Image Comics planning midnight release events for the return of Saga

Saga #54 excerpt
Saga #54 excerpt (Image credit: Fiona Staples (Image Comics))

We told you Saga's return would be big, and now that it’s confirmed Image Comics have begun plans to make it special.

Image Comics has revealed plans for midnight release parties at participating comic shops and bookstores at midnight on Tuesday, January 25, 2022 - or one minute after, when Saga #55's January 26 release date is officially here.

(For those who read comics digitally, comiXology usually posts new Image Comics between 3 a.m and 10 a.m. Eastern time on the day of release).

Saga #55 cover (Image credit: Fiona Staples (Image Comics))

“Saga launched at Image during the company's 20th anniversary in 2012, so it seems more than fitting that the series is returning to shops just in time for our 30th anniversary next year," Image Comics' CCO/publisher/co-owner Eric Stephenson said when Saga's return was announced. "I can think of few better ways to celebrate what Image is all about than by welcoming back one of the most incredible storytelling teams in comics history as they embark on the second half of a true epic-in-the-making."

"We're back! Saga returns in January with a massive double-sized issue, somehow still for our regular price of just $2.99," Vaughan posted on Instagram. "No cash-grab variant covers, no gimmicky renumbering, just more gloriously graphic sex and violence, as we begin the second half of the most epic adventure in comics. Thanks for your patience, Saga family!"

According to Image Comics, since its debut in 2012, Saga has sold over 6.8 million Saga books - from single issues to collections, across both print and digital platforms.

Saga #55 goes on sale on January 26, 2022 - or at midnight on January 25, if you're at one of these midnight events.

Saga is one of the first of many big Image Comics 30th anniversary projects planned for 2022.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)