Firefly: Legacy Edition Book One

Serenity #1-3

by Zack Whedon, Brett Matthews, Zack Whedon

For the first time, the official sequels to the critically acclaimed show Firefly are collected under one cover!

The Serenity rides again, in these official sequels to the critically acclaimed show Firefly, collected for the first time under one cover! Buried histories and secret identities are revealed, along with all the heist-takin’, authority-dodgin’, death-defyin’ space-cowboyin’ you’ve been missing from your life, as this ragtag crew of mercenaries, outlaws, and fugitives travel the stars in search of their next adventure.

Collects the following previously released

* Those Left Behind #1-3
* Better Days #1-3
* “ The Other Half”
* “ Downtime”
* The Shepherd’s Tale
* Float Out #1
* “It’s Never Easy”

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Adult, Space Opera

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Zack Whedon (born August 14, 1979) is an American screenwriter ('Deadwood', 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog' and 'Fringe') and Comic Book writer ('Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories', 'Terminator: 2029 to 1984' and Firefly/serenity's 'The Shepherd's Tale').

He graduated in 2002 with a film degree from Wesleyan University where he served as president of the Eclectic Society. Zack is from a family of writers: he is the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and the brother of screenwriter/musician Jed Whedon and producer/director/writer Joss Whedon.

His first professional work in television was as a production assistant on his brother Joss Whedon's series, 'Angel'.

He is best known for his work, alongside his brothers Joss Whedon and Jed Whedon, on the parody musical 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog' which he co-created and co-wrote.

Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zack_Whedon.

Reviews

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn it. Now I want to rewatch Firefly. And I'm mad, again, that the show was cancelled so early to begin with.

But the graphic novel! I'd say it's probably a better graphic novel continuation than both the Buffy and Angel versions and I'm hoping the quality continues.

[Dave Packard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep I cracked open an actual dead tree edition to read this one, and I was not disappointed! New stories that are sequels of the show and movie, along with one killer back story. Loved it all the way through!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel continuation is a perfect venue for a show that was cut short and left fans wanting a lot more. The illustrations, particularly by Will Conrad, brilliantly and accurately portray the Firefly actors, and Joss Whedon's involvement gives the stories and dialogue the same feel you get from watching the show. I loved it more than I expected to and wouldn't at all mind if they just continued the show through graphic novels foreverrrrrr.

[Scott Firestone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Firefly as much as most geeks, but we can't be blinded by our love of the source material, and objectively this was just kind of...fine. I will say that "The Shepherd's Tale" is pretty good, and gives us a new perspective on this excellent character.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dang but, this really made me miss the show.

[Eden · Rating 2 out of 5]

2019 bk 327. A compilation of stories built around the crew of the Serenity and providing some backstory for the tv show Serenity. The stories are beautifully drawn and many of them do provide new tidbits of information. I had been hoping for one continuous graphic novel, this wasn't it. While I enjoyed the chance to visit some of my favorite television characters, the majority of the short stories left me wondering "what in the heck just happened and how did that fit into the universe of the Serenity." Maybe I need to go back and watch the series again rather than look to the print.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

And now I want to rewatch the show again. Shepherd Book’s backstory was probably the most intriguing but I’d love to have a similar tale written for each of our crew!

Each issue cover was also beautiful. Posters, please?

[orangerful · Rating 3 out of 5]

Embarrassing fact - I think I owned all of these comics in single issue format and I had not read them until now. In the collected library edition.

Fun collection of the Firefly/Serenity tie-in graphics. Most are taking place leading up to the movie, with references to the movie.

Fun read for fans.

[Blue Kaufman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different short stories from the 'Verse, including the ultramysterious backstory of Shepherd Book

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I typically have a bit of disdain for comic books or novels that continue a show/film series (does a 15-season show like Supernatural really requires novels?). However, since future seasons of Firefly were from Whedon's womb untimely ripped, I had a lot of remaining questions.

