Firefly: The Fall Guys #1 Review

 

Writer: Sam Humphries

Artist: Jordi Pérez

Colorist: Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli

Letterer: Jim Campbell

Cover Artists: Francesco Francavilla; Justine Florentino; Ejikure; Ariel Olivetti; Madison Goyette

Publisher: Boom!

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 6, 2023

 

In space, no one can hear you scream that the Alliance sucks. That's a shame, as they've made it difficult for the Serenity's crew to make an honest living. Still, Malcolm Reynolds and company do what it takes to get by. What indecent proposal might they receive in Beloved, a frontier town on the terraformed moon Plymouth? Let's leap into Firefly: The Fall Guys #1 and find out!

 

Story

Zoë and Kaylee walk into a saloon. Amber Archambeau and her gang pull their guns on the two women. One gang member trains her rifle on Malcolm Reynolds. He's slumped over the piano, so Amber thinks they've got Captain Kaylee right where she wants her. But wait! Inara poisoned their drinks while tending bar, and she’s got the antidote. Advantage Serenity in Firefly: The Fall Guys #1!

 

Malcolm Reynolds action figure available at Amazon.com

 

 

Even if Amber tricked them into the meeting, Kaylee knows they need the job. To quote Zoë: they're broke as a joke. Amber offers a solution: steal the Land Office safe, and they'll be rich! Whoa, hold on, partner! Inara suggests they'll be moderately underpaid, but they'll get by. Plus, they’ll put one over on the Alliance, which always makes the Serenity crew happy.

 

Then Alliance security forces break up the wrangling at gunpoint and throw everyone in the security pens.

 

Sam Humphries doesn't show how the Serenity crew fares in the security pens or how the Alliance forces separate the two gangs. Nor does he mention how Kaylee and Zoë get a heavy forklift up a flight of stairs. The team never speaks Mandarin, and there's no mention of Inara’s former status as a Companion or Head Priestess of House Madrassa. But his zinging dialogue will please the most beleaguered Browncoats, and his double-crosses and plots-within-plots make Firefly Fall Guys #1 a joy to read.  

 

Art

Jordi Pérez conveys Serenity's size as Zoë bids her daughter Emma adieu on the loading ramp. The Spanish artist makes Beloved look fit for horse-drawn carriages. She's not afraid to show scenes, such as Prime Minister Hamner’s ship landing, from tilted camera views. A few characters—such as Serenity's crewmate Leonard Chang-Benitez—would have benefitted from further definition. Better-known characters—especially Kaylee and Zoë--are expressive and reminiscent of the TV series, and action scenes in The Land Office are exciting and explosive.

 

Serenity Wooden Puzzle available at Amazon.com

 

 

Francesco Segala, assisted by Gloria Martinelli, bathes shadowed characters in purple. They splash oranges and reds liberally from their limited palette, and grays and muted colors abound. Lighting may change clothing color from one panel to the next. Still, shadows trail Kaylee and Zoë as they walk across the pale blue snow toward the rising sun, and Prime Minister Hamner looks as vicious as Zoë paints her surrounded by red, white, and blue Alliance flags.

 

Amid the hoodwinking, swindling, and frame-ups, Jim Campbell leaves nothing to chance in Firefly: The Fall Guys #1. His black, uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons are easy to read, the big-time character introductions are fun, and the sparse sound effects enliven the debut issue of this rip-roaring Sci-Fi series.

 

Final Thoughts

Desperate circumstances forge unlikely partnerships when a visiting Alliance dignitary threatens to make the Serenity crew the Alliance’s Most Wanted in Firefly: The Fall Guys #1.

 

Rating: 8/10

 

For variant covers see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.