Serenity: No Power In The 'Verse #2 - An Advanced Review/Preview

Answering a call regarding a missing friend, the crew of Serenity stumble across a secret that puts all their lives at risk. Unfortunately, their friend learned the same secret and has fallen into the clutches of The Alliance. The future of the whole damn "Verse may rest on what happens next.





Chris Roberson has perfectly captured the flavor of the original Firefly show and has a good handle on the characters. Unfortunately, the story still suffers from the same problems that plagued the last Serenity mini-series - Leaves On The Wind. Namely, for a franchise built on great female characters, the ladies on the cast have precious little to do with the action, apart from River. Zoe doesn't even appear in this issue and Inara - while seen - doesn't have any lines!

A bigger problem is the artwork by Georges Jeanty, which is sloppy and inconsistent. All sense of detail is lost beyond the middle distance and perhaps one close-up panel in four will resemble the original actors from the show. Karl Story and Wes Dzioba do what they can to finish things properly but it's akin to painting a cow pie to make it presentable.

Serenity: No Power In The ‘Verse #2 will be available for purchase on November 30, 2016 from your local comic book store (Don’t know where that is? Here you go.) or digitally via Comixology.com.

Firefly Cast Returns for Firefly On-Line MMO!

Rumors of an MMO based on the world of Joss Whedon's Firefly have existed in abundance for a while. Many Browncoats remained skeptical even after pictures and video of the gameplay manifested. Now, there is no room for doubt. For it was announced at SDCC yesterday that not only is the game real but that the entire Firefly cast would be returning to reprising their roles.

 A new trailer explains it all.


Registration has begun at KeepFlying.com

Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #5 - A Review

In previous reviews of this series, I called it a good story hampered by bad artwork. I will not be doing that this month. Oh, not because the artwork has gotten better. It hasn't. If anything, Georges Jeanty's atwork is getting sloppier and more inconsistent by the month. No, this month I can't say it because I'm no longer sure if I'm reading a good story.


I was fully prepared to deliver a rant about how poorly served the female cast of this series are served by Zack Whedon's script.  How Zoe is completely absent from this issue and has been reduced to the princess to be rescued.  How Inara doesn't have a single line in this issue and has been marginalized into Mal's girlfriend/Zoe's nanny.  How Kaylee does get to do one awesome thing but it involves recycling one of Wash's old plans and that he gets more lines in one flashback than Kaylee does in the whole issue.  And how River gets her ass kicked by a male reader until Mal gives her a hypodermic needle full of sedative to use as a make-shift weapon.

I was ready to rant about all of that... until I realized how badly served the male cast was by the same script.

Simon has been just as useless as Inara for the better part of this series and also goes without a line in this month's issue.  Jayne has been recast in the role of total comic relief.  And Mal... well, Mal is the big damn hero who finally gets a plan to run smooth at the cost of making Bea - the rabblerouser trying to recruit him to lead a new Browncoat movement - look even more incompetent at the revelation that The Alliance has been funding her movement from the beginning as part of an effort to organize the agitators so it would be easier to get them all in one place and kill them.


I'll give this one more issue to see if something can be salvaged from this wreckage.  That's it.

Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #4 - A Review

This will probably be the last issue of Serenity: Leaves On The Wind I'll be reviewing.  I enjoy the book immensely but it occurs to me that there is little point in my writing about it.  To speak the plain truth, this book doesn't hold much for anyone who isn't already a card-carrying Browncoat.  And despite the first two issues doing a good job of playing "catch-up" for anyone who hadn't seen Firefly or Serenity already, this issue - and the previous one- haven't been as accommodating.

The plot has Mal tracking down The Operative - the bad guy from Serenity - in order to secure his help in breaking into a secure Alliance facility and rescuing a dozen other psychic combat bunnies like River.  Why?  So they can help them break into an even more secure Alliance facility to rescue Zoe.  Of course Mal's plans never run smooth and complications arise, starting with everyone else on the crew having objections to one degree or another about accepting The Operative's help.