That's not to say that I want creators to over-explain their world (midichlorians, anyone?), but based on the way "Firefly" had skilfully foreshadowed and hinted at certain things, I figured Whedon probably had satisfactory answers to a few of my questions. He simply hadn't been given enough narrative runway to land some of these revelations.

"The Shepherd's Tale" for instance (conceived of by Joss, but written by his brother Zak) is amazing! It gives us JUST enough information on Shepherd Book's mysterious backstory to make a rewatch of Season 1 all the richer.

"Float Away" is another neat story, set after Wash's demise, structured as three stories told by guys who knew Wash before he piloted Serenity. The story was written by nerdy comedian Patton Oswalt, who hones in on Wash's comedic tendencies. Oswalt was a worthy choice to essentially deliver Wash's eulogy.

I have to say that most of the stories in this collection felt EXACTLY like a typical episode of Firefly. Glimpses at a Season 2, you could say. For instance the first story, "Those Left Behind", serves as a perfect narrative bridge to the Serenity movie, and I could hear the character's voices in my head so clearly!

This is no small accomplishment, the voice/soul of something from one medium doesn't always translate into another. However, squeezing these stories into little comic episodes does make them feel a little less developed and rushed. I'm not exactly complaining, I'm honestly grateful to have this little morsel, but one can't help but imagine how great it could have been as a 45 minutes episode of television.

My advice to anyone picking these stories up is to be grateful that the creators of the show took the time, and cared enough about the people in these stories to bring them back to life in a way that stays true their essence. Obviously there are some limitations to the media this was in, but considering the circumstances, I feel that they did a great job.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend reading this book for "The Shepherd's Tale" only, if you haven't read it. Knowing Book's backstory is going to make every re-watching of Firefly an entirely new experience.

[Nathalie]

Short review per story

Those Left Behind: 5 stars
I enjoyed all the character interactions. Truly felt like the TV show. The action worked well in comic book form. It neatly wrapped up what happened between the show and the film (though things do happen quite fast). This one and Better Days have the best art.

Better Days: 4 stars
Interesting story premise. It was fun to see what the crew members would do if they were rich. Fun character interactions once again. It has some cool art. What I didn't like is that it was quite hard to follow at times. Too many things were happening at once, which made the story feel convoluted and choppy.

The Other Half: 3 stars
Really short, so I don't have much to say about it. You will like it, if you like River.

Float out: 3.5 stars
An homage to Wash. He is a character who deserves the homage for sure. It does have some new characters we don't have any connection to from the TV show or film, but it does fill in more of Wash's story before he joined the crew on Serenity. It has an impactful ending as well.

The Shepherd's Tale: 2 stars
Unpopular opinion: I didn't care for this one. I appreciated some ideas of it, like Shepherd always wanting to be on the move, though there was plenty more that I disliked. The time skips make no sense with the actual timeline of the war, and we only spend a short time anywhere before skipping to another part of his story. It missed the depth i wanted, so maybe it would have worked better for me in book form than comic. I also strongly dislike one decision that was made for shepherd's backstory, but that is a huge spoiler.
Huge spoiler:The shepherd was on the browncoats side during his time working for the Alliance. We never truly get to see why he commited to them (at first it was just to keep running away from his problems, though we never see why he would commit this extremely later on). I would have prefered Shepherd to fully have been devoted to Alliance, and that he saw the error of his ways later on, or for him to be a destructive double agent on both sides. I prefer to think of him as another Alliance Operative, like what was hinted at in the Serenity film. I also think his religious believes are better explained by that than by: he just happened to walk into a church when he was at rock bottom, and we don't even see him get converted in any way.

Downtime: 3.5 stars
I enjoyed seeing the crew have some downtime. Jayne's bullshit and his interactions with Simon crack me up every time (also in the other stories in this book). River does River things.

It's Never Easy: 3 stars
Once again: super short. The art did not look great here. The story was fun, though familiar to what we've seen before.

The book also has some art of the characters and original comics at the end of it, which is quite pretty!

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Firefly awesomeness.

For fans of Firefly & Serenity; this brought all the good Firefly nostalgia feels with new (and heartbreaking) content.

