Firefly

Don’t ever judge a book by its cover. Especially don’t judge this book by its cover. Because under the circa 1970’s Harlequin Romance novel exterior lies a resurrection. This is not a resurrection that will save all of humanity nor give children the false impression that bunnies lay eggs, but this resurrection will satiate the hunger of rabid Firefly/Serenity zombies everywhere.

Set somewhere after the close of the TV show Firefly and the chill inducing events of the movie “Serenity”, SERENITY: BETTER DAYS finds our favorite spaghetti western sci-fi Dust Devils still trying to survive on the outer planets as best they can. Holdups and whoring are the centerpieces of the first issue, while Kaylee still dreams of getting to that shiny place with the Doc. I should also mention, the Hero of Canton Strikes Back.

BETTER DAYS has everything Firefly fans would expect from the House of Whedon. Hold ups, shake downs, quirky ancillary characters, witty dialogue, and a return to a cast of characters that defective marketing numbers and simian program directors ripped away from Whedonites far too soon.

Joss did a masterful job of making me feel right at home from the very first panel, and I think any other fan will be hard pressed to disagree. However, and I can’t stress this enough, this title is not a jumping off point. It’s an inside secret, a brief sliver of time, a small part of a much larger whole. This is not a criticism; it’s merely a statement of fact when a story is forced to cross mediums.

Basically, if this review lost you at spaghetti western sci-fi, this book is not for you. The brief paragraph synopsis on the flip-side of the cover is nowhere near enough information to properly immerse you in Whedon’s original take on traversing the cosmos or the beautiful cast of characters that live aboard Serenity. Like most of Joss’s work, true enjoyment comes from knowing the characters that drive the action, rather than the action itself.

Sorry, but I know Ambush Bug will make me appear in the “I’m Fucking Corey Feldman” video if I use this space to explain all the details of the show “Firefly”. Plus, a half-assed synopsis would be an affront to the dedication given to this universe by Joss, the original actors in the show and the fans. The best advice I can offer any comic reader that is a fan of Joss’s writing style is to take the money you would have spent on the three issues of SERENITY: BETTER DAYS and instead rent the original TV series and the movie “Serenity”. If you like what you see over in those parts, I can guarantee that you’ll be right happier when you come back to read SERENITY: BETTER DAYS (you’ll also understand why I decided to talk like Yosemite Sam’s retarded brother Everglade Earl in that last sentence).