Serenity (comics)
Serenity is a line of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics from 2005 to 2017. It is a canonical continuation of Joss Whedon's Firefly television series and the 2005 film Serenity, which are all part of the Firefly media franchise.[1] It was not an ongoing series; rather, it consisted of a number of miniseries and one-shots, released sporadically.
Starting in 2018, Boom! Studios began publishing its own line of Firefly comics.
Publication history
Creation
Initially,
Those Left Behind
Serenity: Those Left Behind is a three-issue
Those Left Behind is set after the events of the
Better Days
The second three-issue miniseries, Serenity: Better Days, was announced by Dirk Wood of Dark Horse Comics during WonderCon 2006.[5] The three issues were released in March, April, and May 2008. Whedon, Matthews, Conrad, and Heisler returned, but colourist Laura Martin was replaced by Michelle Madsen. Adam Hughes served as cover artist, creating three covers, each depicting three of the nine Serenity crew members, which together form a triptych. Jo Chen drew the 2008 trade paperback collection cover.
Better Days is set between the television series and the film, but before the events of Those Left Behind, in order to have all the core characters aboard the Serenity, and to better capture the "heart and status quo—in as much as there even is one—of the [television] series."[2] The comic sees the crew of Serenity pulling off a successful job, which results in unexpected wealth and complications.[2][6]
The three issues were collected as a trade paperback in October 2008. This work won Diamond's 2008 Gem Award for "Licensed Trade Paperback of the Year".[7] In 2009 Better Days was one of six nominees for the inaugural Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story.[8] The miniseries came second to Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones.[9]
The Other Half
The August 2008 issue of
The story revolves around the Serenity crew aboard a hover-stagecoach, protecting it from Reavers as they try to deliver their seriously wounded passenger to their destination, in order to claim the second half of his fare. While helping Simon to keep the passenger alive, River detects that their passenger is an Alliance agent who tracks smugglers and leads Alliance soldiers to kill them. Aware that River may be the escaped psychic the Alliance is hunting, the agent tries and fails to shoot River when Simon is knocked unconscious. In return, River shoots the agent with his own gun, which she then disposes of. While the rest of the crew assume that stray munitions from the Reavers killed the agent, Mal takes River aside, tells her that he "had a bad feelin'" about the passenger, and welcomes her to the crew.
Float Out
Float Out was announced on March 9, 2010 An alternative cover was created by Frank Stockton.
Float Out was set after the events of the film. Following
The Shepherd's Tale
Prior to the 2007 Browncoat Cruise, a Firefly convention held aboard a cruise ship,
This release date was not met, and no news was forthcoming until March 9, 2010, when Dark Horse announced that the work would be published in November 2010 as a hardcover graphic novel under the title The Shepherd's Tale.[11][17] According to Allie, the three-year delay was because no appropriate author could be found to write the story from Whedon's outlines, until Joss brought his brother Zack in on the project in late 2009.[11]
The Shepherd's Tale starts off by depicting the attack in which Book was gravely wounded during the film Serenity, then expands by
Downtime
Serenity: Downtime is a comic that was released by Dark Horse Comics on November 11, 2010, on the USA Today website as part of the Dark Horse: High Definition program. Described by writer Zack Whedon as a "slice-of-life, day-on-the-ship story," the comic depicts the crew of the Serenity stranded on an icy planet in the middle of a storm after a heist.[18] Zoe and Wash enjoy their time together, while Inara and Kaylee fantasize about food and complain to Mal about it, and Jayne approaches Simon about a burning sensation after a night in a brothel. The crew are completely unaware that a band of locals are searching for and have found them, only for River to deal with them by killing them all. As the storm abates and the Serenity is taking off, River reveals that she knows Shepherd Book has a secret, that it is as easy for him to kill people as it is for her.
It's Never Easy
Serenity: Firefly Class 03-K64—It's Never Easy is a short story released as part of a Free Comic Book Day issue on May 5, 2012. Written by Zack Whedon with art by Fábio Moon, the story is set during Zoe's pregnancy and involves an attempt by a prospective passenger to steal the Serenity while grounded in the countryside.
