Saga Comics may not be a name many fans are familiar with, but they should be after this month’s digital release of lost 1980s event epic, Saga of a Doomed Universe. After trawling the dark corners of the internet in search of the story behind this lost classic we managed to track down a phone number for elusive Saga editor Burt Colt, who gave us his unique insights [albeity briefly] into the shadowy events that surrounded this forgotten epic.

Hello, is that Burt Colt?

BC: What do you want? Who gave you this number?!

We’re calling from Pipedream Comics, a website in the UK Burt, we wanted to talk to you about Saga Comics?

BC: OK, but make it quick!

Your 1980s epic Saga of a Doomed Universe is released this week on ComiXology, can you give us a bit of background to the series, how and when it was originally published and what the inspiration behind it was?

BC: The 3 issues were originally part of a strip called Cavalry of Heroes, but there’s bits and pieces I think from one or two other strips that I had a hand in. Freedom Is A Fist comes to mind, but I could be wrong. It’s murky. John Hillenmeyer, the publisher at Saga Comics, he rarely included creator credits in the titles, so it became a guessing game figuring it out. Most of this book was published in 1983, that was the last year they were in production.

I hired Scott Reed in 2006 to take the original art, and re-work it. He went above and beyond, I shouldn’t take credit for most of it. Back in 83, my inspiration was kind of…desperation. There were a lot of bad things happening with the publisher. Things I shouldn’t be talking about now. You have to read the book. It’s all there.

Can you tell us a bit about the legacy of Saga Comics. It’s not a name many people will be familiar with, so what happened and are you hoping this new release will help bring attention for a new generation?

B: I’m not supposed to talk about that stuff. You need to talk to Scott Reed, he took my story and took it further, I think. I couldn’t have written something like that back then, although I wanted to.

Saga of a Doomed Universe is a pretty dark and unrelenting series with plenty of blood and violence compared to the safe world of Marvel and DC superheroes, was that intentional as an antidote to the sugar coated world of the big two?

B: No. It was just…I was surrounded by blood and violence. I saw what was happening with the publisher, the things that…I can’t talk about it. You need to read the book and then you’ll understand.

The series is being released digitally, what do you make of this as a new way to distribute comics and get the word out to new fans who might not be aware of your work?

B: I don’t care, one way or the other. I’ve done what I needed to do. The rest is up to you, and everyone else who reads this book.

Are there any more Saga Comics titles that could be released digitally and would you like to see them rereleased?

B: No. *CLICK* 

And with that the phone went dead.

Our attempts to reconnect with Burt have since failed, with the number decommissioned and the webpage we found it on taken down. When asked for comment, publisher Scott Reed refused to be drawn on the matter, just pointing us in the direction of the comic’s website saying “This is the best way you can help him now, by telling his story”.

We can only hope for the best for Burt and encourage you to purchase Saga Of A Doomed Universe via ComiXology for £1.99/$2.99 per issue or visit websbestcomics.com and sagacomics.net to find out more.