The writing was hilarious & on point for each character.
My favorite stories were Better Days by Joss (Whedon) and Brett Matthews, and The Shepherd's Tale by Joss & Zack Whedon.
I adored the "rich man" fantasies of everyone in Better Days, which made the ending so much more heartbreakingly sweet (good story-telling & great Mal writing). And I loved the fantastic back-and-forth storytelling in The Shepherd's Tale. The way Zach Whedon played with my feelings for Shepherd like a yo-yo, pulling on my string making me love him and then hate him (making me yo-yo back and forth ten more times)... wow, that was good. (Shepherd has always been one of my favs.)

I also really enjoyed the short The Other Half by Jim Krueger and Downtime by Zach Whedon. Both were single issue River stories of her saving everyone's lives but all sneaky (and creepy) like, without them ever knowing (but maybe somewhat suspecting)... When she and Mal have a moment & then she and Shepherd have a moment, respectively, *shudders*. Give me the good kind of chills. Great (but short) issues!

The one story I actively disliked was Float Out by Patton Oswalt. :(
I didn't enjoy (didn't understand!!) the writing. It was all very highfalutin Sci-Fi and not the easy writing and funny dialogue I got from the other issues/stories here. Bummer, because it was a (seemingly) sweet Wash story.

[Brad Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Made me miss the show and I want to, of course, go watch it again.

Might be a bit hard to get into for anyone who hasn't experienced the Firefly universe before (and the movie Serenity) so diving into that first (totally worth it) is highly recommended.

The stories in this anthology starts off shortly after the TV show completes. These chapters are fun but not the bread and butter of what makes this Legacy Edition so worthwhile (mind you any Firefly is good Firefly so, Shiny.) The chapters begin to move into the events of Serenity, the chapter on Shepard Book is an extreme highlight, revealing a good portion of his backstory. (minor spoilers here, sort of, There is a Frame in this section that shows Kaylee meeting Book exactly how it happened in the show, that hit me right in the feels).

Then we get into some Wash backstory and move into events after Serenity with a few surprises for Firefly fans.

Overall this is a must read for anyone who loves the world that Joss Whedon created and was taken from us too soon. You'll love the characters being brought back to love with some incredible art work, and it will leaving you wanting more...again.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really impressive graphic continuation of the story of Firefly/Serenity, as plotted by Joss Whedon. A very credible continuation of the story, if you thought the TV series was fun and interesting. Several stories suggest how the people and story could have continued, mainly set after the movie version. The best experience is "The Shepard's Tale" in which we get a definitive answer to Shepard Book's mysterious past. It's satisfying, if not completely living up to the level of mystery developed in the original series. Written in a nice style, it does tell you a story of how Book could have been to be the wonderful character played by Ron Glass in the TV series. So good I read it twice. If you liked Firefly, I suggest you read this book. (If you didn't like Firefly, I'm surprised you're reading this review.)

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of Firefly stories, featuring two excellent, twisty, three-act episodes with outstanding artwork by Will Conrad ("Those Left Behind", "Better Days"), a few so-so one-shots, and an absolutely fantastic origin story for Book, "The Shepherd's Tale", which sports a unique plot structure and goes a long way toward motivating the series' enigmatic pastor with the conflicted morals.

The stories mostly take place within the timeline of the show, but a couple are notably post-Serenity. Patton Oswalt's story "Float Out", while mildly affecting, is utterly outdone by the subsequent Firefly graphic novel, Firefly: Watch How I Soar.

This Legacy Edition volume adds a forward by Nathan Fillion, and an afterword for the Book story by Zach Whedon, both exemplifying their devotion to the Firefly 'verse, its beloved denizens, and dedicated fans. Not to be missed!

[Martti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This is an addition to the series, a prologue and epilogue all in one. It even resolves the past of the most mysterious man of the crew of Serenity - Derrial Book. I'm so happy that they did good with the material and it's not just a random milking of a cashcow. It has the good old browncoat authenticity all over it.

The drawing is all over the place, different pencils and inking and how to you call all that in case of a graphic novel, but I can forgive that with ease. The stories are just so good.

