New SAGA collection in stores this week!
Plus, another chance to score some swell signed SAGA swag!
Yep, the day has finally come.
Brian here, happy to report that the deluxe hardcover SAGA: BOOK FOUR should be at your friendly neighborhood comic shop this Wednesday, June 3.
But wait, some of you have written to ask, why the hell does Amazon say it won’t be available until June 30?
Artist/co-creator Fiona Staples and I owe our book’s success to the tireless work of comic retailers, so I love that they (and some independent bookstores) get Saga—and all collections from Image Comics—about a month BEFORE online outlets. Whatever your favorite local establishment might be, thanks for supporting them this week.
And if you pick up your copy of SAGA: BOOK FOUR anytime in the next ten days or so, post a photo of you holding it up (ideally in front of the store where you got it!), and tag me on my dumb Instagram, we’ll randomly select one lucky poster AND their retailer to each receive a big Saga prize pack, which will include a signed first printing of Saga #1 from my personal collection, AND a super-rare copy of the very first Saga script, which has never been reprinted anywhere, and was previously only available to our generous founding members here at Exploding Giraffe. (I just noticed that I originally sent that oversized script to Fiona fifteen years ago this week!)
But what if you’re not on social media?!
Well, friendo, then you’ve already won at life, and require no additional rewards.
Seriously, I’m enormously proud of the stories included in this 488-page epic collection, and I’m grateful if you’re able to help spread the word.
Along with Saga’s regular inclusion in lists of banned books, our series has recently been name-checked in some less depressing lists including The 10 Greatest Sci-Fi Books of the Last 25 Years, The Best Fantasy Books of the Century So Far, and even The Top 10 Greatest Comics of All Time, but I think my favorite is this write-up from Parade’s 56 Best Sad Books That Will Definitely Make You Cry, According to Librarians:
Boston Public Library Community History Supervisor Dory Klein calls this comic series “heavy hitting” and “gorgeously illustrated.”
“It’s a tragic space opera about star-crossed lovers trying to survive and build a better world for their kiddo, and it is rough. This series is silly, violent, tender, hopeful and utterly, utterly devastating,” she explains. “It’s also still in production, so I can’t tell you how it ends (not that I would). The creators have a knack for repeatedly lulling readers into a sense of sweetness and safety, only to abruptly shatter the moment with jarring and violent tragedy. It’s destabilizing and very affecting.”
Get ready for much more fun-filled destabilization, True Believers!
Along with eighteen issues of Fiona Staples’ most extraordinary storytelling to date, SAGA: BOOK FOUR also contains tons of extras, including a new To Be Continued afterword from yours truly, a lengthy interview conducted by the legendary Chip Zdarsky, and most importantly, our latest SAGA ART GALLERY, containing never-before-seen pinups from some of our favorite creators.
Because Saga is one of the only modern comics that doesn’t do “variant covers,” this is one of the few places you’ll be able to see other artists’ interpretations of Fiona’s beloved characters, and this edition features a very cool mix of newer voices and established veterans.
When I started obsessively collecting comic art a few years back, I discovered the work of outrageously original cartoonist Manix Abrera, and soon commissioned him to create an image in his unique style from Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen. Needless to say, I was over the moon with what he delivered:
I love Manix’s riff on the Salvador Dalí painting The Persistence of Memory, which my fellow Watchmen obsessives know was subtly shown in the background of three panels of that brilliant comic:
Anyway, after receiving that masterpiece from Manix, I knew we had to ask him to participate in our next Saga gallery, and his eye-poppingly glorious contribution did not disappoint:
And that’s just one of the many killer pieces you’ll be able to see exclusively in SAGA: BOOK FOUR.
Fiona and I told all of our contributors that, if they’re so inclined, they can sell copies of their Saga artwork as limited-edition prints (with each artist keeping 100% of the profits), so if you’d like to support amazing creators and hang some pretty pictures on your wall, be sure to consult everyone’s websites/contact info in the brief interviews included in this gallery.
Our previous gallery in SAGA: BOOK TWO featured a contribution from dear friend/grumpy maestro Marcos Martín, who—thanks to our chums at Bao Publishing in Italy—I got to see in person at last year’s Lucca Comics Festival, along with Panel Syndicate colorist extraordinaire Muntsa Vicente and Exploding Giraffe’s own Niko Henrichon.
