Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #3

Zack Whedon - Writer

Georges Jeanty- Artist

Karl Story - Inker

Laura Martin - Colorist

Michael Heisler - Letterer

 

Serenity Leaves On The Wind #3 continues the tradition of keeping the continuity of the series extremely tight, and having it remain interesting, while leaving the audience wanting more. In my opinion, this tale also does a good job giving the book a darker tone while still not falling into the pit of bottomless despair populated by the film. Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #3 finds a nice arc carved out of people that respect great characters. Similar to that of a tv show, the action in this series is downplayed, as the book focuses intently on the developing relationships between each interesting member of the crew. There have been a lot of changes on board recently, and this installment continues to explore just how different the Firefly and it’s crew members have become since the final moments of the original tv show. For fans, this should be a great deal because it truly is something new being spun out of something old. If television of film was not so concerned with actors or budges and whatnot, they would not be afraid to have some riskier storytelling that still keeps things fresh after so many years.

 

This issue continues to delve into what drove the plot of the show in the pilot; what happened to River Tam? She introduces the new mythology elements nicely and has a very interesting new angle that adds to the plot readers were already soaking in. The tale then examines a situation in which readers have discovered before, but in a new way and with the fallout of the comic book continuity. There is a also an incredible Kaylee scene that is worth the price of admission alone. I would be remiss not to mention that the dialogue in this issue by Zack Whedon continues to be extremely impressive month after month. The author clearly understands the speech patterns of each character and has their verbal exchanges nailed down just right. The book then takes a page from Renoir’s 1937 masterpiece La Grande Illusion to show off Zoe’s current state of mind. Anybody who has seen the film, or read this tale will know what I am talking about. The comic ends on a nice note that will have readers eagerly anticipating the next issue.

 

Georges Jeanty’s artwork is a bit of a double edged sword. In most panels and renderings of the facial expressions on each character looks detailed and very nice, then on some panels, there are strange facial tics that look absolutely bizarre. In a tale filled with talking heads this is less excusable than it would be in Buffy. With a little bit of polishing Jeanty could get back on track and make something with less inconsistency, and more excellent polish. There are osm really strong facial expressions that really guide this comic book along better than it would have with another artist. It is also important to note that these pencils really help with the tone of show and keep this book interesting in the long term. For the most part Jeanty does a good job guiding the script along and getting readers immediately hooked into this tale.

Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #3 does a good job retaining some of the highly quality that readers have previously enjoyed in past issues. Whedon and Jeanty will not disappoint in this tale, Firefly fans are doing themselves a disservice by not reading it.