Firefly: The Unification War - Part Two

Firefly (Collected Editions) #2

by Greg Pak, Lee Garbett (Cover Art), Dan McDaid (Artist)

From Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marvel’s The Avengers) comes a new era of Firefly, as the definitive story of the Unification War is told at last! Serenity’s crew is divided, as Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds and his First Mate Zoe Washburn are arrested for crimes committed during the Unification War and they each are forced to choose a side. But Mal and Zoe aren’t ready to go quietly, and after escaping from the Unificators, bounty hunters sent by the government to bring them to trial, they find themselves stranded on a far flung planet, with nothing but each other—and the memories of their many mistakes—for company. War can make villains of even the best men, and their quest for redemption will put them at odds with their crew, their family...and each other, forcing them to make a choice: fix the past or fight for the future. Collects issues #5-8.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Westerns, Adult

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 17, 2019

About the author

Greg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars for Firefly Vol 2 The Unification War: The Unification War #2 by Greg Pak Covet Art Lee Garbett Artist Dan McDaid. I wish more authors wrote stories in the Firefly universe.

[Angela Blount · Rating 3 out of 5]

My feelings on this are slightly dimmer than the first installment.
Still not loving the artwork, outside of the division pages. (Those are still gorgeous.)

[Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 2 of The Unification War was not quite as strong or as coherent as the first entry, but it still contained with in it some fun moments and a brilliant building up of tensions and stakes throughout.

Synopsis:
The crew of Serenity was divided at the end of Volume 1, and they become further divided here.
With Mal having been captured by the bounty hunter Boss Moon, and Zoe leaving behind the rest of the crew to go follow (and hopefully rescue) her Captain and Comrade, the others are also split up into two groups.
Wash - along with Shepherd Book, Inara and Kaylee go to follow Zoe against her wishes.
Jayne is captured by local law enforcement, due to a deliberate (and hilarious) case of mistaken identity, and Simon and River stay planetside nearby whilst the others fly into Alliance controlled territory.
This is generally more fragmented and compartmentalised than I would like. One of my favourite elements of Firefly is the group dynamic and seeing these people either work together or butt heads.
A split into 2 is ok, but jumping between 4 plot arcs just comes across and a bit clunky. I really hope that the payoff of them all reuniting in the next entry is worth it.

Also, Kaylee has a non-crew romantic interest and I'm calling it now that something terrible is going to happen to him in the next volume. Kaylee never gets the guy and I feel sorry for her because she is so sweet.

Unlike the story, the art is definitely a step above the last.
We get some great actions pieces of Mal, and seeing more of Alliance zones countered the largely Western vibes of the first volume.
I didn't notice half as many wonky or swollen faces this time around so I have no complains there either.

Overview:

Story (Greg Pak): 3/5 - Too many plots for one story. What is here is good, but those left on the surface should have had their plots tied up and we could have learned what Zoe was doing from what Wash and the gang find upon following her. Obviously that is just my opinion, but I am still looking forward to the conclusion.

Art (Dan McDaid): 4.5/5 - It is really good. I would buy some of this art work as full sized wall posters if that were an option.

Colour (Marcelo Costa): 4/5 - Decent. The different colour palettes for the different planets was subtle but it really helped tell them apart subconsciously.

Overall: 3.5 stars, rounded down. A classic middle book; not as good as the first was and hopefully not as good as the last will be.
I will be reading Volume 3 either toward the end of this month or at the start of next.
__________________

Thank you for reading my review.

Up next for review is the Hugo and Nebula award winning This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

I hope anyone who has read this far is doing well and is enjoying the book(s) they are currently reading.
Peace.

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really feels like the tv show! It reads like a miniseries of episodes. I love how each character is getting their time to shine. And the colors are still fantastic. I’m also really growing to like Moon as a character. Can’t wait to see where this goes. 5/5 stars

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeh its got 140 pages in the 4 issues but I felt like nothing really happened. Still fun seeing these characters on pages

[Adam M · Rating 4 out of 5]