[Colleen Villasenor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little thrown by the timeline in this book because the first story deals with the departure of some crew members who are present in later stories. I did enjoy how well the personalities of the characters were captured in each story. The story about Shepherd recounted his life in flashbacks starting with his death and working back to his childhood, finally filling in his mysterious past. There is also a tribute story to Wash that was nice. I wasn't impressed with the artwork in that particular story, however. The cover gallery at the end was another story. I loved the artwork in the gallery. As a long-time fan of Firefly, I did enjoy this book, and I enjoyed the prologue by Nathan Fillion. I think I will do what he said and wrap this book and double tape it to save as a prized possession

[Anthony Crabtree · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I noted in my review of Caliban's War, there are certain elements from the Expanse series that remind me of Firefly. Those elements inspired me to go back to these comics. I had read some of them before (years ago when they first came out), remembered bits and pieces here and there from them, and found myself nostalgic for the series as a whole. I loved Firefly, I loved these comics (even if some are imperfect), and I can't wait to read Firefly: Legacy Edition Book Two.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

firefly love!!

[cauldronofevil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m always wary of comic book adaptations of beloved TV properties. Partly it’s the ‘you can’t go home again’ feeling that it’s just too different a medium to capture the same type of joy. Partly it’s just because you want to leave the memories untainted. But who can resist new Firefly adventures? Not I.

I’m not sure if this is a good place to start, but it’s what I found.

It starts with a great introduction by Nathan Fillion.

”Those Left Behind Chapter One” starts with Jayne, Mal and Zoe holding guns on and having guns held on them. Apparently both groups decided to rob the bank during the church service. Things go badly and after the firefight, they are left without the money. Shepherd picks them up in a vehicle. Mal calls Wash to tell them they are to be leaving quickly.

The story is by Brett Matthews and it’s good Firefly dialog. The art is by Will Conrad and it’s also good. Being good likenesses and good comic book art that is not too painterly.

It was a nice start. Being like another episode. Can’t complain at that. 5 stars.

“The Left Behind Chapter Two “ picks up where the last issue left off. Two blue hand guys just killed someone who was friends with someone else looking for Malcolm Reynolds. The someone else is Agent Dobson. He hasn’t been a Fed since his eye got shot out (since replaced with cybernetics). The blue-hand guys mention Serenity and he’s willing to talk.

Since Dobson wants to kill Mal, the Agents will help him so that they can get Simon & River Tam.

At Serenity, Badger wants to talk about the Battle of Sturges. A short bloody battle in the war. He says there is a boatload of cash still there just waiting to be picked up. He gives them a chip with the coordinates.

Malcolm decides to take the job. Inara is upset that it will postpone her arrival at her job. Shepherd is upset that Mal has broken his word. Shepherd punches Mal.

They arrive at the space of the battle. It’s still a graveyard of dead space ships.

That was okay. The character moments were a little bit forced. Some of the action was as well. I’ll give this 2 stars.

”Those Left Behind Chapter Three” have Jaine, Mal and Zoe investigating a ship. Lots of floating bodies, Alliance and Independents both.

On the Firefly Simon finds River has taken a lot of anesthetics. Because they’re here and she doesn’t want to feel it when it happens. River leaves her with Inara while he runs some tests.

Jaine, Mal and Zoe are ambushed by Dobson and four others.

Kaylee on the Firefly is ambushed and punched by a blue-gloved man.

Dobson wants to kill Mal because he shot out his eye and left him for dead. They fight. They lose.

”Man could hold a grudge. I admire that.”

They manage to get back aboard the Firefly and Wash flies them away to a planet to drop Inara off.

Shepherd tells Mal he’s leaving the ship.

Um. That was kind of unsatisfying. What happened to the blue hand guys that appeared to be ON THE SHIP!? Never explained. Voices were good. The rest was good. The art good. But story wise it was a little fuzzy in a couple of places.

2 stars

”Better Days Chapter One” starts with an Alliance meeting demonstrating a new mecha type machine.

