Comic Review: Serenity- Better Days #1

First there was Buffy Season 8, then Angel: After the Fall, now Serenity: Better Days. Well actually first there was Serenity: Those Left Behind, Joss Whedon’s comic book sequel to his short lived TV show Firefly and prequel to the movie Serenity. The success of that 3 issue series lead to the Whedonverse’s current explosion on the comic scene so it’s only fitting that a second Serenity series is here to bask in all the Joss glory.

Better Days is also set between the show and movie but just to confuse things it’s set ahead of its predecessor. The first issue stays true to the first series’ brisk pace. We’re immediately thrust into the world of our BDMs (that’s big damn heroes to you non-Browncoats). The biggest joy might be that the issue lets the regular crew shine while super hero to be River takes a backseat to the action. While I love that crazy little girl she’s dominated the ‘verse from the series, to the film, to the first comic series. In this issue there are some great Mal, Kaylie, and Jane moments that evoke the reason why we love these folks. The premise behind the series is that our crew of thieves finally hit the big pay day. The first issue sets that up and leaves us filled with joy that our BDMs have achieved the wealth that has always eluded them and filled with dread as we know that this can’t possibly end well. Perhaps the only down point might be that I can’t possibly see how this is wrapped up in only two more issues.

Surprisingly another strong point is the art. In series based on previous we often get more hits then misses. Case in point the inconsistent art in Angel and previous Buffy series (season 8 has been great though). In Better Days, Will Conrad has a real feel for these folks and how they move and express themselves. While he has some work to do on River and Sheppard Book, he nails Mal, Kaylie and Inara. Take the panel on page 18 where he captures the sultry beauty and wisdom behind Inara.

This gets 4 stars from me and two thumbs up and again perhaps the only down side is that this little series is only 3 issues and if the quality keeps up it will leave us all wanting more.