Review: Firefly #7 (Boom! Studios)

When it comes to finding trouble, the crew of Serenity has no competition. Almost every member of the crew has a past they’re running from. And they’re all rather talented at getting into trouble. That much has been evidenced in the last few issues of this series.

Firefly #7 goes a long way in showing the different ways this crew reacts to threats and situations. Honestly, even though we’ve seen some of this in the TV series, it’s still fun to see more of it. And I swear I’m not just saying that because Jayne’s side of things made me laugh (though it did).

I love how this series really does feel just like the TV show and movie I fell in love with. The characters walked straight from the screen and to the pages. Or at least, that’s how it feels. It’ll never quite make up for the early cancellation, but it’s something.

Writing

Firefly #7 somehow balanced the more humorous moments (well, moment, in this case) with some seriously heavy parts. That sounds like Firefly in a nutshell, so I shouldn’t be so surprised. But I am impressed.

Greg Pak’s plot has been taking so many unexpected twists and turns but in a good way. Though the series hasn’t been predictable, it still has the feel and tone I’ve been counting on. And it fits in well with the very specific point of time they have to work with.

There were a lot of memorable moments in this issue. There’s one genuinely laugh-out-loud section (involving Jayne, but I won’t say more than that) and a few intense moments. And there are some true spine-tingling moments as well. I’m sure moments will stick with me for quite some time. The conclusion, in particular, was something else.

While I can’t say that every character had a moment to shine in this issue, I can honestly say that they all acted in character. And sometimes there just isn’t enough time to show everybody doing something exciting.

Art

Firefly #7 has some brilliant artwork. The characters look like their actor counterparts – while still significantly influenced by the series’ artists. In this case, Dan McDaid and Marcelo Costa are behind the wheel.

Two things stood out for me in this issue. The first had to be the expressions. There were a lot of emotions portrayed in this issue. And trust me, they ran the gambit here. The amount of emotion they could show – without needing to explain – was impressive.

I also fell in love with the color palette from this issue. However, I’m probably a little bit biased here since I’m fond of comics that use a lot of blue and purple. It does work very well with the setting and the subject at hand, though. While also making things look nice and dramatic.

Conclusion

Firefly #7 moved the main plot forward rapidly while also throwing a bunch of twists and turns into the mix. I love that they’ve managed to keep things so interesting while keeping true to this crew’s core.

There were a lot of memorable moments in this issue, some more humorous than others. And while I don’t know where this plot will lead in the long run, I have been enjoying the journey so far. The real question is, what will the next issue bring with it?

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

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