Graphic Novels - Better Days. Those Left Behind. The Shepherd's Tale. Leaves on the Wind

[Mariel]

Anyone else pick up this comic? I just got number 2 and I'm really enjoying it. The crew has come into some money and of coarse some trouble. It takes place before the movie so all the characters are in it. I can't wait to get #3 next month.

 

[Overread]

COMIC
FIREFLY!!!
hmm I am not a fan of the art -- but with the promise of more story - hope this gets across that ocean quick!!!!!
thanks for the info!!

 

[Snowdog]

There was a previous set of three comics as well, called Those Left Behind. I haven't read any of them but I will at some stage.

 

[Mariel]

'Those Left Behind' was really good too.

 

[tangaloomababe]

I've never heard of these comics!!! Are they good? Where in the story do they come in, before the movie????
I'll bet I won't be able to get them here, might have to do a bit of searching for them.

 

[Snowdog]

I've seen them on eBay but they were also published together as a pb anthology. But I'd rather have the individual comics.

As I understand it, they are set between the end of Firefly and the beginning of Serenity but they are not meant to tell the whole story of what happened during that period. Probably Wheedon would like to do more comics in the future.

 

[Ross]

Really enjoyed firefly. Didn't realise they had comics out.

 

[PTeppic]

Is one of the above-mentioned the comics which fill the gap between Firefly and Serenity?

 

[Snowdog]

Is one of the above-mentioned the comics which fill the gap between Firefly and Serenity?

They're set in that timeframe, but as I understand it, they are individual episodic stories rather than a story arc that takes you from the end of Firefly to the beginning of Serenity. If that makes sense.

I now have the Better Days comics but don't want to read them before Those Left Behind, but getting them is proving difficult.

 

[Mariel]

Those Left Behind and Better Days are two totally different story lines. Those Left Behind was ment to be a prequal to the movie. Better Days takes place before the movie. Both are wonderful and if you liked the show you'll love the books. Those Left Behind should be available on amazon as a trade paperback(all the comics in one book). I just got my last book in the Better Days arc so you might be able to find it at your local comic shop.

 

[Snowdog]

Those Left Behind and Better Days are two totally different story lines. Those Left Behind was ment to be a prequal to the movie. Better Days takes place before the movie. Both are wonderful and if you liked the show you'll love the books. Those Left Behind should be available on amazon as a trade paperback(all the comics in one book). I just got my last book in the Better Days arc so you might be able to find it at your local comic shop.

We don't have a local comic shop

However, I did manage to pick them all up on eBay. I thought the artwork was good and the dialogue spot on. The only thing that struck me was the length - they seemed a bit short. But it's so long since I read a comic - maybe they were always like this.

 

[Mariel]

We don't have a local comic shop

I don't either, I order my comics from an online comic shop.

 

[Dave]

I've changed the thread title. There are four of these, all now available in book form and I'm about to read them as my son has loaned them to me.

Those Left Behind - post series, pre-Serenity film - explains why Inara left.
Better Days and other stories - these are pre-film side stories
The Shepherd's Tale - another pre-film side story
Leaves on the Wind - my son says this is the best of the four - post Serenity - better artwork - about twice as long as the others.

As I read them I'll report back with further comments.

 

[Dave]

So far, I've read 'Those Left Behind' and 'The Shepherd's Tale'.

SPOILERS FOLLOW:

My only real criticism is that they are too short.

'Those Left Behind' doesn't really have much to add to the overall arc story. A deal goes wrong. Mal tries to prolong Inara's departure. They fall into a trap but seem to get away very easily. I can see from the cliffhangers that it would work well in installments as a comic.

'The Shepherd's Tale' is even shorter, but it does give new back story to the Book character and I liked it more. It is written in a peculiar way - there is a flashback, followed by a flashback, followed by another, etc. Strangely, this works well and it is full of surprises.

Still two left to read.

 

[Dave]

'Better Days' is the longest story in that collection but nothing special. It introduces the concept of the Dust Devils who were Browncoats who held out long after the War was lost.

'The Other Half' was very short. Neither of these would have been good enough to make a TV episode IMHO.

