Since new issues of Saga were hitting stores, the comic's core protagonists have never been all that out-of-mind for them. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the creative duo opened up about what their downtime has been like, living through the Pandemic, and how changes in their personal lives have impacted their relationships to their characters. Looking back at Saga's early days, Vaughan likened comics to a "treadmill that you're almost never allowed to get off of," where people are encouraged to live and die by deadlines.
When my kids were born, it was the first time I had to stop working out. Saga was born out of that. I realized that it was more important for the work to be good and for me to be proud of it, so I just got out as much of it as possible.
The creative team has taken that to heart and encouraged them to put their own families first. According to her, she and Vaughn began tinkering with issue #55 over a year ago, and while she couldn't remember specific dates, she detailed how important it was that her return to working on Saga was paced, measured, and thoughtful.
"I'm still sort of part-time," he said. My workday looks different now than it used to. I think we were just being cautious, trying to bank a few issues before we announced the release date and think about what shape the last half of the series is going to be.
There aren't enough hours in the day to put out the kinds of pages that she wants at a consistently high volume, which has changed the approach to her work. She pointed out how she has grown much more comfortable being strict with the art and not second-guessing herself so much.
Despite all the changes he has made to the comic, it still remains true that it was always meant to be for anyone who considers themselves a creator.
Whether that is music, a family, or nonfiction. I wanted to tell a story about how hard it is to create new things in a world that doesn't always appreciate them. Our lives and the book have changed, but that doesn't mean that Saga isn't still about.
January 26, 2022, is when Saga #55 hits stores.
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