Firefly

Milwaukie, OR - There’s plenty of reason for the Browncoats to look forward to 2008. Dark Horse has a whole lot of Serenity coming down the pipeline! First and foremost is the new Serenity comics series that is due out in March. This three-issue series, Serenity: Better Days, is a step back in time to the early years of the Firefly crew, and the fledgling gang’s turbulent attempts to cope with success after they pull off their first successful heist. It features the same creative team as Those Left Behind, with the story by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews, art by Will Conrad, and Adam Hughes providing all three covers this time.

In conjunction with the launch of the new series, Dark Horse will be releasing a pair of lunch boxes. In 2006 there were whisperings about a Serenity lunch box. It was postponed for further development, much to the dismay of the Browncoats and Whedon fans worldwide. Their voices were heard loud and clear, and in response, Dark Horse not only put the improved lunch box back on the schedule for 2008, but added a second one.

Featuring the traditional Serenity logo that fans have come to know and love, the original lunch box also depicts the ship herself, and is trimmed by a colorful band of Serenity’s spacey intergalactic currency. The second lunch box spotlights the anime-style art from Mark Brooks and Peter Gilstrap’s Fruity Oaty Bar commercial. This is the seductive video ad that is playing in the club where the crew first discovers River’s hidden "talents." Little did anyone suspect that this unusual little commercial had the power to send River Tam into a state of complete abandon, and it is in this pivotal scene that she unleashes her capacity to annihilate anyone in her path. While certainly worlds apart from other Serenity visuals, the iconic cartoon imagery of Fruity Oaty Bar has become an underground favorite, and Dark Horse is happy to present an officially licensed application of it. These new litho-printed tin lunch boxes are slated for April 2008 on-sale.

In case that isn’t enough exciting news, fans can get instant gratification because the hardcover edition of Serenity: Those Left Behind hit the shelves on Wednesday, November 7th. Collectors can pick up their copy at retail establishments all over the world. This is the definitive collector’s bookshelf edition, printed larger than the original collection, and featuring an in-depth look at the film production art by comics superstars Leinil Yu and Josh Middleton.

And finally, the print runs have been set at 5,000 each for the Inara’s Shuttle and Reaver Ship ornaments. The edition sizes were set according to pre-orders placed in September and October, and there will be no additional production of these limited-edition ships. Inara’s Shuttle and The Reaver Ship ornaments will be in stores this February. These are the only three-dimensional versions of these ships available, and were created with the special participation of Zoic Studios, who generously provided digital data from their creations for the film production.