Creation Initially,
Joss Whedon invited
Brett Matthews to co-write a story to bridge the series and the film. According to Matthews,
Those Left Behind was originally an
anime project, which fell through, leading to the story being released in comicbook form.
Those Left Behind Serenity: Those Left Behind is a three-issue
miniseries, created in 2005 as a tie-in to the film
Serenity. The series was written by
Joss Whedon and
Brett Matthews, illustrated by
Will Conrad, lettered by
Michael Heisler, and colored by
Laura Martin.
Those Left Behind is set after the events of the
Firefly television series, to function as a bridge leading into the
Serenity film.
Better Days The second three-issue miniseries,
Serenity: Better Days, was announced by Dirk Wood of Dark Horse Comics during
WonderCon 2006. The three issues were released in March, April, and May 2008. Whedon, Matthews, Conrad, and Heisler returned, but colourist Laura Martin was replaced by
Michelle Madsen.
Adam Hughes served as cover artist, creating three covers, each depicting three of the nine
Serenity crew members, which together form a
triptych.
Jo Chen drew the 2008 trade paperback collection cover. of the three covers for
Serenity: Better Days Better Days is set between the television series and the film, but before the events of
Those Left Behind, in order to have all the core characters aboard the
Serenity, and to better capture the "heart and status quo—in as much as there even is one—of the [television] series." In 2009
Better Days was one of six nominees for the inaugural
Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. The miniseries came second to
Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones.
The Other Half The August 2008 issue of
MySpace Dark Horse Presents included an eight-page comic titled
Serenity: The Other Half. While Conrad remained responsible for the artwork and Heisler stayed on as letterer,
Jim Krueger took over as writer and
Julius Ohta as colorist. Joss Whedon is credited as the executive producer. The story revolves around the
Serenity crew aboard a hover-
stagecoach, protecting it from Reavers as they try to deliver their seriously wounded passenger to their destination, in order to claim the second half of his fare. While helping Simon to keep the passenger alive, River detects that their passenger is an Alliance agent who tracks smugglers and leads Alliance soldiers to kill them. Aware that River may be the escaped psychic the Alliance is hunting, the agent tries and fails to shoot River when Simon is knocked unconscious. In return, River shoots the agent with his own gun, which she then disposes of. While the rest of the crew assume that stray munitions from the Reavers killed the agent, Mal takes River aside, tells her that he "had a bad feelin'" about the passenger, and welcomes her to the crew.
Float Out Float Out was announced on March 9, 2010 and published on June 2, 2010. An alternative cover was created by Frank Stockton.
Float Out was set after the events of the film. Following
Hoban "Wash" Washburne's death, three former colleagues pool their resources to purchase a ship (a Firefly-class ship of a different model to the
Serenity), which they intend to name
Jetwash in honor of their friend. At the
floating out ceremony, they are initially unable to find the right words to christen the ship with, and instead tell each other stories about their interactions with Wash. A common theme—that Wash would always look out for his friends—emerges, and the three men decided to use this sentiment to christen the ship. However, the traditional
champagne bottle has been taken by Wash's widow,
Zoe; she tells them he hated champagne and instead offers a bottle of cheap Asian liquor called
un-ga-pae, which Wash was highly fond of. The final page reveals that Zoe is pregnant with Wash's daughter.
''The Shepherd's Tale'' Prior to the 2007 Browncoat Cruise, a
Firefly convention held aboard a cruise ship,
Ron Glass asked Whedon for some information to answer the inevitable questions on
Shepherd Derrial Book's backstory. At the time, no new
Serenity comics were planned, but Whedon emailed Glass some facts from Book's past to reveal, along with permission to announce that the character would be the subject of the next
Serenity comic. As it is focused on a single character, Allie stated in a June 2008 interview that it was an opportunity for the
Serenity comics franchise to "go in a real different direction." This release date was not met, and no news was forthcoming until March 9, 2010, when Dark Horse announced that the work would be published in November 2010 as a hardcover
graphic novel under the title ''The Shepherd's Tale''. According to Allie, the three-year delay was because no appropriate author could be found to write the story from Whedon's outlines, until Joss brought his brother
Zack in on the project in late 2009. Zoe and Wash enjoy their time together, while Inara and Kaylee fantasize about food and complain to Mal about it, and Jayne approaches Simon about a burning sensation after a night in a brothel. The crew are completely unaware that a band of locals are searching for and have found them, only for River to deal with them by killing them all. As the storm abates and the
Serenity is taking off, River reveals that she knows Shepherd Book has a secret, that it is as easy for him to kill people as it is for her.
''It's Never Easy'' ''Serenity: Firefly Class 03-K64—It's Never Easy'' is a short story released as part of a
Free Comic Book Day issue on May 5, 2012. Written by
Zack Whedon with art by
Fábio Moon, the story is set during Zoe's pregnancy and involves an attempt by a prospective passenger to steal the
Serenity while grounded in the countryside.
Leaves on the Wind A six-issue miniseries published from January to June 2014. Set after the events of the film,
Leaves on the Wind is written by
Zack Whedon, with art by
Georges Jeanty, who took inspiration from the artists
Moebius,
Geof Darrow and
Walt Simonson, as well as the films
Blade Runner,
Outland and
Alien. Alternate covers for each issue were painted by
Daniel Dos Santos. The first issue won
Diamond's 2014 Gem Award for Licensed Comic of the Year.
The Warrior and the Wind Published as a part of
Free Comic Book Day 2016, written by
Chris Roberson with art by
Stephen Byrne. River entertains Zoe and Wash's infant daughter with a bedtime story as the remaining crew (sans Inara) go out on a mission. Her story parallels the formation of the
Serenity’s crew albeit in a fantastical, fairy-tale-like setting, with the majority of the artwork inspired by an earlier piece of fan-art by Byrne which re-imagined the
Serenity’s crew as animated Disney characters.
No Power in the ’Verse On July 20, 2016
No Power in the ’Verse was announced, a six-issue miniseries written by
Chris Roberson with art by
Georges Jeanty. The story picked up approximately a year and a half after the conclusion of
Leaves on the Wind. ==Issues==