*read for the YA Reading Challenge 2020*

This volume ramps up what started in the first book in all the right ways. I'm excited by all the different ways Pak has ratcheted up the tension here. I mistakenly thought this was the end of this story line and I am both excited there is more to come and sad I cannot read it right now.
I may have been on the fence earlier, but I can wholeheartedly recommend this series so far.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of action and laughs in volume 2 of the Unification War series. How I love Firefly! The only bummer is the cliffhanger ending and knowing I will have to wait a million years for the next one. The Joss Whedony vibe from the show is why I’ve enjoyed this series so much so far, and I love the depictions of the characters. The cover gallery at the end of the book is fabulous. Zoe’s arc was unexpected and wonderful, and I loved Mal’s gradual wearing down of Boss Moon (with a little help from her mom). Primo stuff for Firefly fans. Enjoy!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain Mal has been arrested for war crimes, and as the rest of the crew work on a rescue plan, Zoe takes off with a bunch of browncoat vets to rescue him. Wash, Inara, and Book chase after Zoe, while Jayne is arrested when he's mis-identified as Hoban Washburne (which River and Simon completely go along with). Mal and his captor, Boss Moon, crash land on a hostile planet filled with giant centipede like creatures and must form a temporary truce to survive. This was a fun, action-packed adventure that Firefly fans will enjoy for sure!

[Margaret Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that escalated. In entirely believable and heartbreaking ways. The way Pak writes the ensemble is amazing. He really seems to get the characters and how to make sure they're in situations where they can shine, while combining the ensemble in interesting ways.

Also he keeps using this to hurt me.

As a side note, I'm not sure why war crimes are a theme to my reading this year has wound up being war crimes in existing franchises but... here we are. Exploring the topic in ways the franchises have not historically.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muddled is the word I use for this. The plot gets muddled with so many different plot threads going at once; the art is often muddled, making characters hard to recognize (and muddy also seems appropriate; lots of browns and dark heavy colors that don't help, and there's a piece of the city much of this story takes place in that kept reminding me of Transmetropolitan, oddly). But even with all of that, I still enjoyed it. The interactions between Mal and Boss Moon are great, and Zoe gets her chance to shine here, although Simon, River, and Kayley and Inara are all pretty much sidelined, though Kayley does get a love interest that is played for some laughs. Instead, we focus on the increasing tension as Pak moves his three factions into place. There's lots of double-crosses, temporary alliances, and characters switching names and some of the choices don't make a lot of sense, but it all builds up pretty well, with a look into Boss Moon's backstory being a nice addition too. It's not setting the world on fire, but it's enjoyable enough.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second volume of the new Firefly comics feels very much like a middle: lots of running around with nothing conclusive. There's strong characterization still, which is pretty much what carries the comic, and we get a little bit more of the Unification War background. But overall, this volume feels like a bridge between the story in the previous volume and the story in the next one.

Call it 3.5 stars: definitely weaker than the first volume, but still very readable.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but a few things were off. Like Inara being an actual ambassador when that was a bad joke Mal made in the pilot. And Kaylee calling him Mal and not captain. I compare spin off novels and comics to fanworks and usually find that the fans are truer to the canon and authenticity of the original source material. Also very sus about the author having only watched firefly after being offered the chance to write for the comic.

[iamjacsmusings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understand the inherent drama caused by dividing a crew, but whenever it's done I never find that it ever justifies the means as so much of the enjoyment of ensemble character stories relies on their interplay. This second volume is another example of the same.

I find the artwork as inconsistent as the storytelling too with characters changing from panel-to-panel.

Lee Gee's covers continue to shiny as the star of the show.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know some people think the follow up stories to Firefly are a bit rushed to fit in the time between the show and the film. But just enjoy them. I know I do. I miss the crew and Janye gets a bit of come-upings in this one which made me laugh. Not as good as the new run of novels I like the tease of the backstory of the Unification War.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The continued story of history catching up with our favorite space cowboys. Very good tale, some fun new plot lines, maybe some mysteries get answered (eventually)?
Very enjoyable.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice to see side characters developed for more than one of two issues -- it's to rare in spin-off work.

[Victoria Hawco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literally everything they touch turns to chaos.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast and easy. The plot and characters are kind of boring, but that’s to be expected. The art however is so pretty. I love the style so much

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book. Lots of switching of identities. The browncoats seem to be a little gray.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great adventure of Malcolm Reynolds and the Firefly crew. When Mal is in custody of an Alliance agent, brown-coats from all over get together and resume the war to try to rescue him.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boss Moon has her hands full bringing Mal to justice, as the rest of Serenity's outlaw crew fragments over rescue plans. But will it really take restarting the war to retrieve him from the clutches of the Alliance?

It's like the show never ended. How I've missed these big damn heroes.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels like I just read one issue rather than a compilation in terms of story arc and plot. However, no matter what, it’s just fun to see more of the Serenity crew running around space. Hope the third doesn’t disappoint.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Really enjoying this series!!! Greg Pak is a go to writer. Firefly has a fantastic cast that was fully realized back on the T.V show, Although this series was my entry point into the firefly universe I'm already a fan and have considered back tracking and checking the show out. 'Rag tag', 'Swashbuckling' with an electric pace. Narrow escapes, double crosses, triple crosses can be expected.

