Boom! Studios Review: Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #0
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Dan McDaid and Vincenzo Federici
Colorist: Marcelo Costa
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Reviewer: Tony Farina
Summary
Sheriff Mal Reynolds has a new partner-a law enforcing robot from the Blue Sun corporation. If he wants to keep his job and protect his sector, he’ll have to play by Blue Sun’s rulebook. But the robots don’t care about motives, about mercy, about anything other than enforcing the law-no matter the cost. The Blue Sun Corporation has helped to run the ‘Verse from the shadows for years, but they’re ready to step into the light…and if Mal aims to stop them, he’ll have to put himself between his people, and a corporation that is ready to take over the ‘Verse. There is only one thing to do-reunite the crew of the Serenity for one last impossible job.
Positives
Firefly Blue Sun Rising #0 sees the return of Dan McDaid. I like him. You should too. He has a way of capturing the lived in nature of the verse. When that is juxtaposed with the giant robots, both the helpful and the deadly kind, it really shows how well he draws, not just humans, but humanity.
So, I love this idea of machines being a problem in the ‘Verse. Kaylee even gets to explain the difference between worker robots and Serenity herself. It is pretty genius. I think that Pak’s commentary here on automation is smart. This world is full of ships and technology, but only for those who can afford it. Firefly has always been a western. There has always been a commentary on folks VS “the man.” I think bringing in a commentary on automation at a time like this in the world is good. I am interested to see where he takes us.
Negatives
Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #0 is missing the things we were reminded of last issue. The majority of the crew. Sure, this is a stand alone designed to move the plot forward, but it just feels like a let down after the last issue. It was great to see everyone again. I miss them already. Anytime the team is apart, the book suffers.
Verdict
Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #0 feels a bit like a cash grab. The story is interesting, but a 42 page one shot for the sole purpose of connecting Firefly #20 and Firefly #21 seems like a reach. This was broken into four stories and it could have been two issues of the book. That is not to say that I hate it or anything, I just think is isn’t really fair to the readers. I suspect some will skip it and wait for the collection. That would be a mistake though because the story is going to be really important as we move back to the main run.