Then we cut to Doc, Zoe, Jayn and Mal robbing a museum. Driving out of the museum they run into the mecha vehicle. It tells them to stop their truck. Mal drives away anyway. The mecha chases them.

In the back of the truck Jayne fires heavy weapons, which don’t even scratch the mech. It fires back.

They take the hover-truck from the back of the wheeled truck to get away in. They fly through some dense piping under the freeway but it follows them. Mal jumps out of the hover-truck. Suddenly Kaylee drops from the ceiling onto the mecha and attaches a device which stops it cold.

So maybe the plan was to capture this thing all along and the robbery was just to get its attention?

When Mal turns the mecha over to the buyer, he says he doesn’t have the money but knows where it was hidden and if they can get it they can keep it.

Apparently it’s under a Buddhist temple. They hook up the hover-truck to a huge statue and lift it up, grabbing the bag of cash underneath.

That was fine. 3 stars

”Better Days: Chapter Two” begins with His Manliness in a ship telling an Alliance gunship to leave his space.

This is apparently Jayne’s fantasy about what to do with his riches. They are telling each other what they will do with their wealth.

They are on vacation on a beautiful planet called Pelorum.

Later Inara asks Mal what are ‘Dust Devils’.

While they are at dinner the restaurant is robbed by a well-dressed woman with a machine gun. They stop the robbery.

An Alliance ship lands nearby and Zoe figures out its a special forces officer that heads to Inara’s shuttle. It might be social. Mal suspects it might have to do with Dust Devils (that the Alliance calls terrorists).

Mal heads over to her shuttle to see. And gets knocked out.

This was okay. The art is good. The voices right. 3 stars

”Better Days: Chapter Three” starts with a tied up Mal getting beaten by the Special Forces officer from last issue.

Zoe asks Inara where the captain is. She finds evidence of a struggle. It was Inara’s client. Zoe tells the crew that she is the Dust Devil they are looking for.

They tap into screens all over and Zoe says that she is the one they want. She gives coordinates and dares him to come but bring the captain and come alone.

The Security Officer shows up at the designated place with Mal, but he’s not alone.

Jayne is about to shoot from his sniper’s position when another craft drops three missiles on them all. The missiles release robot/mechs.

Shepherd Book takes out one of the mecha. Mal and Special Officer team up to take down another. Mal throws a hook and cable at the flying craft that dropped the robots and takes it out.

”Guess we’ll never know what his problem was….”

The Security Officer takes all their money.

Inara accuses Mal of letting the money be taken so that the crew stays together.

That was okay. 2 stars

”The Other Half” starts with the crew driving a flying bus-like vehicle and being chased by Reaver spaceships in the daytime on a planet.

Inside the hover-bus Simon and River are caring for a patient. They need to keep him alive so they can get the other half of their payment.

The patient worries that River can sense that they are going to be betrayed when they get to the rendezvous place. But he dies when they get there.

Maybe, seeing visions of him killing them all River killed him?

That was also just okay. 2 stars

”Downtime” starts with the Firefly being snowed in on a planet. Wash doesn’t want to fly in this weather.

Jayne has caught a disease from a brothel. There are a few laughs from that.

River walks out into the snow and a group of six men in snow gear spot her. She kills them all.

Another story that hints at stuff we already know. 2 stars

”The Shepherd’s Tale” starts at the Haven mining colony. An Alliance gunship approaches and Shepherd warns everyone to get underground.

The ship starts shooting at everyone above ground. Shepherd mounts an artillery cannon and brings down the ship, but he is also shot.

Flashback to two years earlier on Serenity. A normal day with the crew.

Flashback to two years before that at Southdown Abbey. This is when Book decides to leave the abbey and take to Word to other worlds. After wandering he meets Kaylee.

Flashback to ten years earlier. He is thrown out of a bar. An Alliance soldier recognizes him as Derrial Book. And kicks him in the face. He wakes up in a soup kitchen. And has soup. He walks into a church.