Confused?  Then you're probably not a Browncoat and this comic is not aimed at you.


A larger problem with this series it hat it has leaned heavily on some the more action-oriented (and, coincidentally, male) members of the crew.  True, Zoe does get a fight scene in this issue but it seems to be tacked in so there's some action somewhere in this chapter.  The more non-combat oriented characters - like Simon and Kaylee  - aren't given much to do except stand in the background.  This is marginally better than Inara, who has had nothing to do in this story but bed down with Mal and take care of Zoe's baby.  Granting that she's probably the one person on the crew best equipped to handle taking care of a newborn, greater care could have been taken to make it clear that she's taken the role on because of her Companion training.


I also have little to say about Georges Jeanty's artwork at this point beyond the fact that I don't like it.  There's little consistency from panel to panel.  Jeanty can capture an actor's likeness perfectly in one moment and then render them off-model in the next.  His mid-range characters lack any definition at all, and if it weren't for such cues as skin-tone and clothing it would be hard to tell who is who in the far-shots.

Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #3 - A Review

There is a certain futility to my reviewing Serenity: Leaves On The Wind.  This series is directly aimed at the obsessive army of fans known as Browncoats and while it is possible for those unfamiliar with the world of Joss Whedon's Serenity to read this book, it isn't recommended they do so.  As such, it hardly seems worth my time to cover this book as those familiar with the show are likely to buy this book regardless of my comments and those who aren't fans of the show won't bother with it.

That is why this month I've elected to aim this review at that small portion of Firefly fans who - for whatever reason - don't read comics and can't be arsed to give a comic book based on a show they like a chance.  Maybe they think it can't be as good because Joss' brother Zack wrote it.  Maybe they just don't like comics.  It doesn't matter.  All that matters is that there are two moments in this book that I think will make every Browncoat say "I have to read this book just to see how THAT happened!"  With that in mind, I leave you with these two scenes.


1. Jayne Cobb trying - honestly trying - to play the sensitive caring man role.





2. Kaylee shows just how much the past few years have changed her.

Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #2 - A Review

Considering how involved Firefly was as a series, Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #2 is surprisingly easy to get into.  While some familiarity with the series Firefly and the events of the movie Serenity are necessary, your average Browncoat could jump in on this issue without having to worry about having missed the first part.  The events of the previous issue is explained easily enough in both the action of this issue and a blurb on the title page.

As this chapter opens, Captain Malcolm Reynolds is a doubly wanted man.  The Alliance wants him for his role in exposing the truth about their crimes on the planet Miranda and a burgeoning rebellion wants him to be their fearless leader.  The latter group has tracked down Jayne Cobb - a mercenary who used to serve on Reynolds' ship - and hired him to lead the way to their would-be leader, little knowing that an old enemy of the Serenity crew is on the trail as well.


Mal, as usual, has bigger concerns than playing "the big damn hero".  First Mate Zoe has just given birth to a beautiful baby girl and while newborn Emma is doing fine, her mother is bleeding out slow in a way that ship's doctor Simon can't fix.  This means a trip to someplace civilized to get Zoe healed and that means risks the fugitive crew shouldn't be taking but can't help avoiding.


Zack Whedon does a fine job capturing the essence of his brother's characters.  This comic reads just like an episode of Firefly or a scene from the long dreamed of Serenity sequel.  The only real problem with the script is that much of the ensemble cast is given little to do and there's too few of the character moments that made the show so memorable.  Kaylee and Inara suffer the worst here - perhaps because so much of their personal drama was built around "will they?/won't they?" relationships that have now been resolved.

A larger problem lies in the artwork.  Penciler Georges Jeanty does some good caricatures of the established cast but their looks from panel to panel can differ greatly.  Another oddity is Karl Story's inks, which are layered-on heavily in the close-ups on various characters yet oddly sparse in medium and long range shots.  Thankfully, none of the artwork is glaringly bad enough to distract away from the story - just odd without being off-putting.

 

Burn The Land And Boil The Sea - You Can't Take My RPG.

SOURCE: Firefly Universe Online

Just throwing this out there.

Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale HC

BAD THING: The artwork, at times, is sloppy. And the images of the established cast - apart from Book himself - bare little resemblance to the original cast of Firefly. Case in point - does this look even vaugely like Nathan Fillion?

GOOD THING: The art is a bit lackluster but the story is excellent. We go through Book's past in reverse, starting with his death in Serenity and moving back towards his time as part of Mal's crew, his time at the abbey he was leaving when we first saw him and beyond.

So what was his past? Like I'm going to spoil it here. But trust me - it explains some (but not all) of just how a simple preacher could know what he knows about the dodgy side of life and using a gun.



The Final Verdict: If we have to have the mystery of Shepherd Book's past spelled out, I don't think we could have hoped to have a better story than this one. Shame we couldn't get artwork the equal of the story, but if you can look past some questionable caricatures, it's not that bad.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Serenity: Float Out

BAD THING: For a Serenity special about comic-hero pilot Wash written by comedian and Serenity fanboy Patton Oswalt, this comic is surprisingly free of both Wash and comedy. In fact, the best joke in the book is in the dedication to Alan Tyduk at the start of the comic.

What takes up the rest of the book? Mostly a lot of ugly drawings of spaceships as three men we have no emotional connection to tell us about how awesome Wash was.

GOOD THING: The last few pages when Zoe shows up and the revelation we get on the final page more than make up for the rest of the comic. In fact, this is SUCH a surprise ending, I'm not even going to display the image here. You'll have to follow the link below to see it.

Last Chance To Back Out Before Seeing The Surprise!




The Final Verdict: A must-read for all Serenity fans. Easily skipped by every one else. The artwork is just plain ugly and the surprisingly humor-free story that breaks the "show, don't tell" rule of storytelling is made tolerable only by the surprise conclusion. Anybody else wishing to get into the world of Serenity should check out the show, the movie or the Better Days or Those Left Behind comics instead.

Fast Thoughts - The Week of 05/14/08 & 5/21/08

Because you demanded it!



BIRDS OF PREY #118 - Tony Bedard returns! And just as I was getting used to Sean McKeever. There's honestly nothing really all that bad about this issue but there's not a lot to redeem it either. Bedard deserves credit for doing probably the most interesting idea yet with the earth-bound incarnations of the New Gods with The Dark Side Club. But that doesn't forgive the fact that continuing the Black Alice/Misfit conflict is pouring gasoline on a dead ember and hoping for a fire. And the revelation that Alice and Charlie are blood relatives is cliched to the point of being painful. Not a good start...


GREEN LANTERN CORPS #24 - Almost in stark contrast to Birds of Prey, this is a book I feared would be cliched which managed to surprise me. Sure, we were all worried when the solicits said that Mongul the Second was cultivating an entire planet of the parasitic, telepathic Black Mercy plants - but this story shocked me as almost no page time was given to depicting the dream worlds of the two captured lanterns and - oh shock of shocks - Guy and Kyle were actually depicted as being smart enough to know what a Black Mercy is and use their powers to defend against it accordingly. And as for the last-page revelation regarding what a Black Mercy truly is... well, I don't think ANYONE expected that!


HELLBLAZER #244 - I can't do this book justice by trying to describe it. Suffice to say, Andy Diggle is continuing to rock this book back onto it's foundations. And what is more, he managed to bring back Ellie; an old favorite member of John's supporting cast with a wink and a nod. Though I'd sure like to hear the story of just HOW she is free of Hell's grip, especially after the working over John gave her nearly ten years ago, I am content enough with Diggle's explanation for why she doesn't hold a grudge against John.


JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #21 - Much like his run on Fantastic Four was spoiled by a need to connect to Post-Civil War Marvel, I wonder what Dwayne McDuffie's JLA run might have looked like had he not been forced to bend his stories to conform to a series of big events (GA/BC Wedding, Tangent Universe Special, etc). Hopefully it would have been a lot more stories like last month's Wonder Woman/Flash team-up against Queen Bee or this issue which - despite being a direct lead in to Final Crisis - is still the best examination we've had of the Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman relationships in a while (Yes, that includes Trinity!) Anxious as I am for James Robinson to take over, I will miss McDuffie on this title and wonder what might have been.


KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #139 - Say what you will about Brian, but I think that the better part of him actually was trying to do the right thing in this issue. Okay, yes - he got a brand new character with a whole lot of benefits out of the bargain... but he still had to kill his character. And he chose to do so as a hero.


RED SONJA #33 - I had been hoping for a nice, normal Red Sonja issue to talk about this month after the bru-ha-ha of last month's "What If?" I might as well hope for the moon, for all the good it is doing me.

This entire issue might as well be titled "Red Sonja in Hell", because that's basically what it is. Sonja tormented by the people she failed to save. Sonja tormented by the friends who died because of her. And Sonja pinned down and threatened with rape by every man she ever killed.

Never mind the fact that her traveling companions from her final question - and ever warrior who ever aided her in battle and died beside her - show up to save her, heal her and vow to stand beside her no matter what. It's still a wee bit on the creepy side building to that touching moment.


SERENITY: BETTER DAYS #3 - Like "Those Left Behind" before it, this Serenity story gets confused in the last chapter. And what is worse, this time the story isn't resolved as the two conflicting forces are attacked by third force that is never identified or even speculated upon. And the final scenes - rather than building upon the characters we love - adds whole levels of unpleasantness to both Simon, Inara and Mal. You can do better, Joss. Seriously.


WONDER WOMAN #20 -There's something seriously wrong when Wonder Woman reads more like Red Sonja then Red Sonja. Or am I the only one disturbed to hear Wonder Woman trash-talking Beowulf and saying he's too ugly to be a whore? I can see Red Sonja saying that to a rival male warrior but not Diana - even though, if the final pages are to be believed, Diana isn't really herself in this story. It's a bit weird but I still like it.

Redefining My Tolerance Line Again.

I consider myself to be an intelligent and tolerant person. My list of People Who I Can Not Ever Take Seriously Because Of Their Beliefs is limited to six groups. In no particular order...

1. Anyone who preaches that one skin color is better than another.

2. Anyone who argues that one gender is superior to the other. (Remember this one - it will be important in a minute.)

3. Anyone who preaches that one religion is better than the other "because mine is the one true religion".

4. Anyone who would willingly vote for Ron Paul. (Sorry if that offends any of you, but I used to live in the guy's district and he IS a racist wackjob. I don't care if he does want to cut your taxes and legalize weed.)

5. Anyone who mindlessly submits to authority because of a badge, a fancy hat or a uniform. This goes double for those who believe that military service should be a requirement for holding public office or the right to vote. This goes triple for those who believe this despite having never served themselves.

6. Anyone who argues for lowering the age of consent to the point where pedophilia is legal.

I can now add a seventh group to this list, having read this.

7. Anyone who equates male feminists with unicorns and other make-believe creatures.

Because the minute someone mocks my existence is the minute I get to stop taking them seriously as an intellectual equal.

Thoughts On The New Comics - 4/2, 4/9 and 4/16

I know. I know. I'm a bad critic. Work stuff got me and I didn't get anything one week. I'm all caught up now, though.



COMIC FOUNDRY #2 - Only two issues in and this little magazine (billed as The #1 Men's & Women's Pop Culture Magazine) has already been nominated for an Eisner. If there is any justice in this world, it will win it. Smarter than Wizard and less pretentious than The Comics Journal, this is the magazine for the discriminating fan.

My favorite features this issue?

* The "All-Star Batman and Robin Drinking Game" (One drink when Batman tells someone to shut up. Two drinks if it's Dick Grayson)
* A profile of the Too Much Coffee Man opera.
* A preview of Season 3 of The Venture Brothers.
* Brief interivew with Kristen Bell and Masi Oka
* Brief review of Grant Morrison's oft ignored classic series The Invisibles
* Profile of the men behing Milestone Media

There's also some stuff about Manga and Matt Fraction that didn't interest me too much, but that's okay. This magazine has a little something for everyone so even if you don't feel the need to read the whole thing cover to cover, you can be guaranteed there will be something worth your time. And hey, it is cheaper than Wizard.


