Firefly #12: The Spoils of War

Writing: In terms of satisfaction guaranteed this one has it all. Full on action and humour, feel good moments aplenty and to top it all some sloppy romance. As always the crew pull off the miraculous, come up smelling of roses and even make some money almost by accident. And successful resolution of events? Yes we have that too. Miraculously saving the foolhardy Browncoats from a needless massacre. The duplicitous villain defeated and unveiled. The crew gaining a bit of dosh. Even Kaylee getting a declaration of love and an invitation to an exciting new life. And Mal finally getting a pardon for all past sins. All that’s left now is a little Hallmark card moment with mom.
Well of course not. This wouldn’t be a Firefly tale without some sort of double take affair or fly in the ointment. But this is not only an unresolved issue to put a kink in the proceedings. This is possibly a way of introducing the next chapter in the Whedonverse. After all, with a clean slate what else is Malcolm Reynolds to do? Rest assured it won’t be long before he’s screwing things up again helped by his band of misfits. But the introduction of Ma Reynolds is another interesting layer in the cake, with the added twist he will now be tasked with her capture. And yes her inclusion is contrary to canon….sigh…but really? What ISN’T these days! Personally I’m less inclined to worry about a little smudging of the ‘known’ facts if it brings us another angle in the riddle that is Mal Reynolds. And can we PLEASE have more of this woman? Boss Moon really brings a new side to things.
Characters: Which brings us to the players in the saga. Everyone is as ever true to form. Wash worships his woman, which is how it should be. Inara uses her clout as Companion to teach a foolish man not to underestimate her, perfect. Jayne wants to cut and run with the stash, in iconic Jayne style. Mal somehow manages to get the drop on the enemy with the help of an unlikely ally, again. And Kaylee shows her true loyalty to her friends by turning down a promise of a secure future, which is par for the course. There are no deviations from what we know of these people. My biggest gripe is there was no sign of the Tams, especially River being her kooky self. But at least we have Mal take advantage of any opportunity to draw more attention to his rear end than is necessary, so all is not lost.
Art: There are a couple of sketchy images to be sure, with some dubious face shapes such as when Mal and Zoë don their uniforms, but this is a minor problem as every single close up and side profile of Mal is instantly recognisable and done to perfection. Some standout moments this issue including the resolution scene before the epilogue, which shows a happy ending for all. Well almost all. Also interspersed with all the action the placement of certain key characters in the scenes of dialogue is well placed. When exposition and scripted text scenes are cut into the action it can come off as staged and detract from the flow of the story. But here the art team make sure the energy is fluid and it doesn’t look too jarring, like a static setting frozen in place. It all flows naturally and keeps the momentum going. But what made it all worth it for me was the expression on Ma’s face when she realises her boy won’t behave.
Covers: And to top it off of course there is the usual cornucopia of covers, each perfectly displaying a different yet true to character facet of the crew. Lee Garbett’s main cover has it all with the main man taking centre stage surrounded by his crew, looking on in wonder…or just wondering why. Joe Quinones preorder displays the various love interests in a fluffy affair, fit for a romance novel. Rahzzah gives us a full on action variant with Mal astride a horse in the thick of the action. And the unlocked Ethan Young cover goes all Y chromo and reminds us of some of the best from our boys, including Wash and his duplicitous dinosaurs and Jayne’s special hat. What’s not to love here?
Images: Cover B Joe Quinones, Cover C Rahzzah, Cover D Ethan Young