Flashback to six years earlier on an Alliance ship. The I.A.V. Cortez. Book orders the ship to surrender. Book is relieved of duty. The I.A.V. Alexander is destroyed with four thousand people board because of Books’ hubris. He just masterminded the single greatest disaster in Alliance history. They force him into a lifeboat and eject him into space. He lands on a planet.

This is really, really fuzzy. It’s not clear exactly what happened or how Book was responsible. It may be deliberately unclear, but it’s still bogus.

Flashback to four years earlier. Book is torturing a prisoner for information. Some officers watching say that he is ambitious, brilliant and cocky.

Lots of ‘tell-not-show’ in this story so far.

Flashback to four years earlier. It is a meeting of Independents who decide they need a mole in the Alliance even before the war starts. Book volunteers. They replace one of his eyes with a camera to see what he can see. Book kills someone to take his identity - Derrial Book.

Flashback to six years earlier. Henry Evans is a troubled youth who is invited to join the Independence movement.

Flashback to ten years earlier. Henry is a poor kid with an abusive father. He runs away from home.

I’m torn on this one. It’s told very badly. Almost an info dump. The art is compelling and well done. You do in fact learn more about Book’s history. In fact you learn all of it. And it’s not as interesting or surprising as you’d have thought.

As far as I know, this is the first time his having only one eye is mentioned. I wonder if it’s ever come up before?

So this story is a 2 with a plus 1 for art. 3 stars

”Afterword” is written by Zack Whedon. Apparently Book’s story was inspired by the movie ”No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson”.

”Float Out” has three partners talking about chartering a ship. Possibly Serenity. One of them tells a story of flying ships with Wash.

Wash and unnamed run into a Reaver ship that had captured the smuggler convoy they were supposed to meet. The Reaver fleet started chasing them. Wash winds up destroying the lead Reaver ship.

Then another - Leland - tells a story. They are all telling stories about Wash. This story is about a job they were both on where Wash crashed another ship (not the one he was in).

The third partner, Tag, tells another story. About Wash dumping a smuggling load of water purifiers so that his friends could escape.

Then Zoe comes in and replaces the champagne with cheap Asian liquor. Zoe is pregnant.

The stories are filled with so much terminology they are hard to follow. The art is okay. But except for the pregnancy there’s not much new. 3 stars

”It’s Never Easy” starts with Mal and a very pregnant Zoe talking about who should go into town to get supplies and avoid any unnecessary bloodshed. They decide Zoe.

After she leaves an old guy comes up and tries to steal the Firefly from Mal. Luckily River is there.

That was a cute story. I wasn’t fond of the art work but it worked. 3 stars.

Well, out of 10 stories it comes out a 3 star book. Only the first story was really exceptional. The others mostly reaffirmed what we already knew. Almost like a clip-show or greatest hits record.

For some, that would be enough to bring a smile. It is not an unpleasant read despite the highly variable art.

But I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are a completest. It doesn’t really add to the lore.

I might take another look at this series later when their success allows them to feel freer to expand.

[Lauren Jerram · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my god I've missed firefly so much

[Nedislav · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have obviously been obsessed with the franchise ever since my cousin introduced me to it. I was reluctant to watch any other episode after the first... But when I picked it up again, oh my, it went quickly. Rather early I realised that there was only one season of Firefly, so I had to find out why.

I am so glad they tried to give a farewell to a great show with a film and a few beautifully engaging comic books. This book is a collection of a few stories which expand the world of the annoying protagonists in a captivating and humorous way. The drawing style, in most parts, is fitting and clings to the true faces of the actors, which I find an important detail.

In general, the criticism against Firefly Comicbooks is that they are too exclusive. If you never watched the show, it might be a bit confusing. But nobody reads Harry Potter from the 5th book as well. The short miracle that Firefly was needs to be experienced from the show to the film to the books. Then you would really love it!

[Lafourche Parish Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t you just hate when your favorite TV program gets cancelled? After one glorious season, Fox Network canned Joss Whedon’s Firefly, much to the dismay of fans around the globe. To placate the masses, Joss Whedon wrote and directed Serenity, a film continuation of the television series. Although the film had generally positive reviews and several accolades, fans were not satisfied. Throughout the years, there have been rumors of Joss Whedon rebooting the beloved TV series. Unfortunately, there are several hurdles that the cast and crew of Firefly just can’t seem to get over. But fret not! Firefly has been resurrected in the graphic novel format.