DOCTOR WHO #3 - I dunno. Maybe this is just me but this comic just doesn't hook me like the new series did. I suspect that may be because I'm less than enamored of the Doctor Smith/Doctor Jones pairing than many who fans are and I see the "Mary Sue" complaints that were frequently made about Rose Tyler being a lot more obvious in Martha Jones. Still, this is a harmless bit of fluff with The Doctor saving cat people - who are not, despite the cover, affiliated with the cat nuns of New Earth - in the far future. It's not really all that bad but - thus far - this series has done nothing but retread old characters and ideas from the show, save for a subplot involving the aliens who were apparently the true Egyptian gods.


GREEN LANTERN CORPS #23 - So what did we learn?

Bastards rhymes with Asses, according to Guy Gardner.

Mongul has a butt-load of Yellow Power Rings, a minion and a field full of Black Mercys (i.e. telepathic parasitic plant that makes the one it attaches to envision their perfect world as they slowly waste away)

The Guardians are still idiots.

"Change Hope Into Fear" - that isn't foreshadowing at all, is it? What with Hope and Fear being diametrically opposed on the emotion color wheel.

Hmmm.

HATE is to LOVE as RED is to VIOLET
AVARICE is to COMPASSION as ORANGE is to INDIGO
FEAR is to HOPE as YELLOW is to BLUE
GREEN is the BALANCE between.


HELLBLAZER #243 - There are no words for how awesome Andy Diggle's Hellblazer is.

Not only did he take a very simple high-concept (The Vatican create a room God cannot see into so they can indulge in their vices guilt free), introduce a fairly simple complication (the sins build up until all Hell breaks loose - literally) and milk it for everything it was worth by dragging John Constantine into the mix. He also threw an 11th Hour curve-ball that made total sense and yet totally surprised me at the same time.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Get this Man writing Green Arrow/Black Canary post haste!

KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #138 - Lots of Gary Gygax tributes this issue - both in the comics themselves and in the columns. This is only fitting given that this is the premiere gamer comic and - with Dungeon and Dragon vanished into the Ether, perhaps the premiere gaming magazine as well.

As for the comics themselves, there's quite a lot to like here. We finally get a glimpse of book publisher Shelia Jackson and the horror of horrors that a woman who doesn't like role-playing games is about to take a hand in trying to design one from the ground up. (I foresee a LOT of D&D 4.0 jokes coming). Gordo transforms his wheelchair into a Dalek costume and one of the most infamous gags of the old KODT days threatens to return as Brian, Dave, Sara and Bob discover another portal to Bag World.

Not a great issue to jump in on, but a great comic bar none. Check out the freebies (including the Dalek story) at http://www.kenzerco.com/index.php?cPath=22_23_53


RED SONJA #32 - A surprising "What If?" story in which we see the path Sonja's life would have taken had her family survived the bandit attacks that set her on the warrior's path. One of the better filler issues I've ever read, would that the regular series had been as interesting and as true to form as the different stories by different writers we've been reading these past few months.


SERENITY: BETTER DAYS #2 - A bit of a filler issue for a 3-part mini-series. Then again, if you're reading a Joss Whedon comic, you probably won't object too strongly to a story that is basically 80% all of the main characters sitting around and talking about what they'd do with a ton of money.

Oh, there's a little action too - with Mal and company playing Big Damn Heroes in stopping a robbery. But as per usual, the magic is all in Whedon's dialogue and the moments between the characters - both the tender (Wash describing his ideal life with a big ship of his own and a ton of kids to play dinosaurs with) and the hillarious (Jayne asking Simon for advice on approaching a Companion).


WONDER WOMAN #19 - Damn fine book. That's all I need say.

