Saga #1 (2012 Image Comics) Value and Price Guide

In March 2012, Image Comics published the first issue of a science fiction series about two soldiers from opposite sides of a galactic war who fall in love and have a baby. The writer was Brian K. Vaughan, already famous for Y: The Last Man. The artist was Fiona Staples, whose painted covers would become some of the most striking in modern comics. The cover price was $2.99.

Within months, Saga #1 was selling for multiples of cover price. By 2021, CGC 9.8 copies of the first print were selling for over $700. The Diamond Summit Edition, a retailer-exclusive variant limited to about 500 copies, has sold for over $1,000 in near-mint condition.

Quick Value Summary

• Item: Saga #1 (First Print, Image Comics)

• Year: 2012

• Category: Comic Books

• Condition Range:

  • Good (raw): $10 - $20
  • VF/NM (raw): $40 - $75
  • CGC 9.4 (NM): $80 - $150
  • CGC 9.6 (NM+): $150 - $300
  • CGC 9.8 (NM/MT): $400 - $700

• Diamond Summit Edition: CGC 9.8: $1,000 - $1,500

• Record Sale: CGC 9.8 first print sold for over $750 during the 2021 market peak

• Rarity: First print is uncommon (estimated 40,000+ copies). Diamond Summit is rare (about 500 copies).

The Story

Brian K. Vaughan spent years developing Saga. He conceived the core ideas as a child, imagining Star Wars-style space battles mixed with the family drama of real life. He returned to those ideas as a new father, realizing that parenthood was the most dramatic story he had never seen told well in comics.

Vaughan pitched the series exclusively to Image Comics, turning down offers from Marvel and DC. Image's creator-owned model meant he and Staples would retain full ownership of the property. No editorial interference. No mandated crossover events. Just the story they wanted to tell.

The first issue dropped readers into the middle of a birth scene during a firefight. Alana, a winged soldier from the planet Landfall, and Marko, a horned deserter from Landfall's moon Wreath, were having their first child while enemies closed in from both sides. The narration came from the baby, Hazel, looking back on her own origin story from some point in the future.

Critics loved it. Readers loved it. Saga won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story in 2013. The series would go on to sell millions of copies across collected editions, and individual issues became increasingly difficult to find in first-print form as demand outpaced supply.

How to Identify a First Print

This is the most important question for any Saga #1 owner. Later printings are worth significantly less.

First print identifiers:

• Cover: Alana breastfeeding baby Hazel while Marko stands behind them with a sword. This cover is shared across all printings, so the cover alone does not confirm first print.

• Inside front cover/indicia: Look for "First Printing" in the legal text near the bottom of the credits page

• Price: Cover price is $2.99

• No printing number on cover: Later printings typically have "2nd printing," "3rd printing," etc. noted on the cover or spine

• Barcode: First print barcode ends in 00111

Diamond Summit Edition:

• Limited to retailers who attended the Diamond Summit conference

• Features a gold "Diamond Summit Exclusive" logo on the cover

• Estimated print run of about 500 copies

• Otherwise identical interior content

Common confusions:

• Second and third printings have the same cover art. Always check the indicia.

• The trade paperback (Volume 1, collecting issues 1-6) is not the same as a first print single issue.

Value by Condition

Good to VG raw ($10 - $20): Reading copy with visible wear. Creased spine, corner dings, possible small tears. Still a modern comic, so even well-read copies hold some value due to first-print demand.

FN to VF raw ($20 - $40): Minor wear. Light spine stress, minor corner bumps. No significant defects.

VF/NM raw ($40 - $75): Clean copy with minimal handling evidence. Flat spine, sharp corners. This is where most collector-grade copies land.

CGC 9.4 NM ($80 - $150): Professionally graded near-mint copy. Minor imperfections only visible on close inspection.

CGC 9.6 NM+ ($150 - $300): Very sharp copy with only the slightest handling evidence. Strong demand from collectors building high-grade runs.

CGC 9.8 NM/MT ($400 - $700): Top-tier grade for this book. Near-perfect centering, clean staples, white pages preferred. Values peaked above $700 in 2021 and have settled into the $400-$600 range more recently. Print quality of the first run was generally good, so 9.8 copies are achievable but not guaranteed.

Authentication and Fakes

Counterfeits of Saga #1 are uncommon but not unheard of. As values rose, some reproduction copies surfaced.

What to check:

• Paper stock quality (genuine copies use standard Image Comics paper)

• Color saturation on the cover (reprints often appear slightly washed out or oversaturated)

• Staple placement and binding quality

• Indicia text (counterfeiters sometimes miss details in the legal text)

Is grading worth it? For raw copies in VF/NM or better condition, CGC grading makes financial sense. The jump from raw VF/NM ($40-$75) to CGC 9.6 ($150-$300) or CGC 9.8 ($400-$700) more than justifies the grading cost.

Grading costs:

• CGC Economy: $25-$35 per book (declared value under $400)

• CGC Standard: $45 per book

• Pressing service (to improve grade potential): $15-$25 additional

Where to Sell

Best venues:

• eBay: Largest market for modern comics. CGC-graded copies sell well at auction format. eBay fees are 13.25%.

• Comic book stores: Local shops will buy first prints, especially graded copies. Expect 50-60% of eBay retail.

• MyComicShop.com: Established online dealer that buys collections. They handle grading and listing.

• Facebook groups: Modern comic collector groups on Facebook have active buy/sell/trade threads. No selling fees but less buyer protection.

Tips:

• The Diamond Summit Edition should be sold through auction (eBay or Heritage) to maximize competitive bidding.

• Ungraded copies in apparent NM condition are worth submitting to CGC before selling. The grading premium is significant.

• Signed copies (Vaughan or Staples signatures) add value only if authenticated by CGC's Signature Series program.

Not sure about the condition of yours? Upload a photo to Curio Comp for an estimate in seconds.

Explore More

Browse all Comic Books →

Related Items