I’m certain I’ve said it before, but one of my all-time favorite science fiction series and pretty much any show really, is Firefly. Joss Whedon created an amazing universe with characters that have lived on despite the show being canceled after only nine episodes.
With huge fan support prompting Whedon on, he made a movie based off the TV series called Serenity, which was a huge success among fans and most people who had never heard of the show before also got a kick out of it.
That universe has also continued on in comic books, like Serenity: Better Days, which I reviewed last month, and the title of this article, Serenity: Those We Left Behind.
For fans who were curious what happened between the TV series and the movie, Those We Left Behind tells that story.
If you saw the movie, you will have noticed Inara and Shepherd Book off the ship, no longer members of the crew like they were in Firefly. This graphic novel gives the back story on why they left.
It also tells the tale about the two men with blue gloves who are chasing River Tam, and then the subsequent tasking of The Operative to hunt her down in the film.
I totally enjoyed this graphic novel. It wasn’t a long read in the slightest, but it was completely satisfying to know what happened and see a bit more about the characters I love.
The novel is written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews, so you know you are getting the good stuff. The art is also perfect, most of the characters easily mimic their real life counterparts.
The greatness in the writing is how they keep it in tune with the language of the show, and in reading the novel, you can actually believe the original characters are saying it.
If you are a fan of the show and movie, it’s worth picking up. You can grab it at Amazon.com for just under $10 for a new edition, or $5 for a used one on their reseller site.
I saw these on Saturday almost picked them up, looks like after your review I will, thanks for the post on it…
Thanks for the post, I am in the same boat as Cap’n up there, since I saw them recently and did not pick up. It sounds like I made a mistake there! Sweet!
-Chris
Cool guys, hope you both grab it and let me know what you think of it
Ok, I picked up all the Serenity graphic novels so far. I just read “Those We Left Behind” and I enjoyed it. I really liked knowing what happened between the TV show and the movie. I thought the book ended a but too fast, like they ran out of space for the pages, but the characters, language and story were all good. The chinese lingo was in chinese symbols though…I think I need a translation for those words or statements in Chinese. It was fun. I have never really been into graphic novels, but I am glad to have this collection going now.
Raven Spinners last blog post..Milla Jovovitch at Cannes: May 2008
Raven, I’m glad to hear you liked them and took a chance to read them
As far as the Chinese stuff, it’s basically just like the show…no interpretation…that’s up to us
Your right, on the show they say the chinese words, but I can use the inflection in their voice and placement of the words to try to figure out what they are saying, but in the comic I can’t hear the inflection, so I feel a bit lost. I am glad they kept the style going though. It wouldn’t be the same with out it.
Raven Spinners last blog post..Milla Jovovitch at Cannes: May 2008
True on the inflection…good point.
The next graphic novel will be interesting, whenever it comes out. It’s all about Shepherd Book and his background. Can’t wait to find out what the deal with him was.
Thanks for the review. Love the movie so will be investing in the books for sure