Three Weeks of Fast Thoughts

And yes, I am fully aware of the irony of calling something "Fast Thoughts" when you're reviewing comics you bought three weeks ago. The new job and a Con appearance consumed all of my spare time that wasn't spent sleeping, okay? :)



COMIC BOOK COMICS #1 - From the team that brought you Action Philosophers!, this little book is a comic book about comics history - a novel idea that I'm surprised hasn't been attempted before. While not quite as funny as AP was - although, in fairness, I don't think much CAN be funnier than the image of Plato being a big bearded bloke in a Luchadore mask who talks in Hulk-Speak - this is, like AP was, a very fun comic that manages to be educational to boot. I dare say that only the most die-hard of comic geeks won't learn something new about the genre's origins from this book and I will further say that this is a must-read for anyone who has ever held a comic-book.


DOCTOR WHO #1 & #2 - I haven't seen any of the Third Season of the Doctor Who revival series (AKA New Who, as some fans call it) but this has been due more to my busy schedule than any desire to avoid it... much as I do miss Rose Tyler already. Still, this comic book series based on the adventures of the current (i.e Tenth) Doctor and his current companion (i.e. Martha Jones) serves equally well as an introduction to the world of The Doctor for old fans, new fans or people who are "not sure if I'd even like Doctor Who".

The first issue deals with The Doctor being kidnapped by one of the last of the Sycorax - an alien species familiar to New Who fans as the main baddies from The Christmas Invasion of 2005 - who is running a business catering to big-game hunters who wish to hunt the last of any given species. Naturally The Doctor, who is the last of the Time Lords of Galifrey as we are informed in the introduction, is big business indeed. The second issue centers upon a trip to 1974, a series of odd sand-based statues and a technological curse extending back to the days of the Egyptian Pharaohs.

If you're a fan of quirky science-fiction, sly British humor or - of course - Doctor Who - these comics are of equal quality to the TV series. I'm no Doctor, but if I were, I'd prescribe these comics for all my patients.


DOCTOR WHO CLASSICS #2-4 - Classic Marvel Comics of England - with Dave Gibbons artwork pre-Watchmen - depicting the adventures of The Fourth Doctor - aka Tom Baker, perhaps the best-known and most popular actor to ever play The Doctor. There's not a lot I else I can say about this except that if you're a fan of The Doctor, Dave Gibbons artwork, or trippy science-fiction with a big heart and a sly wit, this should be required reading. Unless, of course, you already have a complete set of the original Marvel comics and have no need of the IDW reprints. :)


FABLES #70 - Still the best damn book on all fronts published monthly.


GREEN LANTERN #28 - The plot thickens as we see the first signs of the Fourth Lantern Corps - the Red Lantern Corps of rage. Not surprisingly, Laria - the Green Lantern who killed a Sinestro Corps member who had surrendered and was unarmed a few issues ago- was their first recruit. What is surprising is the power behind the Red Lantern Corps is The Empire of Tears - the enemies of The Guardians and the group responsible for, in the Alan Moore story Tygers revealing the Prophecy of Blackest Night which detailed the oncoming war between Seven Lantern Corps based on Seven Emotions and Seven Colors.

Not the best issue for a new reader to jump on, I'm afraid, but this is the best Space Opera book in years. Go pick up the new Hardcover collection of The Sinestro Corps War to see where it all began before picking this one up.


GREEN LANTERN CORPS #22 - Pretty much everything I said about Green Lantern applies to Green Lantern Corps as well. Good book. Good art. And not a good issue to come in on as this issue continues last month's storyline involving the Green Lantern Boodika's transformation into an Alpha Lantern (i.e. half organic/half Manhunter robot being devoted toward policing the Green Lantern Corps itself) and her going after one of her former sisters in a group of space amazon bandits. And while you might not think it difficult to get into a comic that is basically a bunch of muscular women wearing next to nothing trying to kill each other, such is the depth of this book that such a simple pleasure is made complex.


HELLBLAZER #241 - Bit of a slow issue this one. John doing what John does best as he tries to redirect the mad warmage Mako toward a different target while buying himself some time as innocent (well, relatively so) people are torn apart while John skates away. It's still good stuff but it feels like the sort of issue that exists only to pad out a story to six issues for the inevitable trade paperback.


