Review: FIREFLY #10
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Creator: Joss Whedon
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Dan McDaid with inks by Vincenzo Federici
Colorist: Marcelo Costa
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Reviewer: Tony Farina
Summary
Firefly #10 is chock full of goodness. The whole team of Serenity have plenty of time to shine and be shiny. Where to begin? Well, Mal and Boss Moon are on the run as they have decided to team up after not being pals and trying to kill each other.
Book and Wash are captured during the Browncoat uprising that Zoe is trying to stop while also trying to save Mal. Inara calls in a favor. She is an ambassador after all. Jayne decides to rob a bank and Kaylee decides to help and so, River and Simon find a shuttle as the getaway car.
It is good to know that some things in the ‘verse never change.
Positives
Greg Pak certainly knows how to write a joke and Dan McDaid certainly knows how to make that joke land visually. The joy of spending time in the ‘verse is that the crew of the Firefly Serenity are absurd and hysterical. It was to far ahead of it’s time when it was on TV, but, in this format, it thrives.
The work done by McDaid and his inker Federici is inspired. They really allow the characters personalities come through in the way they smile, or frown or get punched. Kaylee is the heart of the ship and so her emotions must always be right on the surface. Jewel Staite was able to pull this off so perfectly because she could actually move her face and talk. McDaid can’t do that, so he relies on shading, eyebrows, mouth shape and body language. It is delightful.
The last page is spectacular. Seriously. What a way to keep the readers coming back.
Negatives
The format, that allows it to thrive, also holds it back. The cast on Firefly is big and Firefly #10 allows readers to spend time with everyone. That means that everyone gets a page or two, or in the case of Inara, just a panel or two. Having the team spread out around the ‘verse means that we have to do an awful lot of crash cuts. Luckily, the creative team is up for the task, but it does make for a potentially confusing read forcing people away from the monthly books and into the TBPs as they come out.
Verdict
Look, I am totally biased. If Boom! put out nothing out a 24 page book that had just full page drawings of the crew of Serenity eating, I would buy it. Luckily, Greg Pak and company are actually telling a funny, face paced, true to the characters we love origin story of sorts. It is a heavy lift, but they are pulling it off like any Big Damn Hero should.
