Firefly: Return to Earth That Was Vol. 1
- WRITER
- Greg Pak
- Artist
- Ethan Young, Simona Di Gianfelice, Pius Bak
- Letterer
- Jim Campbell
- Cover Artist
- Bengal
- Publisher
- BOOM! Studios
- Price
- 19.99
- Release Date
- 2021-09-28
- Colorist
- Marcelo Costa, Francesco Segala, Joana Lafuente
Joss Whedon's Firefly has captivated audiences for years. Despite its short time on air, the original sci-fi western television series established a fascinating world and an endlessly charming cast of characters. In BOOM! Studios' Firefly: Return to Earth That Was Volume 1 by Greg Pak, Pius Bak, Ethan Young, Simona Di Gianfelice, Marcelo Costa, Joana Lafuente, Francesco Segala, and Jim Campbell, which collects Firefly #25-28, the original crew of Serenity teams up with some new allies in an attempt to finally escape the Alliance for good.
Set after a fatal battle with the Reavers that left Book and Wash dead, and post-Blue Sun Rising, Firefly: Return to Earth Vol. 1 follows the remaining crew of Serenity. The ship is now captained by Kaylee as they attempt to avoid the endless parade of bounty hunters who pursue them. Zoe, her daughter, and Simon have long since left the ship, but they too are chased across the galaxy. When Zoe meets a robotic version of her deceased husband Wash and Kaylee discovers an Alliance portal that allows bounty hunters and soldiers to transport across the vastness of space, the crew decides it is time to stop running and destroy the portal.
Greg Pak brilliantly captures the voice and mannerisms of each character. Although they are all more mature and world-weary, the characters' banter is as charming and funny as ever. It is particularly fun to see Kaylee taking on more responsibilities, but holding on to her kind, nervous personality. Pak establishes some interesting dynamics right off the bat. Zoe's guarded friendship with animatronic Wash is especially compelling. Talking to a robotic version of her dead husband is clearly hard for her and is an emotionally confusing experience for her young daughter too. Pak reminds the audience that the characters are the heart and soul of the Firefly franchise.
Sadly, Pak struggles to weave his wonderfully written characters into a narrative that gives them enough room to shine. The pacing of this volume is particularly bizarre. Rather than diving in to one angle, Pak takes a frustratingly cursory glance at several intriguing elements of the story but shies away from developing the conflict that brings the characters together. The Alliance portal feels like an arbitrary threat, and the crew's intense response to it doesn't feel earned -- especially in the context of everything they've already been through. This ambiguity feels especially odd considering that almost a fourth of the book is taken up by a cute, mostly wordless sequence of Mal Reynolds wandering through a snowy planet with a dog. It is an entertaining scene, but it takes up more space than the book's central plot.
All three artists do an excellent job drawing emotive characters and playing with the incredible, constantly shifting landscape as the heroes travel from planet to planet. Though none of the artists seem concerned with capturing the exact likeness of the characters, their designs are all tonally on point. Unfortunately, as talented as all three artists are, their styles clash with each other to make for a jarring, choppy reading experience. Pius Bak and colorist Marcelo Costa have a sparse style that plays with shadows and utilizes a somber color palette. But halfway through the book Ethan Young and colorist Joana Lafuente take over with a brighter more angular style of cartooning. Then, in the final chapter, Simona Di Gianfelice and Francesco Segala appear to be aiming for a more realistic approach. These wildly different styles add to the unfocused nature of the narrative and make it difficult to become wholly invested in the story.
FIrefly: Return to Earth that Was Vol. 1 is full of fun moments and exciting surprises that will delight longtime fans of the franchise and new readers. The characters are a delight, but their actions and the circumstances they find themselves in comes across as contrived and often unnecessary. This volume ends with a twist that could lead the characters in some exciting, new directions, but so far it is difficult to commit to the story.