Serenity #2

Timeline

Immediately following Issue #1.

The Sitch

Issue #2 picks up immediately where the first left off – with “the man’s” guard at the Blue Glove’s feet in a pool of his own blood, mingled quickly with what appears to be dust from a warning shot. Even as the agents express their appreciation, “the man” tells them to not thank him since his depth perception isn’t what it once was.

Even as “the man” prepares to shoot again, we get first big twist of this comic. AND, it’s big. Who is the man? Agent Dobson. Yep, THE agent Dobson that Mal shot in Serenity (the Firefly pilot). Left for dead on Whitefall by Mal, Agent Dobson is bent on revenge, and he quickly puts his gun down when the agents offer him Serenity.

Serenity is, for the moment, on Persephone, trying to fuel up and the crew preparing to take a short walk. Jayne, however, is more interested in punching out the hulking figure that has turned up on Serenity’s docking door and with good reason, since he is accompanying his boss, Badger. Mal signals to Zoe who hits the rest of Badger’s men with steam. Mal descends (who’s beneath who now) to talk to Badger, now the sole conscious person on the ramp.

Back on Whitefall, the blue-gloves and Dobson are discussing finding Serenity and divvying up Mal, River and Simon. Their meeting room, filled (in an excellent panel) with decapitated and axed dummies, pictures with knives in them and scrawled writing, all with Mal’s name on them. Dobson already has a plan to capture Mal.

Returning to Serenity, Badger is flown across Persephone with one chance to make an offer before Jayne gets the chance to gut him. Book tries again to intervene by asking if they want to deal with Badger, and Mal curtly tells him he’ll get his cut. Badger offers a stash of money that Browncoats and Alliance fought over in the Battle of Sturges, a debatedly-bloodier battle than Serenity Valley. Badger offers the coordinates to the coin. Mal takes the directions, but not necessarily the job, and leaves Badger in the desert to walk home.

The blue-gloves have also considered Dobson’s offer. His only request is Alliance clearance, to which they agree. Mal also accepts his job unless any of the crew objects. Inara does since it will take her away from her destination. Mal gruffly, in a word, tells her too bad, again finding a way to keep her on the ship even longer. The floor is opened for any other comments to which River points out her dislike of the color brown on the captain.

Finally, Book objects to not getting Inara where she needs to go. Mal and Book have a conversation with Mal challenging Book’s razor-thin edge of standing firm behind his beliefs. It’s the last straw; Book lays Mal out on the floor.

The blue-gloves take off while Dobson prepares his men. His only stipulation to them is that he is the one who kills Mal.

Mal goes to Inara but is interrupted by Wash. In perhaps the finest moment of this mini-series so far, Wash shows his rarely-seen wisdom. He tells Mal that he could have had any kind of job in the ‘verse – luxury liner, etc. His reason for falling in with thieves? He’s got a woman he loves, and he’d do anything to be near her. His point? He knows the job Badger has offered is stupid, but he understands why Mal is doing it.

And, Wash gets to be very near to that woman he loves in the pilot’s seat. Again, an excellent bit of dialogue with Zoe giving a little “Hey sailor…” to initiate things. Even as they are still enjoying the moment, a warning siren goes off and Wash immediately calls the crew to the bridge. Awestruck, they view the space wreckage that was the Battle of Sturges.

Mal tells Zoe and Jayne to suit up. In a moment reminiscent of Serenity (the pilot), they step out into space to salvage the coin. Wash, monitoring the still-existent atmo levels from the bridge of Firefly, tells Mal that some of the ships around them are in better shape than they are. Mal tells Wash to have some respect since they are among the dead. And very likely they are, since floating among the ships are the blue-gloves.

End of Issue 2

Thoughts

“Could be piloting a cruiser. Full benefits, vacation…plus not so often with the death-defying. But I got this woman nearby, makes me do all manner of stupid things. Got me piloting this little rust heap and pretty much ducking everybody that’s ever heard of morals just so I can be around her. This is an unhealthsome gig, Mal. It’s stupid. Doing something to keep the woman you love nearby, even if for a little while…well, that’s the kind of stupid I don’t mind.”

You know what? I’m down with that kind of stupid, too. As I read through this issue, I kept coming back to Wash’s comments to Mal as the core moment in this issue. Wash tends to be the funny man of Serenity. Most of what comes from him is decent and usually light-hearted. We rarely get to see the serious or philosophical side of him. So, when Wash stops Mal to tell him his reasons, no…reason, for staying on Serenity, it holds a lot of weight.

I love moments when the heart of a character is revealed in a statement and it strikes at the core of the reader at the same time. We find out something very deep about Wash’s motivation for being on Serenity, and it simply is Zoe. Remember Niska’s torture of Wash over Zoe in War Stories? I also love that the moment holds a mirror to the conflict inside Mal regarding to Inara. Is Mal really avoiding going to a place that allows Inara to get away?

And what about the reader (yeah, you)? How many stupid things have you done in the name of love? Just to be around that person? Even for a minute? Take on 3 rednecks in health class at age 16 because they hit “that girl” with a paperwad? Go ten minutes out of your way to an ice cream shop every day between your college classes to see “her” for a couple of minutes? Sporting a shoulder that still freezes up after months of rehab to repair the rotator cuff because I wouldn’t leave the machine next to the one that “she” was working out on (and talking to me from)?

Yep. I get that kind of stupid. Probably always will. And for some strange reason, I really like the fact that it was the character of Wash that said it.

Again with this issue, Shepherd Book goes down an additional step down the road towards whatever was in his past. The strained relationship between Mal and himself is pushed once again, and Book knocks him out for it. One of the great mysteries of the Fireflyverse will be Book’s past, and it intrigues me.

Other bits I loved in this story. Badger’s re-appearance. I recently read a statement from Joss that if he could play one character in Firefly, it would be Badger, because Badger is a lowlife and Joss says he is, too. River’s continuing weirdness, including her hatred for a color and enhanced sense of smell. Finding out about another battle against the Galactic Alliance. I studied a considerable amount of war history in college, so fictitious though they are, these battles interest me deeply.

Cover Art

Three separate covers will be available for each issue of Serenity (total of nine – one for each character). Again, I’m buying them all.

Book – An amazing painted cover of Shepherd Book. Simple but deep. Painting was done by Tim Bradstreet, whom I got to meet at a con in 2005. He showed me the original painting, and it was even more beautiful with an amazing background.

I also had Ron Glass sign this cover and upon noticing Bradstreet’s signature, he incredously asked me who I already had sign it. When I explained that it was Tim Bradstreet, the artist, he asked “What the he** kind of signature was that?” And then he laughed and laughed and laughed. Nathan Fillion was right. Ron’s laugh can mesmerize you.

Kaylee – Jo Chen does an amazing painting of Kaylee, capturing the character’s sometimes innocence as well as her mechanical sense.

Zoe – Joe Quesada renders a picture of Zoe that demonstrates her constant battle-readiness with an excellent pose and a foreboding sense of shading. Nice cover again…

What's My Line?

Get her fueled, Wash.
With dirt? With cheap dirt? That’s about all this is gonna get us…
Get her fueled as much as you can.

The Battle of Sturges. Ever heard of it?
Everyone’s heard of the Battle of Sturges.
Bloodiest battle in all the war, it was.
I’d hold that it was a distant second.

I hate that color on you. I always have.

It stinks like sex in here.

Rating:
4 of 5

Main Credits (as listed in the issue)

Writer - Joss Whedon & Brett Matthews
Script - Brett Matthews
Artist - Will Conrad
Colors - Laura Martin
Letterer - Michael Heisler
Editor - Scott Allie

Published August, 2005