Leaves on the Wind
A six-issue miniseries published from January to June 2014. Set after the events of the film, Leaves on the Wind is written by
The Warrior and the Wind
Published as a part of Free Comic Book Day 2016, written by Chris Roberson with art by Stephen Byrne. River entertains Zoe and Wash's infant daughter with a bedtime story as the remaining crew (sans Inara) go out on a mission. Her story parallels the formation of the Serenity’s crew albeit in a fantastical, fairy-tale-like setting, with the majority of the artwork inspired by an earlier piece of fan-art by Byrne which re-imagined the Serenity’s crew as animated Disney characters.
No Power in the ’Verse
On July 20, 2016 No Power in the ’Verse was announced, a six-issue miniseries written by Chris Roberson with art by Georges Jeanty.[22] The story picked up approximately a year and a half after the conclusion of Leaves on the Wind.
Issues
Arc | Issue | Release Date | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Cover |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Those Left Behind | #1 | July 20, 2005 | Joss Whedon Brett Mathews |
Will Conrad | Laura Martin | John Cassaday (Mal cover) J.G. Jones (Inara cover) Bryan Hitch (Jayne cover) |
#2 | August 3, 2005 | Joe Quesada (Zoë cover) Jo Chen (Kaylee cover) Tim Bradstreet (Book cover) | ||||
#3 | September 9, 2005 | Leinil Yu (Simon cover) Sean Phillips (Wash cover) Joshua Middleton (River cover) | ||||
Better Days | #1 | March 12, 2008 | Michelle Madsen | Adam Hughes | ||
#2 | April 9, 2008 | |||||
#3 | May 14, 2008 | |||||
Float Out | one-shot | June 2, 2010 | Patton Oswalt | Patric Reynolds | Dave Stewart | Jo Chen |
The Shepherd's Tale | graphic novel |
November 24, 2010 | Joss Whedon Zack Whedon |
Chris Samnee | Dave Stewart | Steve Morris |
Leaves on the Wind | #1 | January 29, 2014 | Zack Whedon | Pencils: Georges Jeanty Inks: Karl Story |
Laura Martin | Dan Dos Santos Georges Jeanty (variants) |
#2 | February 26, 2014 | |||||
#3 | March 26, 2014 | |||||
#4 | April 30, 2014 | |||||
#5 | May 28, 2014 | |||||
#6 | June 25, 2014 | |||||
No Power in the ’Verse | #1 | October 26, 2016 | Chris Roberson | Wes Dzioba | Dan Dos Santos Georges Jeanty (variant) Adam Hughes (variant) | |
#2 | November 30, 2016 | Dan Dos Santos Georges Jeanty (variants) | ||||
#3 | December 28, 2016 | |||||
#4 | January 25, 2017 | |||||
#5 | February 22, 2017 | |||||
#6 | March 29, 2017 |
Short stories
Title | First Appearance | Release Date | Writer | Artist | Colorist |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Other Half | MySpace Dark Horse Presents | August, 2008 | Jim Krueger | Will Conrad | Julius Ohta |
Downtime | USA Today | November 11, 2010 | Zack Whedon | Chris Samnee | Dave Stewart |
It's Never Easy | Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars / Serenity |
May 5, 2012 | Fábio Moon | Cris Peter | |
The Warrior and the Wind | Free Comic Book Day 2016: Serenity / Hellboy / Aliens |
May 7, 2016 | Chris Roberson | Stephen Byrne |
Collections
Digest-sized Trade Paperbacks | |||
---|---|---|---|
Title | Release Date | Collects | ISBN |
Serenity: Those Left Behind | February 1, 2006 |
|
9781593074494 |
Serenity: Better Days | October 8, 2008 |
|
9781595821621 |
Hardcovers | |||
Title | Release Date | Collects | ISBN |
Serenity: Those Left Behind | November 14, 2007 |
|
9781593078461 |
Serenity – Volume 3: The Shepherd's Tale |
November 3, 2010 |
|
9781595825612 |
Serenity – Volume 2: Better Days and Other Stories |
August 31, 2011 |
|
9781595827395 |
Serenity – Volume 1: Those Left Behind (2nd Edition) |
August 15, 2012 |
|
9781595829146 |
Serenity – Volume 4: Leaves on the Wind |
November 5, 2014 |
|
9781616554897 |
Serenity – Volume 5: No Power in the ’Verse |
August 8, 2017 |
|
9781506701820 |
Legacy Editions (Trade Paperbacks) | |||
Title | Release Date | Collects | ISBN |
Book One | November 20, 2018 |
|
9781684153206 |
Book Two | February 12, 2019 |
|
9781684153084 |
Reception
This section needs expansion with: Reaction to comics after The Shepherd's Tale. You can help by adding to it. (July 2018) |
Reaction to the comics has been mixed: while widely accepted by fans of the cancelled television series and film, several reviews have commented that the comics are inaccessible to those without this prerequisite knowledge, are a poor substitute for the filmed works, and often try to cram in too much information to the detriment of the story.[23][24][25]
According to Dark Horse Comics, the trade paperback of Those Left Behind had sold 85,000 copies as of October 2007.
