It took me so long to get to the first issue of ‘Serenity: Leaves On The Wind’ that the second issue showed up in my inbox only a week later. Procrastination rewarded!
There were no preview pages for this comic on the Dark Horse website before publication and when the first issue came out, reviewers were asked to keep a lid on spoilers. Given the anticipation regarding this series, it’s understandable. So my review isn’t going to contain a lot of plot details.
I’ll start with a recap of the first issue. For those that missed it: get busy. This is the series fans have been waiting for. ‘Leaves On The Wind’ finally collects the threads of story left dangling by the short TV series and single movie and weaves them into a new adventure. Mal Reynolds is a wanted man. Despite the number of interested parties looking for him and the crew of the Serenity, however, he cannot stay in hiding forever.
On to issue number two. Here’s the official blurb:
‘Forced out of hiding, Serenity’s crew gets separated, and it becomes clear that everyone looking for the outlaws is on the verge of finding them. River offers to uncover the secrets that are hidden within her in the hope that the crew might have something to bargain with.’
Basically, the net illustrated in the first issue tightens, bringing Mal and crew into contact with some old friends, the term ‘friend’ being extremely relative.
Seeing as I can’t talk about the plot, I’ll talk about the art and the writing. The cover art is gorgeous, even if the cuffs on Zoe’s wrists are a bit disconcerting. Inside, there are a lot of panels that require more than a glance, the first glimpse of the Paquin mining platform being one of them. It’s hard to capture the exact likenesses in this format, but throughout the comic, the lines are consistent and now that I’m more used to these versions of the crew, I’m less confused.
I enjoyed the dialogue and interplay between the characters in this issue as well. The ending is super spooky…and I have to wait a whole month until issue # 3. Here’s where I note the cover art pictured above is by Dan Dos Santos and his cover for the next issue is only going to make the wait that much harder. Covers for the first four issues, including the Georges Jeanty variants, are available to view on the Dark Horse website.
Kelly Jensen 
It’s really good to see that they’re managing to continue Firefly beyond its cancellation and maybe give more closure on the story that was hinted at behind what was on screen. How does this compare with the previous comics where they’ve gone for backstory rather than continuing the plot?
The comic really finds its feet with this issue. The first one, which I reviewed here felt like a first step forward–a little shaky on the characterisation and dialogue. But the elements of the old story meeting the new are all there. Almost felt like I’d seen the movie yesterday, you know?