Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Serenity: Leaves on the Wind 1, originally released January 29th, 2014. 

Shelby: I recently finished the final book of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it here before; it’s a fantasy series I have been reading for 20 years, and I just finished the last book after re-reading the whole series. The ending was amazing, I cried like a baby: a hungry, angry baby. It’s not that it was sad, I cried because it was so perfect, and because it was over. This epic saga that I had read for so long was finished; it left a little book-shaped hole in my heart, a hole that not even my Wheel of Time tattoo could fill. Fans of Joss Whedon’s Firefly and subsequent movie Serenity know exactly what I’m talking about. As satisfying as it was to see Malcom Reynold’s ragtag crew of space cowboys aim to misbehave and deliver a crushing blow to the Alliance, there’s always been a little Firefly class-shaped hole in my heart since it’s been over. When I heard there was a new miniseries coming, written by Joss’ brother Zack Whedon, that takes place immediately after the movie, I knew there was no power in the ‘verse could stop me from reading it. Also, obviously, we’ve got major spoilers below, for the series and movie.

Everyone is looking for Malcom Reynolds. As the talking heads on the news debate the validity of the broadwave announcing the Alliance made the Reavers (one of the scariest TV villains I’ve ever encountered) and killed thirty million people in the process, the Alliance is very interested in knowing his whereabouts. As is the New Resistance, a faction of rebels and former Browncoats, who see this revelation as fuel for the fire of their cause. Malcom is actually literally in the middle of nowhere, with little money or food, and no plan to speak of other than laying low ’til things blow over. Zoe (or more specifically, her baby) doesn’t think that’s a great idea, and she goes into labor. The baby girl Emma is delivered fine, but Zoe bleeding internally, so River sets a course for the nearest hospital. Jayne, who is no longer running with the crew, is found by the Resistance as they look for Mal, and the Alliance gets an assist from a man who may not be a lion, but certainly has a mighty roar.

I had such a fangirl moment with that reveal. Objects in Space is one of, if not my most, favorite episode, and Jubal Early is an incredible character. If there’s anyone who’s not going to let getting kicked into space stop him, it’s ol’ Jubal Early. Honestly, this whole book was a fangirl moment for me. Mal and Inara finally getting together. Zoe finally getting to meet the beautiful baby she and Wash made. Jayne just being…Jayne, the whole thing was like meeting up with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. I had a hard time not bouncing up and down in my chair as I read. Ok, I did actually bounce up and down a little.

Getting down to business, though, I am really excited to see the consequences of Mal’s actions in Serenity. With unrest in the Ukraine and the ongoing civil war in Syria, not to mention continued fallout from the Arab Spring, rebellion is constantly on the news. I can’t help but let the real world creep in as I read about protests and riots on the streets of Persephone.

I love these very real results of news of the Alliance’s actions. Nobody doesn’t love seeing the oppressed stand up to their oppressors, and the Browncoats are a beloved faction. I’m excited to see the Browncoats begin the fight again.

I wasn’t familiar with Georges Jeanty’s work before this issue, but I think he’s a good fit for the title. His slightly cartoonish style imbues these characters with a lot of personality. It matches the personality of the characters we already know. He’s also got a very cinematic eye, which makes for a nice transition from the show and movie to the comic. My favorite page is the shot of the crew waiting for news about Zoe.

The long, skinny panels evoke the screen, where we’re used to seeing these characters. The way the background doesn’t change means the characters are moving through the scene, and I love the way it depicts the time passing as they wait.

I haven’t read any of the other Serenity comic books, so this was my first visit back to this part of the ‘verse. I’m probably just going to fangirl my way through this whole story; I am just so excited to spend more time with these characters. Patrick, how about you? Have you spent the evening burning the land and boiling the sea?

Patrick: Well, Shelby, we know that both of those efforts would be futile. What am I going to take the sky from them? DON’T BE RIDICULOUS.

But, I actually wanted to address that head-on — the fangirl/fanboyishness of the whole endeavor. Simply by virtue of the fact that Serenity’s characters speak in such a specific vernacular, some of it is unavoidable. Like when Mal explains to Inara that he doesn’t want to risk River’s new-found, and perhaps temporary, sanity, he has to express it like this:

“That girl’s brain is a minefield. We’re going on eight months that she hasn’t spoken in a gorram riddle and I aim to keep that steak alive, especially when she’s got her hands on the yoke of my boat.”

That trips pretty much all the Malcom Reynolds triggers — folksy but savvy; unnecessarily employing violent imagery; using riding and sailing terminology when referring to a space ship; and there’s even a “gorram” in there for good measure. More than seeing these characters again, it’s the skillful emulation of this rhythm that makes me feel like I’m back in my dorm room shotgunning the DVDs for the third time this semester.

It’s clear that Zach Whedon is counting on this level of attachment to the characters from the outset. Can you imagine picking up this series without having seen Firefly? It’s a notion so ridiculous, we don’t even really have to pretend there is such a reader. And Whedon knows just how powerful the allure of “more time with Mal and the gang” can be — notice that he doesn’t show us what our characters are up to until we’re 10 pages in. Burying the lede? No way — he knows we’ll happily wait a few pages more to see our friends again. In fact, it’s so effective, that I barely noticed the absence of Wash and Book; the second we’re back on the ship, it feels like home just enough to really cast the spell properly.

But I do also feel that the spell is in danger of being overloaded with coincidental nostalgia beats. Shelby points to Jubal Early’s appearance as a cause for celebration, but I actually see it as the opposite. There are a handful of the TV series’ characters that made second appearances — Badger, Adele Niska, YoSaphBridge — but Early was a delightful and bizarre one-off, and I’m hesitant to see the preciousness of that single appearance tampered with. It feels an awful lot like pandering: oh, you guys liked Jubal Early? HERE HE IS AGAIN!

Another example of this is Jayne. Or rather: that hat.

Jayne gets the hat in one episode, we all have a couple laughs and then we never see the hat again. But the thing lives on after the show’s cancellation because the fans fucking loved it — so much in fact that Fox clamped down on poor Etsy operations that tried to sell them. (Don’t worry, your Fox-sanctioned Jayne hats are still available at Think Geek.) It’s part of the fan culture reappropriated by the people making money off it. That’s about on par with Miranda, don’t you think? There’s a fine line between embracing the will of the populace and exploiting the needs of the populace, and I’m still not sure what side the Jayne Hat falls on.

Those few teeny complaints aside, I’m looking forward to good read. The real power of a Joss Whedon story comes in the final act — the man is so good at subverting expectations that he’s literally made a career of it. Zach Whedon’s handled introductions like pro, so I assume everything’s going to be cool going forward. What? Oh, okay fine, but just one: I assume everything’s going to he shiny going forward.

For a complete list of what we’re reading, head on over to our Pull List page.  Whenever possible, buy your comics from your local mom and pop comic bookstore.  If you want to rock digital copies, head on over to Comixology and download issues there.  There’s no need to pirate, right?