Serenity: Better Days Issue 2 of 3
April 9th, 2008 by florence
My cup runneth over. New Buffy and Angel comics last week, new Serenity comic this week.
This issue of Serenity was a nearly stand-alone story within a small 3 issue arc. Most of the pages display the fantasies of each character, sharing what they say they would do if they were rich and could presumably change their renegade semi-criminal lives. Now we all know that they are living this way, in the fringes with each other as a makeshift family, for their own reasons and most could have have found other options. Some crewmembers never fess up, and some are full of it, but all are highly amusing.
The art is in my favorite style; vivid watercolors with realistic likenesses of the actors I adore. I was surprised to see complaints about the photorealistic style from one of the letter column contributors, although I guess I can see their point. This does not allow as much individual artistic interpretation, and I have seen instances of this style backfiring- clearly trying to be recreations of a real person’s face, but missing the mark and instead becoming a constant distraction. In this case, however, I feel like I am in the room with people I know well. I recognize not only their faces, but their movements and voice patterns. I am able to simultaneously immerse myself and admire the beautiful images before me.
Next month will bring the conclusion on this arc, but there is a promise of another 3 issue arc by the end of the year, this time focusing on Shepherd Book and revealing more about his past.
