Firefly #25 Review
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Pius Bak
Colours: Marcelo Costa
Letters: Jim Campbell
There’s a lot of change with this issue of Firefly. Setting itself up as a perfect jumping on point for new readers, Greg Pak has jumped us into the future, we’re now in the aftermath of the Serenity movie, and there’s a brand new status quo for the crew. The issue starts off telling us we’re a few years down the line but doesn’t specify how far yet. It’s an interesting decision, and looks like it might be setting events up for Firefly: Brand New Verse which debuts in March. That series is based 20 years after the events of Serenity, and will follow Zoe and Wash’s daughter Emma as she takes over the command seat of Serenity. For readers who are suddenly asking questions about how Zoe and Wash could have a daughter, what with Wash being dead and all, the answers lie in Dark Horse’s Firefly series, with several series set in the aftermath of Serenity. It's in the pages of those issues where it’s revealed that Zoe was pregnant with Wash’s baby, and she gives birth to a girl named Emma.
This issue of Firefly looks to be bridging the gaps between the Dark Horse and Boom series of Firefly. If you haven’t read any/all of the Dark Horse comics they’ve been released as a deluxe hardcover and are highly recommended. Boom’s series has been a bit hit or miss, and in truth probably more miss than hit, but the Dark Horse series was consistently excellent and really captured the TV series brilliantly. But enough of that, onto the issue at hand.
So this issue introduces readers to the idea that Zoe has a baby called Emma, who’s now a few years old, but doesn’t go into too many details about how yet. The conclusion of the issue makes it clear that this is a storyline which will feature prominently in upcoming issues so don’t worry if you haven’t read the Dark Horse comics. But just to make it clear that this isn’t merely a continuation of the Dark Horse series this issue also features, very briefly, an old discarded Blue Sun Mal robot. That storyline wasn’t the greatest, and it felt like it was just thrown in there, a little unneccessarily, to show that it’s a mix of the two series.
It’s clear that the years since we last saw our heroes have seen them undergoing some massive changes, and that’s part of the fun of this issue, exploring what’s happened to our characters and trying to guess what they've been through. The crew have now split into two separate crews, with a few new characters to boot. To delve into it any greater would spoil the fun of reading it, so that’s all we’ll say on that for now.
The question is how well does it all work? It feels too early to really know. It’s a slightly longer than typical issue, but it could have done with being twice the length and really giving readers a chance to learn more about what our heroes have been going through. Of course that’s one of the things which will keep readers coming back for more, and Pak has obviously not wanted to give too much away in this new chapter in the ‘Verse. This issue acts more like a tease for what’s to come than giving the readers too much, and will leave readers with hundreds of questions. There are also a few notable absences from the cast, and it’ll be interesting to find out what’s happened to them.
There is also a new art team for this new chapter in the Firefly saga, with Pius Bak taking on the illustrator role and Marcelo Costa taking over as colourist. Bak really captures the feel of the Firefly universe, although some of the characters likenesses aren’t great. There’s something about the way he captures their presence though which never leaves readers in any doubt about who any of the characters are. Then Costa’s colours really bring the ‘verse to life.
A brand new chapter which gives Pak more creative freedom than ever as its set in the aftermath of Serenity, it feels like really early days for the series and only time will tell how it all unfolds. It’s clear that time hasn’t been kind to all of our heroes so it’ll be a fun ride to discover what they’ve gone through in the intervening years. The new art team do a great job of capturing the feel and energy of the Firefly ‘verse.
Artist: Pius Bak
Colours: Marcelo Costa
Letters: Jim Campbell
There’s a lot of change with this issue of Firefly. Setting itself up as a perfect jumping on point for new readers, Greg Pak has jumped us into the future, we’re now in the aftermath of the Serenity movie, and there’s a brand new status quo for the crew. The issue starts off telling us we’re a few years down the line but doesn’t specify how far yet. It’s an interesting decision, and looks like it might be setting events up for Firefly: Brand New Verse which debuts in March. That series is based 20 years after the events of Serenity, and will follow Zoe and Wash’s daughter Emma as she takes over the command seat of Serenity. For readers who are suddenly asking questions about how Zoe and Wash could have a daughter, what with Wash being dead and all, the answers lie in Dark Horse’s Firefly series, with several series set in the aftermath of Serenity. It's in the pages of those issues where it’s revealed that Zoe was pregnant with Wash’s baby, and she gives birth to a girl named Emma.
This issue of Firefly looks to be bridging the gaps between the Dark Horse and Boom series of Firefly. If you haven’t read any/all of the Dark Horse comics they’ve been released as a deluxe hardcover and are highly recommended. Boom’s series has been a bit hit or miss, and in truth probably more miss than hit, but the Dark Horse series was consistently excellent and really captured the TV series brilliantly. But enough of that, onto the issue at hand.
So this issue introduces readers to the idea that Zoe has a baby called Emma, who’s now a few years old, but doesn’t go into too many details about how yet. The conclusion of the issue makes it clear that this is a storyline which will feature prominently in upcoming issues so don’t worry if you haven’t read the Dark Horse comics. But just to make it clear that this isn’t merely a continuation of the Dark Horse series this issue also features, very briefly, an old discarded Blue Sun Mal robot. That storyline wasn’t the greatest, and it felt like it was just thrown in there, a little unneccessarily, to show that it’s a mix of the two series.
It’s clear that the years since we last saw our heroes have seen them undergoing some massive changes, and that’s part of the fun of this issue, exploring what’s happened to our characters and trying to guess what they've been through. The crew have now split into two separate crews, with a few new characters to boot. To delve into it any greater would spoil the fun of reading it, so that’s all we’ll say on that for now.
The question is how well does it all work? It feels too early to really know. It’s a slightly longer than typical issue, but it could have done with being twice the length and really giving readers a chance to learn more about what our heroes have been going through. Of course that’s one of the things which will keep readers coming back for more, and Pak has obviously not wanted to give too much away in this new chapter in the ‘Verse. This issue acts more like a tease for what’s to come than giving the readers too much, and will leave readers with hundreds of questions. There are also a few notable absences from the cast, and it’ll be interesting to find out what’s happened to them.
There is also a new art team for this new chapter in the Firefly saga, with Pius Bak taking on the illustrator role and Marcelo Costa taking over as colourist. Bak really captures the feel of the Firefly universe, although some of the characters likenesses aren’t great. There’s something about the way he captures their presence though which never leaves readers in any doubt about who any of the characters are. Then Costa’s colours really bring the ‘verse to life.
A brand new chapter which gives Pak more creative freedom than ever as its set in the aftermath of Serenity, it feels like really early days for the series and only time will tell how it all unfolds. It’s clear that time hasn’t been kind to all of our heroes so it’ll be a fun ride to discover what they’ve gone through in the intervening years. The new art team do a great job of capturing the feel and energy of the Firefly ‘verse.
A Look Inside
