Joss Whedon returns with SERENITY- Better Days(2008).
© Dark Horse

Mania Grade: B+
Title: Serenity-Better Days
Issue: 1 of 3
Authors: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, Will Conrad(Art), Adam Hughes(Cover)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $2.99

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SERENITY- Better Days

With Joss Whedon venturing into his unofficial/ official eighth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer via the comics I kept fingers on both hands crossed that somewhere in the “verse” he still had more Firefly stories to tell. Sure we were given the comic book movie tie in for his film Serenity called Serenity: Those Left Behind.  It was an incredible prequel which brought the Firefly characters and story up to date for Serenity. As great as the film was it did end on a downer. We all knew the story would continue and this band of unlikely heroes would go on. But in what capacity? 

In Serenity – Better Days Whedon is simply picking up where the show left off. Sure there is that ominous future for the characters lurking but here is another chance to venture away from the old DVDs and immerse yourself in a fresh story from Whedon’s “verse”.

The brilliance of Serenity – Better Days is that each written piece of dialogue feels as if we are watching another episode of Firefly. You can hear their voices as you read them on the page. Making one wonder how much control Whedon had over the shooting of the show? Nothing written in Serenity – Better Days seems out of place or uncharacteristic of any member of the crew. His dialogue is almost gospel to the characters and you believe the actors are there with you as you read this story. 

The book opens with the Serenity crew stealing priceless works of art. This is only a ruse of course and it leads them to their real prize, a new remote controlled security device. From frame one of Jane and his stupid looking money grubbing grin there is the immediate air that something else is going on. Whether that has to do with the predictability of Whedon’s writing or just the crew’s luck, it is obvious that this typical robbery isn’t going to be your typical robbery. Getting paid is always a problem and it leads the crew into even more danger. This is what always made Firefly fun. Twists that kept them in trouble and the thrill of watching them get out of it, knowing full well that there would be sacrifices at the end.

There are two cartoony moments involved in Serenity – Better Days that I could have done with out. The first moment is the villain cursing Captain Reynolds with a big “Reynolds!” word balloon. Haven’t we moved beyond this in comics? The other is a quick nod to that “hero of Canton”, Jane. It is quick and funny but I could have used a few more panels of story to get me through till next month.

Will Conrad’s art when it comes to the world of Serenity is technically perfect. The ships, technology and scenery are flawless. His renditions of the characters on the other hand leave little to be desired. Their faces look muddled with almost too much detail. Adam Hughes’ cover on the other hand sums up the warm triad of Malcolm, Walsh and Zoë.

The art won’t keep me from tuning in next month. Hopefully this is just a test run for Whedon in his “verse”. It would be great if he brings us further adventures with the Serenity crew, back when their world wasn’t rocked by the Reevers, back when there were better days.