Jana B. here,

‘Serenity’…yes, THAT ‘Serenity’. Not the calm, peaceful tranquil serenity. Joss Whedon’s  space-western baby, ‘Serenity’. You can’t call yourself a proper sci-fi geek without quieting your outrage at the improper treatment of the genesis television show named after the beloved transport ship that is the Firefly named Serenity. For those of us that memorized insults in Mandarin – Fox programming execs are just BUN tyen-shung duh ee-DWAY-RO, which is to say “stupid inbred stack of meat” – Firefly is the greatest show that never had the chance to burn out on its own. Big nod of appreciation to this site for the translation and pronunciation.

It should come as no surprise that Browncoats everywhere are keeping the memory alive with any memorabilia, from t-shirts to Jayne’s hat, they can get their hands on. One of the ways to continue the story was with comic books. Dark Horse is behind a six-issue series ‘Serenity: Leaves on the Wind’ beginning this month. Creator Joss Whedon’s brother, Zack Whedon, teams with the visual artistry of Georges Jeanty to produce the paneled story that picks up where the ‘Serenity’ movie left off. This is a good place to start, but it’s also a sad place for fans of characters that didn’t make it through the film alive. My favorite did not survive, I’m talking about Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburne here played spectacularly by the amazing Alan Tudyk. His death aside, I’m still curious to see what happens to the rest of the crew and, in particular, Jayne (Adam Baldwin). I’m sure there are numerous visits to a brothel with varying medical side effects and plenty of waving Vera, the name for his weapon of choice, about.

Now remember, this is a show from 2002 with 14 episodes, aired out of order by the morons at Fox. The decision to cancel Firefly will go down in the annals of bad calls. Much of the blame for cancellation lays with Fox for airing the episodes out of order, leading to a confused audience that didn’t gain the viewers it could have if it was aired in sequence. It’s hard to pinpoint one thing that makes this franchise so successful. One could assume it was the sci-fi setting in space and the future that made fans fall in love, while others could argue it is the witty and rapier sharp dialog that hooks the viewer. Others, still, would swear it is Nathan Fillion’s portrayal of Captain Mal and his very tight pants that keep you riveted to your seat. I’m not ashamed to say that I, myself, am a big fan of Captain Tight-Pants.

This is not Zack Whedon’s first foray into the inked world of Serenity. Whedon penned two different one-shot comic stories that went to print beginning in 2010. Nor is this Georges Jeanty’s first experience with Joss Whedon’s creative canon. Jeanty, who provided the artwork for several DC and Marvel superhero stories, was asked for by name from Joss Whedon when he was looking into an illustrator for the ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ comic book series.

Joss Whedon has cemented his name among successful creators in Hollywood. Whether writing or directing his work is met with success and great expectations. Remember, this is the man that wrote ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, ‘Titan A.E.’, ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’. Because of these titles and the others he’s been a part of, ‘Toy Story, ‘Atlantis: The Lost Empire’, he will always be one of my favorite film makers, taking his place among Spielberg, Lucas, Tarantino, Crowe, Scorsese and Burton. Big damn heroes, sir. Big damn heroes.