Serenity: No Power In The ‘Verse #1
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: Chris Roberson
Letterer: Michael Heisler
Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Inker: Karl Story
Colorist: Wes Dzioba
Cover Artist: Dan Dos Santos
Review by Anelise Farris
Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew of wanted outlaws travel the ’verse on-board Serenity. Trying to remain under the Alliance’s radar, Captain Malcolm and his crew have been working as a smuggling ship. Due to the heightened visibility (and subsequently greater danger) of smuggling goods in the high-end market, the crew has been peddling common goods—but barely making enough to survive as a result. The Serenity is a tense place these days as crew members struggle to decide what risks are worth taking. A call from an old friend in need of help is a welcome distraction; however, as Captain Malcolm and crew arrive to investigate, new dangers arise.
SERENITY: NO POWER IN THE ‘VERSE #1 is a promising start to a 6-part series. The first issue does a nice job of providing background, context, and establishing relationships between characters—all while introducing a new suspenseful storyline. The comic explores lingering questions from the show Firefly like why Inara chose to leave Sihnon, and it also picks up new elements introduced in previous comics like the birth of Zoe’s baby Emma.
The writing and the art work really well together, as they provide convincing characterization and graceful dialogue. The comic has a mix of more conventional panel work as well as really interesting use of multiple smaller panels against open, full-page space backgrounds. The choice to communicate memory through fuzzy colorization and gray lettering was also really smart and evocative. Although the male characters seem much more resemblant to their television actors than the female characters, SERENITY: NO POWER IN THE ‘VERSE #1 does an impressive job of remaining faithful to the story and characters of Firefly while giving readers something new.
Verdict:
Buy it! Even if you aren’t familiar with the show Firefly, but you do like sci-fi (space opera in particular), this is a comic you will enjoy. The comic provides a plot summary prior to the opening panel, and, as mentioned above, throughout SERENITY: NO POWER IN THE ‘VERSE #1 the creators work to give readers context and background information. With a great storyline and compelling art, I am excited to travel through the ’verse with Chris Roberson and crew!
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