KIDNAP
Will this robot, with a
television for a head, pay
the price of absconding
with the toddler Hazel,
in issue 25 of Saga?M
y favourite character
is Special Agent Gale
because he’s a sarcastic
jerk. Almost everything
he says is pretty mean,
and I relish drawing those expressions,”
says Fiona Staples, probably the hottest
artist in comics today.
She’s talking about a pale, bat-winged spy
character in Saga. After over 30 issues of the
smash hit indie title, the comic she created
with writer Brian K Vaughan has won her
17 trophies: Eisners, Harveys and more.
Saga is the tale of star-crossed lovers
Alana and Marko, and their baby daughter
Hazel. The couple come from different sides
in a galactic war and when their treachery is
discovered, it seems just about everybody
in the universe is out to get them. As the
title suggests, it’s an epic tale of love and
war across the stars.
Fiona doesn’t seem as interested in the
main characters as some of the quirkier
ones. Another of her favourites is the
horned grandma, Klara. Stern, cranky and“
FIONA
STAPLES
PROFILE
Fiona Staples
LOCATION: Canada
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: James Harren, Sean
Murphy, Daniel Warren, Johnson, Amy Reeder,
Tommy Lee Edwards
SOFTWARE USED:
Photoshop and Manga Studio
WEB: http://www.fionastaples.combrutal... Klara’s happy to spill blood to
protect her family. And Fiona also enjoys
drawing bounty hunter The Brand.
“With The Brand, I mainly just wanted
to draw a woman who’s sexy in an atypical
way. Brian wrote this very cool, self-assured
freelancer and I thought it would be great
to have her look suave and masculine-
presenting,” she says.WORKING AS EQUALS
Her working relationship with writer Brian
K Vaughan is as good as it can get, and she
has as much input as she wants. She regards
him as a bigger name in the industry – he
does have about 10 years more experience
than she does – but she feels she’s always
treated as an equal. They both co-own the
title, which is published by Image Comics.
With its big themes of family, revenge
and redemption and its extreme plot twists,
Saga could so easily have been a dark and
gritty affair. But Fiona draws it with a light
touch, using bright and lively colours. It’s
refreshingly unmasculine, and thatBLOWING A GALE
Special Agent Gale’s cutting verbal
style and violence make him one of
Fiona’s favourites to draw.The hottest artist in comics today talks
to us about Saga, her drawing past
and her future prospects...
Artist Portfolio
THE BEGINNING OF AN EPIC SAGA
Saga issue one introduced the star-crossed lovers Alana and Marko,
and their baby Hazel, who narrates parts of the story.