Firefly Legacy Edition Book 1 by Zack Whedon, Patton Oswalt, Brett Matthews, Et Al. is available to you via Hoopla. Set 500 years in the future in the wake of a universal civil war, Firefly centers on the crew of Serenity, a small transport spaceship that doesn’t have a planet to call home. Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds, a defeated soldier who opposed the unification of the planets by the totalitarian governed Alliance, will undertake any paying job (legal or otherwise). His first mate, Zoë Alleyne Washburne, was once under his command during the Unification Wars, and continues to remain loyal to Malcolm aboard the ship. Zoë is married to the ship’s pilot, Hoban "Wash" Washburne. Other members of the crew are Shepherd Derrial Book, Kaylee Frye, Jayne Cobb, Inara Serra, and River and Simon Tam. Thrust together by necessity but staying together out of loyalty, the crew of Serenity are seeking adventure and the good life, but face constant challenges on the new frontier, such as avoiding capture by the Alliance, and evading other dangers of the universe. Firefly Legacy Edition Book 1 is flickers between the past and present. Mal and Zoë thought they would be able to outrun their past and evade the Alliance. When a job goes sideways, Mal and Zoë must confront Alliance mercenaries and answer for their war crimes. Mal must decide either to face his punishment or fight for the future.

I thoroughly enjoyed Firefly Legacy Edition Book 1. Book 1 reads like another episode of the show. To my delight, I instantly felt transported back into the Firefly universe. The storyline doesn’t feel rushed. I especially enjoyed the background stories both the TV show and movie left out. For fans of the Firefly series, this graphic novel is for you.

- Katie, Area/Branch Librarian

[Calvin Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love Firefly,and who doesn't, this is a super read. Really feels true to source material.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories, more so than the other Firefly stories, are more closely related to the show & movie. There are some prequel stories, stories that seemingly happen at the same time as Serenity, and some stories that further the story after Serenity. I was in and out of this book for a while because the pacing was not as engaging.

I am not going to lie, there were times when I got confused when things take place in the timeline. I am not sure if it was just a me thing or if this book was mapped in a way that doesn’t make the most sense. As I stated before, there were a few prequel stories and continuation issues, however, there was a lot that overlapped with what I already know from the Firefly show and Serenity. If you are a Firefly fan and have consumed other Firefly media, then either look up where the overlap is or just push through.

I love Firefly, but I have no love for the creator; I think this universe transcends him and is able to stand on its own. The world presented, to me, is unique when compared to a lot of other sci-fi worlds. I think it’s shown through the art which presents a lot of the same gritty environments you’d see on the show contrasted with the cleaner sci-fi look of the wealthier Alliance areas. The art really shows the difference between wealth and power in beautifully drawn and colored ways.

One thing this book does exceedingly well is that it gets every character’s personality and quirks perfectly. All of the characters look incredible and really feed off of the live-action versions. I personally read each character in the voice of their live-action counterparts, so it really adds depth to certain characters from show and movie who don’t get a lot of love. I personally wanted to know more about Inara and River, but there are other stories to come for me, so maybe that happens along the way.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, but it does leave a bit to be desired. The characters jump off the page and the art is incredible. I think it's a great companion piece to the show and movie, so if you have not seen them I think you might be at a bit of a detriment. I think this lays some good groundwork to make you feel welcome, but knowing some things beforehand will help you. The mapping of the book is only bothersome if you know a lot more about the characters and series in general.

[Milan Pohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Scroll down for EN version.)

CZ:

Krásně vypravená sbírka prvních dvou minisérií Serenity a několika kratších komiksů vydaných původně pod Dark Horse. Kniha prezentuje příběhy víceméně v chronologickém pořadí (jedinou výjimkou je nejstarší minisérie Those Left Behind, zařazená na začátek knihy, ačkoli se rozhodně odehrává až po Better Days). Sbírka také obsahuje téměř všechny původní obálky (kromě "žluté" obálky hardcoverového vydání Those Left Behind a speciální limitované obálky Better Days).