What can I say I'm a sucker for this kind of read.

Reminds me of:
Tales of the Ketty Jay Chris Wooding, Although it's said to be inspired/carbon copy of firefly

Doctor Aphra (Star Wars)

I think it's also worth mentioning these volumes make great collector pieces since there are loads of extras and it's hard cover. I really like how each issue is fronted by a featured character with beautiful alt art with quotes and character traits. I enjoyed getting to know the characters a bit and the quotes I'm assuming are from the Show are hilarious.

[Kelly Sedinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part Two of the story. Everything I said about Part One applies, so quoting myself: "It's a really well-done FIREFLY tale, to the point that you can hear the actors saying their lines. That's how well it nails down its characters, while introducing new ones who will make all manner of headaches for the crew of SERENITY. It also hits on a common theme in FIREFLY/SERENITY, that of our past deeds echoing through our lives, sometimes for good but often less so. Good art, well-paced story." I stand by that.

(I did think this book concluded the story, and it does not! There's a Part Three. I was close to the end of this one and I started thinking, "Gee, there's an awful lot of story to wrap up here and not a lot of pages left to do it in. Alas! I still have to acquire Volume 3 of this tale.)

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this segment of the story. Some of the characters are acting a little irrationally or out of character, so I didn't fully enjoy everything, but I did like the development between Mal and Boss Moon. Though on opposite sides of the war, they both experienced similar feelings and traumas, and find out that they really aren't so different from one another. Mutual dangers help them work together and discover that neither of them are so evil as they might have thought, and that the world is not so black and white as they like to think. It was a nice opportunity for growth for Mal, and I liked to see it.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I dipped back into this on the strength of Pak’s writing and my enjoyment of the franchise as a whole but boy howdy is the art by McDaid still not for me. Unlike the one shot in this volume about Boss Moon (that’s so short as to be meaningless) that edges into cartoony, McDaid tries to render semi-realistic characters but can’t consistently draw faces nor does he seem to capture the look of any of the Serenity crew. The writing here, again, is fine, but the idea that we’re building to some second war with the Browncoats against the Alliance just feels doomed to sputter out knowing this takes place between Firefly and Serenity.

[Honora Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again I felt like this was very fun. I'm interested in seeing where this story is going. There are a lot of moving parts happening and sort of three different and yet interconnected storylines. The new characters Greg Pak has created for the series are two interesting and complex additions. Boss Moon a vet from the other side of the Unification War and Leonard Chang-Benitez the (former?) bandit who is creating quite a stir (and a love triangle of sorts). As the chapters unfold neither character is as black and white as we may have thought in the first impressions and I can't wait to see all of the character development that must be in store for the future.

[Molokov · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always good to have further adventures in the Firefly universe, and these are fairly good - this continues what happened in volume 1, but with some unusual turns to the story which are either there to set up for a big finale, or to fill out extra comic issues - it's too soon to tell. However, the fact that there's giant alien-looking monsters in this seem very jarring - we never saw anything like this in the Firefly show or Serenity movie (just humans, horses, and cows...), so they seem very out of place here in the comic.

[Uttaku · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given my view of the last collection (slow, so badly drawn as for characters to be unrecognizable, watered down derivative of the show) I'll start by saying this was better. The art style has improved so that I was no longer wondering if it was Mal or Jayne talking (although its still not my favorite style in the world), characterization has improved to, and it feels like the author is spreading his wings and getting to grips with the story now - which is turning into a decent Firefly tale. Bring on the third!

[Raif · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Greg Pak, so when I heard he was helming an ongoing Firefly series, I was just so stoked to see what he could do with the universe and how he'd build on the mythos.

After finding his feet with a decent yet underwhelming Vol. 1, Vol. 2 reads like a straight up banger of an episode and then some.

The art is paneled like a Warner Bros. storyboard that envisioned a slightly higher budget for Alliance costumes and weaponry. I could do with sharper lines when it comes to the kinetic sequences, but that's not a hill I need to die on.

The banter's written like it was transposed from Whedon's writers' room.

And the characterization is just...

So. Dead. On.

There's even a new character I wish had been on the ship in the early aughts.

Zorro in Space.

Just imagine Zorro in space. Hitting on Kayley.

Yup, so suffice to say, I'm definitely looking forward to wherever in the 'verse this series takes us next.