Those Left Behind (Serenity) by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, Will Conrad Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Those Left Behind (Serenity)
Book Review: Hard even for a Browncoat to enjoy
Summary: 3 Stars
Well, I unfortunately have to add my negative review to the other disappointed FIREFLY/SERENITY/Whedon fans below. Like many of the others reviewing here, I am a huge fan of both the series FIREFLY and the film SERENITY, so I was eager to enjoy a new adventure of Mal and his crew. I ordered this with great excitement and finished it with considerable sadness. I had hoped that this might equal in quality some of Whedon's other projects on Dark Horse, but this was easily one of the weakest. The problem isn't the artwork. It is gorgeous to look at and the characters all look quite like the real life models (not that that is a necessary measure of quality). The problem was the utterly uninspiring story.
Here is my suspicion: I'm guessing that the novel partly arose from an unfilmed, partially scripted episode from the television series, and a not terribly good episode at that. Many of the scenes seem to merely mimic scenes to be found in the series and the film, while the scenes that are completely original simply aren't very inspired. The story is also very unbalanced. If you read writing guides on how to write a TV script or a film script or a short story one rule of thumb is that a script needs to have three to five acts (depending on the writing coach). This graphic story feels as if Act One takes up the first two thirds of the book, with too little space devoted to the climax, and an act or two missing. To be honest, it doesn't feel like a completed story at all.
So does the book have any redeeming values? As I stated above, it is a well-drawn story. The problem is entirely the story, not the art. Storywise, it does provide some filler between the end of the series and before the start of the action in the movie. That is not a small thing, but the problem is that there just isn't much of a story. In fact, the whole thing feels more like an outline of a story rather than a story.
Do I recommend this to fellow Browncoats? I guess I don't. Now, if someone had told me not to get it, I would probably have ignored him or her and gotten it anyway, so I won't blame any FIREFLY fan wanting this as well. But while the series and the movie are things I treasure, this is a story I may never look at again. So while I don't recommend it, any real fan of the show is going to want to own it. Then we can all be disappointed together while we await word as to whether the DVD sales of the movie will be sufficient to bring about a made for TV movie or mini-series.
Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
No one is a bigger Joss Whedon fan than me, but I found the 3 graphic novels that supposedly bridge the gap between Firefly and Serenity very disappointing.
First of all there is very little story there. The men with "hands of blue" are conveniently wiped out, but this feels contrived to me. In the end I still didn't understand why Book left the ship.
Book Review: Great Material
Summary: 4 Stars
Okay, I don't eat, sleep, and breathe Firefly like some of the reviewers do, but I loved the series and the Serenity movie. I think that this graphic novel fills in the gap between the series and movie quite well. Some of the artwork on the various characters is hit-and-miss. The artist(s) seemed to have an especially tough time with Inara. But, the story's good and the artwork is otherwise first-rate. I liked the full-page interstigial drawings of each of the characters, especially Wash, Kaylee, and Zoe. I hope that they're released as posters! Book Review: A useful bridge
Summary: 5 Stars
This graphic novel serves as a useful bridge between the final episode of "Firefly" and the film "Serenity." As a Browncoat, I've found it especially useful for showing new fans of the series because it answers the questions that they'd have from the last episode and the film (which starts everyone off on a different note than they were left in the show). For instance: "When and why did Book leave the ship?" This book isn't going to take the place of the television show for the fans that want to see our Big Damn Heroes played by the actors themselves, but it serves as the final episode that they were never able to make.Book Review: Total letdown
Summary: 2 Stars
I own the three-issue comic book series that was released in the months leading up to Serenity's theatrical release in September, 2005. This book here is the anthology of the three issues. I do not have this book, so I don't know if any worthwhile extra has been added or not. I'm only going to talk about the graphic novel itself.
And the graphic novel has been a total letdown. Firefly/Serenity really deserved better than this.
First, the art. The art is a mixed bag. At first glance, it looks sweet. The characters' faces are drawn realistic enough. But after further reading, you can see it suffers from "superhero mannerisms." By that, I mean the characters are drawn with clenched-fist poses whenever something action-y is happening. It's not as blatant as actual superhero comic books, but it's enough to make me go, "that's not Firefly."
Even worse are the contradictions in the art. For instance, in one panel, Zoe would be jumping left. But in the very next panel, she is depicted as jumping right. Or guns would switch hands from left to right from panel to panel. Not cool.
I even have some issues with the coloring, although this is really more of a nitpick than anything else. It's a very nice coloring job, but I felt it was almost too vibrant and vivid that it doesn't jive with the Firefly world. However, this is something I probably would have overlooked if the basic art was satisfactory.
Then there's the story, which is unsatisfying to say the least. It chronicles the events that take place between the TV series and the Movie. Amazon.com's own description does a nice job summarizing the basic set-up of the story, so I won't go into much more detail than that. Well, let me add that the "old enemy"'s return was quite ridiculous (even though loyal Browncoats have always guessed that this person would eventually make a return appearance). Let me also say that the resolution is quite weak. Mainly, the action sequence that shows how our heroes survive through the ordeal is just poorly, poorly executed -- both in writing and in art. Unimaginative, even. Simply put, our heroes win not because of their own ingenuity and will to survive, but more because the villains were blundering idiots. Extremely unsatisfying.
I also have a problem with some of the technologies shown in the comic book. They simply don't belong in the Verse. You can't help but feel that the artist did not have a very good grasp on the subtle nuances of the Verse.
The comic book's only saving grace comes from its depiction of why Shepherd Book leaves Serenity. That part was nicely done. There is a couple other "character moments," but none are very interesting or memorable.
I'm giving this comic book series 2 stars, partly because I don't have the heart to give anything Firefly a one-star rating. I might've given it just one star if it didn't have that Shepherd Book scene. Also, its sub-$10 price tag was a factor.
My recommendation: This is not a must-read by any stretch of imagination. It's not even a recommended reading. But it's not very expensive, and it does have one good moment with Shepherd Book. As long as you know you're not getting a gold nugget and keep your expectations low, then why not. But really, keep your expectations low.