JACK OF FABLES #20 - Should I even bother to mention that in five years of librarian school and working in libraries I have never yet met one librarian as hot as any one of The Page Sisters? Much less three? Much less three sisters? Just thought I'd mention it and that I take comfort in the fact that a liar like Jack can't possibly be telling the truth about having seduced all three of them. And yes, I know it doesn't bode well of me that I lust after fictional sexy librarians and am jealous of a fictional character who managed to seduce them all. I don't care. I still want to marry Barbara Gordon.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes - uh... this is a very good comic and you should be reading it. Yes.


SERENITY: BETTER DAYS #1 - Pre-Serenity The Movie, Whedon-written original adventures of Malcolm Reynolds and the rest of the Serenity crew. If you're a fan of Firefly you probably already know about this book and bought it or are cursing in Chinese and resolving to go down to the comic book shop first-thing tomorrow. Suffice it to say that if you're a fan, you'll love it. And if you're not a fan, hie thee hence to procure Firefly: The Complete Series and see what all the fuss is about.


WONDER WOMAN #18- This issue had it all. Really. Kick-ass action scenes in the form of Wonder Woman vs. An Army of Khunds (aka The Conan Aliens). Old-School sensibilities mixed with New-Earth coolness as we get a gun-totting, ass-kicking Etta Candy. And the only laugh-out-loud moment in any comic I've read in the past month as we see Diana start putting Nemesis through the Amazon Courtship rituals.

Yes, you read that right. Apparently lesbian relationships were common enough among the Amazons for complex courtship rituals to be developed. Which is only natural and makes perfect sense. Still, it is a bit flooring to see such a thing finally be spelled out in the pages of Wonder Woman much less to have such a revelation be revealed without a bit editorial hoopla. Especially given the way they handled the reveal of Batwoman and (Insert Judd Winick storyline of your choice here).

Good book. And a good issue to start with if - for some reason - you didn't jump on this ship when Gail Simone became the captain.

Looking To The Stars - Since I Found Serenity...

Before we get started on the comic talk today, I'd like to write a bit about my friend Sam. Sam was taken from this world far too soon by a sad parasite of a man who returned Sam's charity with pain. The good news is they finally caught the guy this past week and justice will hopefully be served shortly.

There are two reasons why I wanted to talk about Sam this time around. First, for reasons that will become obvious, this week's column is dedicated to Samuel Lea whom was as much as a superhero in his 28 years as anyone who ever graced a comic page.

I can't do justice to all the stories I heard about Sam's kindness in the days after his death from his many friends. Suffice it to say, he was the kind of man who'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it and who would drive out to the bad part of town at 2 am if your car broke down. His loss is a loss to the world at large.

The other reason I want to talk about Sam is because he was one of the people who exposed me to the subject of today's column: Serenity.

Strictly speaking, Serenity doesn't have much directly to do with comics. Sure, the show was created by Joss Whedon, who has written more than a few comic books and other TV shows of geeky interest. Sure, one of the writers/producers was Ben Edlund, best known for creating The Tick. And the basic plot – bunch of misfits join together to survive in a world they didn't make – well, THAT'S certainly never been done before in a comic book.

The story of Serenity first started on a critically acclaimed but(in a typical display of stupidity for the Fox Network) canceled TV series called Firefly. Thanks to a rabidly loyal fan base, a cheap DVD rushed to market and sheer word-of-mouth advertising, the show has become a major cult hit since it's cancellation four years ago and proved popular enough to inspire a major motion-picture release in the form of the movie Serenity

To describe the Universe of the show as a post-Civil War western in space is simplifying things a bit, but it's as apt as anything. It's some five years after a war between The Alliance (think The Empire, minus the Dark Jedi) and the Independents, with the Alliance having come out on top. Malcolm Reynolds, an Independent sergeant who managed to survive the very bloody Battle Of Serenity Valley, spent the last of his savings to buy a ship (named, due to Malcolm's twisted sense of humor, Serenity) and turn freelance contractor.

