Boom! Studios Review: Firefly #20
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Daniel Bayliill is ss
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Reviewer:Â Tony Farina
Summary
As Sheriff Malcolm Reynolds enters the final endgame with his former crewmates and the new Bandit King, the long con’s finally revealed! But whose con is it? They say you can’t trick a trickster, but in this brand new ‘Verse, Mal may be in for the surprise of his life. Also: not everyone will get out of this alive!
Positives
Firefly #20 finally has the whole team in it (well almost). It is about time. I really like Zoe’s plan here. It seems like she has good intentions and when she finally explains them all at the end to Simon, it is lovely. She has a heart of gold. We all knew it, she just shows it here.
The Bandit King ruse went on too long, but again, the intention behind it is good. Mal loves his team. He wants them to be safe. Pak has always done a good job of capturing Mal’s speaking patterns and that is the strongest part of this book. It is on full display as he literally argues with himself. That is pretty funny.
Negatives
Firefly #20 has a big reveal of who the Bandit King was and it was just OK. I am not sure I really see this as a long con Mal would be willing to play. Also, I am not sure if it all works out. I need to go back and read the whole run to be sure, but it seems like somethings do not add up.
Bayliss is an excellent artist. His style really only fits with Kaylee. This is a dirty world and she is the shining star in the world so his bright, animated work is great there. Mal is not a cartoon character nor is Zoe or Jayne. It is beautiful and I am not an artist so I am not trying to throw stones, but it just doesn’t fit.
I keep saying this, but the weakest part of this series right now is that the team is not together. This is all about Mal. Of course, he is the star of the book, but it was never meant to be a one man show.
Verdict
Firefly #20, which has the subtitle of Blue Sun Rising sets up an interesting concept. It makes one think that Pak has an ending in mind for this series or at least his part of it. I was wrong about who the Bandit King was. I actually thought it was going to be Zoe. I am glad to see her back in the book though. I am keen to see what her new vision for the ‘Verse looks like.