'Downtime' is also very short, but equally very good.

'Float On' I thought was good. Again short, it is back stories for Wash told following his death.

 

[Dave]

Final book:

'Leaves on the Wind' is a long (six part) sweeping story post Serenity. I agree that it is the best of the lot. Zoe gives birth. The new rebel resistance is looking to make Mal its leader. Jubal Early. River remembers there were others like her.

There were a number of new characters and their development could be better but it did make me regret the story hadn't been continued on screen.

'It's Never Easy' is another short and these tales of dodgy deals going wrong are a little well worn.

Obviously, no takers for these, then? I'd say that if you are a fan then you need to have them. I'd still recommend them even if you enjoyed the film or TV series.

 

[Boaz]

Dave, thanks for the info. I don't regularly check the Firefly forum, but I'm glad to know about these comics. My mom used to let me bike down Anderson Road to the Super Drive In. Back then, I could get four comics and some gum or three comics, gum and a cola for a dollar. I was stunned when The Avengers increased to twenty-five cents. At age seven, I was forced to decide whether to stay with Marvel or switch to DC since their prices were still only twenty cents. I stayed with Marvel, to my vast satisfaction. When I quit buying comics, The Uncanny X-Men was fifty cents.

Sad to say, but comics just don't contain magic for me anymore. The first reason this is true is because I'm older. We all age. And like Benedick says, "but doth not the appetite alter? A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age." The second reason is that the superhero stories don't end. Peter Parker was seventeen in 1962. He'll turn sixty-nine this August... but is he now sixty-eight in the comics? I would say, "I doubt it"... but first I'd have to know which Spider-Man we are talking about. The Amazing Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Peter Parker: Spider-Man, the Ultimate Spider-Man, Mangaverse Spider-Man, Spider-Man 1602, Spider-Man 2211, Spider-Man: Chapter One, Spider-Man: India, etc, etc, ad nauseum. Oh wait, then there's Ben Reilly, Mac Gargan, Spider-X, Doc Oc, etc, ad nauseum, ad infinitum.... There was a beginning to the story and then a never ending middle.... There's no satisfaction.

The third and fourth reasons revolve around money. $3.99 just sticks in my craw. It does. I can't lie. Comics are a medium of storytelling for kids. Twenty-four bucks for a six issue story arc? I could get two Harry Potter or Percy Jackson books for that much! I remember biking in the Tennessee summer sun down to the SDI. I knew where the potholes were. I knew which dogs chased bikes. I knew when to keep up speed for hills. I always checked on the minnows and night crawlers at the bait shop. I'd count the dead ones on top. I was a mile from home without a bike helmet, without a cell phone, without ID, without backup. The world was an enormous adventure. I had to save up my allowance for a month to make that trip. Now, I drive my air conditioned car while listening to talk radio. I've traveled the world. I've lived and worked overseas. I have the $3.99 to throw away on comics, but I just don't get the bang for my buck anymore.

Finally, since I have the time and money and because the world is now connected to my house, I can binge watch or read anything. Netflix will let me overdose on A Game of Thrones whenever I want. Amazon will get me all of The Wheel of Time tomorrow, if I so desire. I could discipline myself to watch one episode of LOST every day and it would take me four months to finish... BUT, I have to wait thirty days for a new comic. No thanks. I guess I'm too impatient. Why do they insist upon a monthly schedule? The publisher should put a team on it and produce enough material at once for a omnibus edition. I'd buy that. I'd drive down to the comic book store on North Wadsworth Blvd (the one with the life size Hulk statue) and buy it today. As my mother always said, "Immediately, if not sooner!"

I love Firefly. I've posted on the threads discussing the individual members of the crew. I desire to know more of the story. I just wish it was in a medium I like, at a price that does not anger me, in a satisfying dose at one time, with a magical feel, and without seemingly dragging on past any sense of original purpose.

It irks me to spend $4 for a comic, but I'd spend it on a Joss Whedon made Firefly episode in a hearbeat. If he gave us another season of fourteen more episodes, I gladly shell out $56. I'd be willing to double that... I'd invite friends over and we'd have dinner and a show!