Zoe, the only other soldier from his command to survive the war, signed on as First Mate and they shortly brought on an expert pilot named Wash and a natural mechanic named Kaylee. Along the way, they pick up some passengers in the form of Jayne (a mercenary who signed after getting a better offer), Inara (a "lady for hire"), Book (a traveling preacher) and a young doctor named Simon and...

Well, that would be telling.

Suffice it to say, I highly recommend that everyone out there go pick up a copy of The Complete Firefly DVD set. If you're a fan of Joss Whedon's X-Men, the Keith Giffen Justice League or anything that mixes equal bits of action, drama and humor, you'll love it. And even if you don't like science-fiction (and believe me, I am there with you), you will love this. It doesn't seem like science-fiction. It ain't Star Wars. It sure as hell ain't Star Trek. In fact the closest thing I can think of as a comparison as far as basic science fiction goes is the Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy books. Simply because it has the same spirit of rebellion as well as a similar bent of smart humor.

And for those of you unwilling to buy a DVD set just on my word, no worries; Netflix has it for rent!

The release of the movie also saw the release of a Serenity comic book mini-series. And this past week saw the release of the TP of said mini-series; which I was glad to see as I missed out on the comics during the first printing. And the second printing. As did a lot of loyal Firefly fans.

How does the comic stack up to everything else now that I've finally read it? Well, it's a good read (Joss had a hand in it, after all) but it suffers a bit if you're new to the world of Serenity. The comic was made as a bridge between the last episode of Firefly and the opening of Serenity so there are some plot points and discussions that may confuse non-fans – a problem that Serenity the film was wise enough to address. Then again, they probably figured that nobody but the fans would be getting the comic. And yet, I knew a lot of comic fans who tried to get into the series through the comic and came away confused. I can now see why.

That is why I recommend you get the TV series. THEN read the TP of the comics. THEN see the film.

In closing, I'd like to tell two separate stories that, in a way, tie into Serenity and the quiet heroism that the show tends to inspire.

First, Nathan Fillion (the actor who plays Malcolm Reynolds) is a comic fan. Incidentally, the TP is worth getting just to read the introduction where he waxes philosophical on the comic book store of his youth. But it was in a comic book store NOT like the one of his youth where he was trying to buy a comic with his picture on it, as a gift for his mother. Said store had, within the first week of the comic's release, raised the price on it to $20. While the book did sell quickly, it didn't sell out that quickly and Mr. Fillion protested what he saw as an act of gouging. The employee of said store was reportedly rather rude in his response.

This lead to Mr. Fillion starting a boycott of said store among his fans and... well, reportedly word has spread and the OTHER comic shop in said town where he got the good service common to the Canadian retail industry is doing much better business than the other one. This seems to be proof positive that it pays to be polite when you run a comic book store or, at the very least, that you shouldn't piss off an actor with a rabid fan-base.

My other story is a story of Sam and a boycott he started. It wasn't quite so successful, being limited to himself and the comic shop I worked for. Sam had worked for them too, for a time, but was fired... unfairly by most accounts... after he called in sick but trusted in leaving a message for his boss rather than speaking directly to his boss. After that, Sam swore that he would never ever patronize "the dark empire" again nor set foot in one of their stores.

The same day that we saw Serenity in the theater, I made mention of the fact that there was now a Serenity role-playing game out. Before the movie, Sam said that he could probably get it cheaper on-line. I said that this was unlikely, given my discount. Sam said it didn't matter – he'd still get his copy elsewhere. And then we saw the movie.

When we got out, this being me, Sam and the rest of our gaming group... the conversation went to the game we were going to have that night and some other games we'd like to run. It was pretty much agreed that we all wanted to take a look at that Serenity game. Without a word, Sam reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and handed me a $50.

"Don't say anything. Just bring me back the change."

Sam was a man of principle. But when it came to his friends he was willing to break his own rules. Bit like Mal Reynolds in that respect. And several other respects as well.

Rest in peace, Sam. Keep flying.