Samotné příběhy samozřejmě nabízejí vynikající počtení; pro všechny hnědokabátníky jsou naprostou nutností. Dokonce i dlouholetí fanoušci, kteří vlastní předchozí vydání těchto komiksů, budou mít radost ze zjevné péče, kterou vydavatelství Boom tomuto omnibusu věnovalo, zejména z krásné nové úpravy artworků a předělů mezi kapitolami.

EN:

A beautiful collection of the first two Serenity mini-series along with several other comics published originally by Dark Horse. The book presents the stories more or less in chronological order (the only exception being Those Left Behind, the oldest mini-series which is included right in the beginning of the book even though it definitely takes place after Better Days). The collection also features almost all of the original covers (except the "yellow" cover from hardback collection of Those Left Behind and a special limited-run cover of Better Days).

The stories themselves are, of course, an excellent read; an absolute must-have for all Browncoats. Even long-time fans who own the previous collections are sure to be pleased by the obvious care with which Boom has approached this omnibus, evident in the beautiful design of the chapter break art.

[A B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good: the artwork and dialogue are spot on. Nothing replaces the camaraderie and warmth that came through on the TV series (which I watched when it aired on Friday nights in 2002...that's gotta give me some sort of geek cred achievement), and to a lesser extent, the movie. The characters look like the "real" ones and the snappy dialogue matches with what you might expect them to say.

The stories pick up after the events of the 2005 movie and make references that will be spoilers if you haven't at least watched the film, so make sure you do prior to reading this.

The stories are just OK. There are some disturbing and violent scenes that add nothing to the story, including a viscous torture, presumably to the death, of a minor character. The action sequences are difficult to follow, at least for me, and the stories can be confusing. "The Shepherd's Tale" should have been a standout with us Browncoats finally getting the backstory of this intriguing character. It was good until it left me with a very sour taste with the reveal that Derrial Book is not his real name, but the name of an innocent young man he murdered for purposes of getting a clean identity for his long undercover infiltration. His career switch decades longer to becoming a Shepherd is sincere but I really wish they'd written of scene of him making amends to the real Book's family. Otherwise it's a brutal ends-justify-the-means tale.

[Todd Landrum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the art really poor. Frequently I had no idea if Kayleee/Inara/River were talking to Mal/Wash. The all kind of look the same.

The worst though was the story. We have the very tired misogyny of Mal/Inara "whore" dialogues and Kaylee runs off pouting a half dozen times because Simon says something bad about the Rim. The first story about Dobson and Book's history were good but the other stories were just really lame:

The crew gets rich beyond their dreams, but Mal arranges for it all to be stolen to force the crew to stay together? That's psychopathic. And Inara calling it "sweet" is just gross and childish.

When an enemy ship is strafing them, Mal throws a grappling hook tied to the mule onto the ship. The result being... somehow the mule stays in place but the enemy ship careens into the ground. God that's dumb.

Jayne gets another ugly gift from his mother. Not very original. Jayne gets an STD? That's gross, not entertaining.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of graphic novels set in the Firefly Universe. "Those Left Behind," Better Days", "The Other Half", and "Downtime" were all set between the Firefly series and the movie Serenity. "The Shepard's Tale" is the story of Shepard Book and tells his life in excerpts. "Float Out" and "It's Never Easy" are set after Serenity. Except for "It's never easy" the art on these was amazing. Very much complimenting the story and enhacing it.
Of the novels, my favorite was "Better Days". It was, in my opinion, the one that most resembled an episode of the original series with all the complexity and heart that made the show a joy to watch. Most portentous was "Downtime" which also made a fabulous intro to "The Shepard's Tale."
If you enjoyed the series and are a reader of graphic novels, these will certainly give you your Firefly fix. However, I would recommend that you take your time with this volume. Yes, you will read it again, but it is worth savoring.