Creatively, we’re in the golden age of comic books,” says Brian K Vaughan. “They have never been more spectacular than they are now.” He doesn’t mention it – prudently, perhaps – but Vaughan himself is an integral part of this “golden age”. Over the past couple of decades, the Ohio-born comic-book writer has helped transform and vivify the artform through works such as the post-apocalyptic Y: The Last Man (with Pia Guerra), coming-of-age sci-fi Paper Girls (with Cliff Chiang), and the ongoing Saga (with Fiona Staples), a hugely popular space opera about childhood, parenthood and pacifism. He’s had enough industry awards thrown at him to furnish a pretty sizable trophy room – among them 14 Eisner Awards, 14 Harvey Awards, and a Hugo – and has built a wide and passionate fan following. (Saga, the series most fans would describe as his opus, has sold around 7 million copies to date, in various forms.)
“I remember growing up in the Eighties; you’d hear people say ‘comics have grown up,’” he recalls to me, talking from his home in Los Angeles, over video chat. “And you would recommend Maus to people. Watchmen. Dark Knight Returns. Then you’re starting to hit the end of things you could push on mainstream audiences. Now, my daughter is 11, and she’s read more graphic novels in her lifetime than I have.”
