Serenity (comics)
The series was written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews, illustrated by Will Conrad, lettered by Michael Heisler, and colored by Laura Martin.
[2] It shows Inara's departure from Serenity's crew, establishes Shepherd Book's intention to leave the ship, introduces several characters important to the film's storyline, including the Operative and Mingo and Fanty, and resolves the Hands of Blue plotline from the television series.
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.
[11] Around the same time, illustrator Patric Reynolds was finishing work on an Abe Sapien one-shot; he was encouraged to apply for the comic, and was accepted by Oswalt and Whedon.
"[16] 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.
After killing a man named Derrial Book and stealing his identity, Evans joins a law enforcement agency, from where his ambition and drive attract the attention of the military.
Several years later, Book wakes up in a homeless shelter after being beaten by Alliance soldiers for his role in the Alexander disaster, and has a spiritual revelation while eating a bowl of soup, which prompts him to join the church and train as a Shepherd.
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.
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.
[28] It was the third-highest selling Dark Horse graphic novel in 2007, behind a hardcover edition of 300 (5th on the Diamond list) and the Buffy Season 8: The Long Way Home trade paperback (30th).
[26] 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.
[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.
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.
[36] The goodtobeageek reviewer, Jessa Phillips, felt that the flashback structure was overused, and agrees with Spira's comment on the value for money, but highly praises Chris Samnee's artwork.
[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.
