Today, Taylor and Shelby are discussing Serenity: Leaves on the Wind 2, originally released February 26th, 2014. 

Taylor: Rebooting a series is seldom a wise idea. With the rise of the internet, fans of cancelled or obscure media suddenly able to connect with each other like they never had before. This meant that those pining for the reboot of a beloved yet cancelled comic or show suddenly had someone to voice their opinion to. They found strength in their numbers and, surprisingly, studios began to listen. When Firefly was cancelled few seemed to care. But as more and more people fell in love with the show, it eventually gained a cult following, the strength of which is rivaled by few. Firefly got its reboot in the form of a movie, which by most accounts put an end to the story of Malcolm Reynolds and his motley crew. But the fans continued to clamor and now we have a comic book devoted to continuing the story. While this revival may stir feelings of sweet nostalgia the wisdom of its creation is still a question floating in space.

With Zoe on the brink of death from the delivery of her child, the crew of Serenity head to a hospital outpost in seek of medical help. The good news is that the hospital can save Zoe’s life. The bad news is that if Malcolm and the others stay at the hospital, they will be captured by the Alliance. Making a tough decision, Mal leaves Zoe behind so he can save her baby. Later, with the help of erstwhile crewmember Jayne, a group cleverly named “The New Resistance”  locates Serenity in hopes of joining forces with Mal. Unbeknownst to them, they have led the bounty hunter Early right to his prey.

I’ve always been wary of reboots. The reason certain series develop a cult following is because they capture a sort of magic that flies under the radar on a lot of screens. This magic, as it turns out, is pretty hard to capture, and while reading Leaves on the Wind 2 I couldn’t help but feel that the Firefly franchise has lost its mojo.

There are a lot of reasons for this, but my biggest problem is that the art in Leaves on the Wind just doesn’t satisfy me. I should say that I think Georges Jeanty is an able penciller and I actually find his style kind of appealing. There’s much to like in his deceptively minimalistic approach to his work. However, we’re dealing with characters and spaceship designs I know by heart. Having watched Firefly and Serenity an embarrassing amount of times, I know almost every curve of Malcolm Reynolds nose and exactly the amount of muscles Jayne has. With this in mind, it’s hard to justify the cognitive dissonance I feel when I see a character that is supposed to be Jayne, who doesn’t look the way I remember him to be at all.

While this guy talks like Jayne and is called Jayne by everyone around him, I just can’t accept it. I know it’s unfair to blame Jeanty for any of this. Like I said, he’s a capable artist. But when you’re dealing with a beloved franchise like Firefly, you think more effort would go into making characters look the way we remember them appearing. While maybe I should just get over it and accept the fact that rendering lifelike human faces is hard, I still find this taking me out of the series. I’m conscious of it not being the episodes I fell in love with and that counts for something.

This sense of the familiar seeming not quite right also looms over Zack Whedon’s script. With the exception of Zoe’s being left to the evil Alliance, it sure feels like we are retracting out footsteps in this issue. The issue of Jayne’s untrustworthiness comes bubbling to the surface when he makes his return to Serenity and it’s an all too familiar affair. While I can appreciate that Whedon is trying to imbue this series with some continuity, it seems cheap to do that using old storylines. Yes, we know Jayne has a hard time assigning value to relationships, so do we really need another fight between he and Malcolm? Similarly, the sending of River into a coma to induce Alliance secrets seems like the plot of Serenity all over again. The crew of Serenity using the Alliance’s secrets against itself…PART II! And while I like the development of Zoe being left behind (the first time a crewmember has been left behind in the franchise’s history) parts of it still feel a bit stale. When she awakes after being left behind, there is sinister man at her bedside.

With a history full of creepy and ruthless assassin types, the deployment of yet another is beginning to feel trite. No wonder Mal can outmaneuver the Alliance so easily, when they apparently are so predictable down to every last soul they employ. My point is, this character has already been done and done well. Why try to capture lightning twice? Instead, I would appreciate a new kind of villain the likes which we haven’t seen yet.

Shelby, I would love to love this series, but it just feels like pandering to the crowd to me. Given my above sentiments in addition to the numerous plot holes of this issue (Why didn’t they just capture Serenity while it was docked at the hospital? Why didn’t the same ship explode when it was attached to another exploding ship?) I’m having a hard time getting any enjoyment here. What about you? Are you bothered by this or am I being too harsh of a fanboy here?

Shelby: You both are and are not being too harsh of a fanboy. I don’t disagree with anything in particular that you’ve said here; Patrick brought up his disappointment last month with the villain being Jubel Early instead of someone new, and I feel like this month we are seeing more of the same. Mal doesn’t want Jayne on the boat because he’s greedy and disloyal. He must have done something even worse than the last time Mal wanted him off Serenity because he was greedy and disloyal. Our point of conflict is River’s knowledge of one particular secret, and the potential resolution is…River’s knowledge of different secrets. It makes sense, plot-wise; the only thing the crew has to trade for Zoe (besides themselves) is those secrets. It doesn’t change the fact that this feels like a re-tread.

Really, the only thing truly new is Bea, the leader of the resistance. But even she, with her spunky haircut and sassy attitude, just feels like a lady Mal. She’s bought Jayne’s loyalty, but she knows he’s dumb and gross and has no problem reminding him. She’s bold, stubborn, chock-full of witty retorts, and well-armed. As enjoyable as it is to spend more time in this universe with these characters, is that enough to carry this book? Is it too much to ask for more from Whedon?

Actually, it might be; this is the part where you might be a little too hard on this title. First of all, we have to remember this is just a mini; Whedon has 6 issues to tell his tale. That’s not a lot of time to introduce something new to an universe so well-established and beloved. That “beloved” part is key. Not all fans want as much as we do out of comics. There are plenty of readers out there I’m sure who are more than content to just spend more time on board the ship, readers who would froth with rage at the mere suggestion of changing things or adding something new. Taylor, even you lamented the lack of  additions to the universe after saying Jeanty’s renditions of the crew are too separated from the actors themselves. Whedon’s got a very fine line to walk with this book, and it looks like he’s erring on the side of the content fanboy.

Maybe things will pick up from here; Rogers’ threat to Zoe of shipping her somewhere and then forgetting about her so she’ll never see her (literally newborn) daughter again really resonated with me, there’s some potential to be had there. And, I have to admit, I’m curious to see how the crew will deal with Early now that he knows the rules they play by. I’m still happy to hang out with Mal and the gang, and there’s potential for the story to really open up, but even a devoted fangirl like me is starting to feel a little impatient.

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?