While I was there, Marcos gave me one of the kindest presents ever, the original art to his past gallery contribution, which (spoiler alert for 36 issues of Saga ago!) features ALL of Fiona’s immaculately designed characters who’d been mercilessly slaughtered up to that point in our series:
Marcos rarely parts with any of his artwork, so I’ll literally never be able to repay him for this invaluable gift… but I hope I can at least persuade you to check out more of his astonishing work, including The Private Eye and Barrier, both of which are now available in attractive and affordable new softcover editions from Image Comics, presented in their original “widescreen” formats:
Niko Henrichon has also gifted my unworthy ass with multiple breathtaking pages over the years, so I’m especially sorry to have to inform my fellow collectors that I nevertheless greedily swooped in and purchased the original artwork to Niko’s A+ contribution from this upcoming Saga gallery:
Sorry if you were hoping to get your mitts on that one, but there are still some Niko Henrichon originals (and prints!) available at Essential Sequential for those of you who weren’t able to make it to Niko’s recent gallery show in Paris.
And it looks like there are still a few hardcover first printings of our collaboration Spectators available over at Third Eye Comics. Get one before they disappear into the astral plane forever.
As discussed in our previous installment, Fiona and I have been hard at work on the remaining 36 new issues of Saga, along with some additional top-secret comic projects we’ve been cooking up separately, at least one of which you’ll be hearing more about relatively soon.
For now, I was heartened to hear that so many of you have been keeping busy not just by consuming other comics/novels/films/whatever, but also by making some new stuff of your own.
A few highlights from the more than 500 of you who commented:
Grant D. - I’ve been making plans to volunteer with some research happening in the Amazon in Peru. I’m on my flight there as I write this!
Gin - What have I been making? I’m 80K words into a novel I hope one day will be published. I’m running a local women’s community/social club here in PA. I’ve been painting and making an ebook itinerary of an upcoming trip for my 40th birthday, which is so much fun and satisfying to me.
Justin Morgan - I have probably bitten off more than I can chew with my new project. I love The Dark Tower series and am currently working on hand writing (in cursive) the entirety of the series while time lapse recording it. It will probably take me the better part of 10 years, but I love it. Eventually, I’ll put all of the recordings together and maybe post them, but mostly I’m just doing it for me.
Mariela - I’ve been making quilts! It’s a relatively new skill, but I have been going to community fiber arts spaces to sew the time away. Also I’m still relatively new but I was invited to exhibit a couple of my quilts in an art exhibition and I’m excited to share my new passion with folks in Chicago.
TD from Gumball Man - As it so happens tomorrow morning I am actually doing a presentation to 175 harm-reduction experts on our opioid awareness comic ‘Narc(m)an®’ at Tarzana Treatment Center’s Annual Youth & Health conference. Thanks for the support and inspo you have always shown!
Hanno Friedrich - Over the last few months, I’ve been acting in a German telenovela: Rote Rosen (Red Roses), now in my third year – with a few breaks – and my character’s storyline is drawing to a close, so I’m now looking forward to new challenges.
Lynne - I have been making nothing but trouble for fascists! Muuwaaaahahahaha! #GoodTrouble
Kyle R. - I work for the US Mint as a Die Engraver - and I’ve been working on wave 2 of our licensed DC Comics silver medals and gold coins. As well as working on next year’s quarters and half-dollars (all brand new designs) and other 2027 products.
Sara B - Currently in the 10th week of the arduous task of creating a life form. I only have 30 more weeks to go! Plan to reread Saga and be thankful that my pregnancy is nowhere near as hard as Alana and Marko’s parenting journey!
Mattson T. - I’ve been making my second feature film 🤓
Looking forward to The Batman Part II, pal!
Sincere thanks to all of you for responding, and for being bold enough to keep creating in a world that too often seems to prefer destruction.
I wish I could send everyone a signed Fiona Staples print, but I’m afraid we only have one left, and our seemingly unable-to-retire intern Genesis the Exploded Giraffe randomly selected:
Cass - The one thing I’ve been making lately is trying to make all my friends read Lonesome Dove and writing an insane 8k word review of it. Also making my apartment more beautiful by repotting all my plants (long overdue oopsie)
Congratulations, Cass! Genesis will reach out for your mailing address soon. And maybe I’ll finally crack open Lonesome Dove.
Thanks so much for reading, and Niko and I will be back with another edition of Exploding Giraffe whenever you least expect us.
Peace,
BKV