Most reviews for the first two Serenity miniseries state that while enjoyable and rewarding to fans of the television series and movie, the comic is unsuited for uninitiated readers.[23][29] One review pans the lack of background and plot in Those Left Behind, while praising the artwork and commenting that the comic has an "aura of character study" that fans will enjoy.[30] Another stated that those unfamiliar with the background and the characters would be better off acquiring the series and movie before reading the comic.[23] Reviews for the first issue of Better Days were similar: claiming that if non-fans "didn't know who these characters were, you just wouldn't care," but praising the artwork and overall storytelling while claiming the miniseries would be interesting and hold promise for many readers.[31] However, later issues were less well received: Issue #2 was panned for poor dialogue and viewed as being worse than the television series and film,[24] and by the final issue, reviewers were unhappy with the series; the lack of character development was a major sticking point.[32] A review for Comics Bulletin noted that trying to compress too much action and too many subplots into three issues was another of Better Days' downfalls, sentiments echoed in reviews of the one-shot Float Out.[25]
In reviewing Float Out, Miguel Perez of IGN praised the writing and artwork, but commented that the comic did not add anything new to the understanding of Wash, and that as the stories are told primarily through the narration of the three friends, the scenes depicting Wash are few and far between.[33] He also stated that the main reason for reading Float Out is for the last-page reveal.[33] Reviewing the work for ComicsAlliance, Chris Murphy echoes Perez's complaint about the lack of Wash, stating that reading about "three mostly undeveloped strangers for the bulk of the twenty-four page comic is a little disappointing" for fans of the show. He also believes that the comic was let down by being a one-shot: the three reminisces would have had more impact as individual issues in a miniseries, with more space for detail on each incident and development for both Wash and the new characters.[25]
Reviews of The Shepherd's Tale were mixed. Sean Kleefeld praised the storytelling, both its content and structuring, but reiterates previous comments that the comics are hard to comprehend without knowing the television series.
Despite requests from fans, Joss Whedon has stated that Serenity is unlikely to be released as a regular publication series.[38] He believes that the pacing and story-arc structure he created for Firefly would work poorly as a regular series, and unlike the monthly-issued Buffy Season 8, Serenity does not have the wealth of background material generated by seven seasons of television to draw from.[38] However, Dark Horse senior editor Scott Allie wants to produce new miniseries on a more regular basis, reducing the three-year wait between Those Left Behind and Better Days.[38]
See also
References
- ^ Lees, Gavin (February 2014). "Serenity Now: Joss Whedon's World of Comics". Bleeding Cool. #8. Avatar Press. pp. 36 - 42.
- ^ a b c d e Furey, Emmett (March 7, 2008). "Old Friends: Matthews talks "Serenity: Better Days"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ "Brett Matthews (II)". IMDb. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ Firefly: The Official Companion - Volume One, p. 13
- ^ NekoDono (February 2, 2006). "Wondercon '06: Dark Horse Panel". Whedonesque. Retrieved June 30, 2006.
