Review: Firefly: The Outlaw Ma Reynolds #1
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Creator: Joss Whedon
Writer: Greg Pak
Artists: Davide Gianfelice and George Kambadais
Colorist: Joana La Fuente
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Reviewer: Tony Farina
Summary
Firefly: The Outlaw Ma Reynolds #1 is a one shot that picks up the action where Firefly ended. Mal has been found guilty of all kinds of terrible things many of which he did. The crew of Serenity is scattered around the ‘verse. Mal has been given the chance to wipe his record clean. He has to do one simple thing, bring his Mother to justice. Inara offers to help, but Mal decides to take Boss Moon with him instead because Mal is known for making stupid, stupid choices.
The action flashes back and forth between Mal and Moon and Ma and her posse. Shots are fired (only at Mal’s knees), decisions are made and a startling revelation happens on the final panel.
Positives
Greg Pak is the hero of the regular series so far, and he is the hero of this one shot. How much fun is this? He creates new stories that fit into cannon but surprise the readers. His grasp of the tension between Mal and Inara is spot on and his work with Maude “Ma” Reynolds is delightful. I really think that her addition to the Firefly universe is needed.
Artists Davide Gianfelice and George Kambadais capture the essences of Mal and Ma while bringing a slightly different take than the regular series. The world building they do is what makes them shine. Pak gives them room to breathe and develop. The flashbacks are particularly striking. The way we see Shadow in a whole new light is stark and real. They develop a world that makes us believe people would end up like Ma and Mal. They do subtle story telling like having Mal lean against a tree chatting up a girl. The looks on Mal’s and Inara’s faces below are pretty priceless as well. Nice job all around.
Negatives
The crew of Serenity is missing. I miss them. I love Mal, don’t get me wrong, but the show and the book was never called Mal Reynolds. It was and is called Firefly.
Verdict
I am an open Firefly apologist. The Whedonverse is my jam. This would have to really fall off a cliff for me not to recommend it. I am sure there are purists who don’t like this series or this one shot, but honestly, if you are a fan of something, who openly hates the things you claim to love, maybe you have some other issues to work out that are not culture related. Pick this up. Firefly #13 is going to be amazing!
