ^[82] и заняла первое место в издании CBR, как лучший комикс 2012 года ^[83] . В августе 2013 года, Дуглас Уолк , критик Time magazine назвав «Сагу» прорывным хитом, «озорным, вульгарным и блистательным» ^[15] . Джозеф МакКейб, представитель издания The Nerdist включил книгу Saga Deluxe Edition Volume 1 в твердом переплете в топ-5 коллекций юмористических материалов 2014 года ^[11] . В том же году Лаура Снеддон, член ассоциации британской научной фантастики в журнале Vector , включила «Сагу» в свой список шести новаторских научно-фантастических комиксов ^[7] . Редакция Vulture причислила «Сагу» в список 100 комиксов, оказавших наибольшее культурное влияние в истории США ^[84] .

Rewards

В 2013 году "Сага" получила три премии Айснера в номинациях «Лучшая серия продолжения», «Лучшая новая серия» и «Лучший писатель» ^[85] . В том же году первое издания в мягкой обложке было удостоено премии Хьюго в 2013 году за «лучшею графическую историю» ^[86] . Комикс был номинирован на семь премий Харви в 2013 году и выиграл шесть из них в категории «Лучший писатель», «Лучший художник», «Лучший цветовая гамма», «Лучший новые серии», «Лучший продолжительные серии» и «Лучший одиночный выпуск или сюжет» ^[87] .

В 2014 году комикс выиграл три премии Айснера , на которые он был номинирован; «Лучший художник/Дизайнер Мультимедиа», «Лучший писатель» и «Лучший продолжающийся сериал» ^[88] .

В 2015 году комикс был снова номинирован на премии Айснера , которая она получила в прошлом году ^[89] и получила две из них — «Лучшее продолжение» и «лучший сценарий» ^[90] . Также четвёртый том был удостоен награды Goodreads Choice в категории графический роман 2015 года ^[91] .

Censorship

В апреле 2013 года СМИ сообщили о том, что компания Apple Inc. запретила продажу 12-го выпуска «Саги» через iTunes , потому что там присутствовали изображения с оральным сексом между мужчинами, что нарушало, наложенные ограничения Apple в отношении сексуального контента. Это привело к критике со стороны художников и писателей, которые указывали на аналогичное явное содержание эротических сцен в предыдущих выпусках и других работах, проданных через iTunes ^[12] . Запрет продажи комикса привёл к скандалу с обвинениями в гомофобии в адрес компании Apple ^{[109] [110]} , в том числе и со стороны автора комикса Брайана Вона ^[111] . Также известный писатель-фантаст Уильям Гибсон и другие писатели предположили, что ограничение могло произойти именно потому, что на рассматриваемых рисунках был изображен гей-секс ^[12] . Через день, цифровой дистрибьютор Comixology объявил, что именно он, а не Apple, решил ограничить выпуск серий через iTunes, основываясь на их интерпретации правил Apple, и что после разъяснений от Apple, было решено отменить запрета выпуска серий через iOS ^[13] . Брайан Вон также вскоре принёс свои извинения компании Apple за свои обвинения, которые с его слов были справедливы только в адрес издательства Comixology ^[111] .

В 2014 году серия была включена в список десяти наиболее спорных книг Американской библиотечной ассоциации за споры вокруг наготы, оскорбительных выражений, а также за то, что комикс был признан «антисемейным, ... откровенно сексуальным и неподходящим для возрастной группы» ^{[112] [113]} .

Мерчандайзинг

В 2015 году Skybound Entertainment начала принимать предварительные заказы на 8-дюймовую статую из полимерной смолы «Лживой кошки» с ручной росписью, которая продавалась по цене 75 долларов ^[114] .

В феврале 2016 года Essential Sequential начала принимать заказы на 19-дюймовую плюшевую куклу «Лживой кошки» высотой в 19 дюймов с надписью «Lying» и ее поставка была запланирована на май того же года ^[115] . Позже, в этом же году компания Skybound объявила о том, что в следующем месяце на выставке Комик-кон в Сан-Диего будут представлены экшен-фигурки двух главных героев — Аланы и Марко, созданных компанией McFarlane Toys . 5-ти дюймовые фигурки были представлены для покупки вместе, отдельно, а также с жезлом и мечом ^[116] . Компания также объединилась с Yesterdays, южно-калифорнийской компанией, производящей коллекционные эмальные значки, чтобы создать свою первую историю коллекцию значков, куда также входили два значка с изображением «Лживой кошки» и Гюса, представленные затем на Комик-Коне. Значок Гюса продавался за $10.00, а кошки — за $15.00. Тираж обоих значков составил по 1000 единиц ^[117] .

In October 2017, Image Comics announced the release of the vinyl figures for the Lying Cat, Alana, Marco, Isabelle, Prince Robot IV and Freedom, all of which were created by Funko and Skybound Entertainment . The release of toys took place in February 2018 ^[118] .

Despite the fact that the Saga comic was interested in adapting to film or television, Vaughn and Staples expressed their desire that no one would film their picture. So, in an interview in August 2013, Vian said that the essence of the Saga and its understanding is absolute copyright freedom of expression, which is not possible in a movie or television show. “I'm really happy that it's just a comic strip.” ^[15] Nevertheless, Vaughn stated that he was open to opportunities and various offers, although for him this was not a priority ^[24] . The media was most interested in a line of T-shirts with the image of a Lying Cat. In the Pac-Man Fever episode of Season 8 of the American television show Supernatural , a character named Charlie Bradbury (played by Felicia Day ) wears a T-shirt with the image of a Lying Cat. Actress Day called the Saga the best comic book of all time and indicated that the scriptwriter Robbie Thompson himself chose the shirt ^[119] .

The conservatively controversial cover of the first issue of breastfeeding was discussed in The Meemaw Materialization, season 9, of the American Big Bang Theory series. In this series, Claire ( Alessandra Torresani ) reads the first edition of a paperback comic book, and Raj Kutrappali ( Kunal Nayyar ) notes that “not many comics have a woman with wings who breastfeeds her baby right on the cover” ^{[5] [120] [ 121]} . Although The Big Bang Theory was often criticized for portraying comic book fans, Comic Book Resources, based on a reaction on Twitter, noted that fans of the Saga mostly responded positively to the scene ^[120] .

• imagecomics.com/comics/series/saga — официальный сайт Сага at Image Comics
• Saga (англ.) на сайте Comic Book DB