- ^ a b "Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3)". Darkhorse.com. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
- ^ "2008 Diamond Gem Award Winners". Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- ^ "2009 Hugo Award Nominations". The Hugo Awards. March 19, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ "2009 Final Ballot" (PDF). Hugo Awards. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
- ^ Accessible from MySpace Dark Horse Presents
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Manning, Shaun (March 9, 2010). "Allie and Samnee on "Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ^ Reynolds, Patric (March 10, 2010). "Patric Reynolds on the Wash One-Shot 'Serenity: Float Out' [Exclusive]". Comics Alliance (Interview: Transcript). Interviewed by Goellner, Caleb. Archived from the original on March 13, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
- ^ a b Marshall, Rick (March 8, 2010). "EXCLUSIVE: Patton Oswalt Adds A New Chapter To 'Firefly' Universe With 'Serenity: Float Out'". MTV. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ "Ron Glass announces "A Shepherd's Tale" comic, reveals (some) secrets". Serenitystuff.org - News blog. December 12, 2007. Archived from the original on December 15, 2007. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
- ^ Allie, Scott (March 2008). Transmissions from the Cortex. In Whedon, Joss & Matthews, Brett, Serenity: Better Days #1. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Comics.
- ^ Allie, Scott (June 13, 2008). "Interview: Scott Allie on Shepherd Book's 'Serenity' Spin-Off and 'Solomon Kane'". ComicMix.com (Interview: Transcript). Interviewed by Ullrich, Chris. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
- ^ Manning, Shaun (March 11, 2010). "Whedon tells "The Shepherd's Tale"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ^ Accessible from USA Today Serenity: Downtime
- ^ Casey, Dan (October 9, 2013). "Exclusive: Dark Horse Unveils Zack Whedon's SERENITY: LEAVES ON THE WIND". Nerdist. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
- ^ Glendening, Daniel (September 20, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Georges Jeanty Illustrates Dark Horse's "Serenity"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "Diamond Announces 2014 Gem Award Winners". Diamond Comics. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
- ^ "Dark Horse announces new Serenity comic, No Power in the 'Verse". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c Optimous Douche (March 19, 2008). "AICN Comics reviews spectacular Spidey cartoon! Wonder Woman! Serenity! And more! > Serenity: Better Days #1". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
- ^ a b Tate, Ray (April 11, 2008). "Serenity: Better Days #2". Daily Reviews. Comics Bulletin. Retrieved December 26, 2008.
- ^ a b c Murphy, Chris (June 5, 2010). "Never Enough Time: 'Serenity: Float Out One-Shot'". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on June 7, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ a b Moss, Wil (October 23, 2007). "Buffy Season 8 - the Shape of Things to Come?". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ISSN 0363-0277.
- ^ a b "Diamond' 2007 year end sales charts and market share report". Newsarama.com. Retrieved April 18, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ Davis, Frank (March 9, 2008). "Serenity: Better Days #1 (Advance Reviews)". Fractal Matter. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ISSN 0006-7385.
- ^ Hill, Shawn; Judy, Jon; Power, Christopher; Tate, Ray (March 15, 2008). "Dark Horse Slugfest: Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3)". Daily Reviews. Comics Bulletin. Retrieved December 26, 2008.
- ^ Tate, Ray; Judy, Jon (May 17, 2008). "Serenity: Better Days #3". Daily Reviews. Comics Bulletin. Retrieved December 26, 2008.
- ^ a b Perez, Miguel (June 3, 2010). "Serenity: Float Out #1 Review". IGN. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ a b Kleefeld, Sean (November 26, 2010). "The Shepherd's Tale Review". Kleefeld on Comics. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ Spira, David (November 21, 2010). ""serenity: shepherd's tale" review". The Geek Whisperer. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ Muffy (December 2, 2010). "SERENITY: THE SHEPHERD'S TALE by Zack Whedon and co Review". Daemon's Books. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ Phillips, Jessa (November 11, 2010). "Review – Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale". goodtobeageek.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c Moss, Wil (November 6, 2007). "Whedon can't get enough Serenity". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
External links
- Firefly-Serenity Chinese Pinyinary - Translations of the comics' Chinese text.
- Making of a comic: Serenity Better Days#1 (Flash) - Flash animation showing how the first six pages of Better Days #1 evolved from a plain script to the end product.
- MySpace Dark Horse Presents: Issue 13 (August 2008) - Includes Serenity: The Other Half.