Serenity: Those Left Behind (edition 2007)

The plot of Those Left Behind was probably intended to be an early-season-2 episode of Firefly that unfortunately was never shot. As such, it features a job gone bad, an enemy from the past, and some fancy fightin' and flyin'. This, of course, translates quite well to the graphic novel medium. The illustration and dialogue are both well done and true to the series.
The true gem of this work, though, is Joss' Brief History of the Universe, Circa 2516. It explains a lot of things about his high-concept vision of Firefly and Serenity, and how the world came to be as it was. This information was never conveyed in the series explicitly, and although it was implied, it was quite nice to have it all spelled out.
I am looking forward to future Serenity graphic novels, as I, like many others, feel the show was cancelled far to soon and there are plenty of stories left to tell about these characters. ( )

For any die hard Firefly/Serenity fan, Those Left Behind is a must read, and probably a must purchase. Set during the interim between the ending of the television series and the feature film, the graphic novel nicely sets the stage for Serenity, without being a slave to the license that most other movie tie-in products can become. While Whedon attempts to recapture the trademark humor and edge of your seat action of the cult television series, he falls just shy of the mark, creating something here that true fans will appreciate, but at the same time lament that it is not what they truly wanted. The story revolves around the hunt for River and Simon Tam, and gives some reasonable background on "blue hand group," the operatives that are after them. Sorry, I wasn't aware how dated that joke was in my mind. Some older characters from the television series make a surprise appearance, which is always a nice touch, and even some further background on the Unification War is appreciated. All in all, it's a good short story, though it will inevitably leave Browncoats wanting more. If you're a fan, you probably already own it, and if you're looking to get into the 'Verse, then this graphic novel would be a nice stepping off point. ( )

Those Left Behind is a tie-in graphic novel to the late, lamented cult-favorite SF series Firefly (see review below), which aired in 2002 (and which was followed by a movie, Serenity, in 2005). This 3-part story, originally released as a monthly comic-book with art by Will Conrad, perfectly captures the appearance of the characters from the series. More importantly, since Firefly had created such a unique "world", this graphic novel very effectively captures the tone and style of Firefly, particularly in terms of the dialog and quirkiness of the characters. Although there is a bit of a cliff-hanger to the story at the end of this volume, Those Left Behind still serves as a fine introduction to the 'Verse of Joss Whedon's Firefly for those who've never been there before, while still adding to that universe for long-time fans.

Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec09-04.htm ( )

I've been missing my "fix" of Firefly for quite a while now, so when I came across this trade paperback I picked it up right away. And I sure am glad I did! Set as a pre-quel to the Serenity movie, the layout, pacing, and artwork are fantastic. As each panel came alive in my mind (filling in the word balloons with the voices of the actors) I reacted to the twists and turns the same as I did watching the series.

A very faithful adaptation of the characters and their interactions (obviously as it's written by the series creator), the glossy pages and pinups were also wonderful. A highly recommended book to any Firely fan! ( )

http://www.fnordinc.com/2010/02-21/graphic-novel-review-darkhorses-serenity/

Being a Firefly fan, i was very excited when, back in 2005, Dark Horse Comics announced and released Those Left Behind, the first of a possible series of Serenity comic books.

I am not much of a comics reader, i go through phases where months of absorption will occur, but generally, i stick to 15-20 issues a year. i help off on reading the Serenity comics knowing that 3 issues would only wet my appetite, with months before more would be available.

after three years, DHC released the next installment (three years folks, that was NOT a typo). Better Days came out, and again, i said, “bottom of the pile..”. i was itching to read them, but at this point, my browncoat soul was “okay” with waiting. i figured, eventually, i would borrow them from the bunny, or SamuraiShy.. It was again, put off. buried at the bottom of the “to be read” pile.

finally, i broke down and located a copy for consumption. good, goddamn.. how disappointing could these have turned out?

both comics exist in the blanks plot canvas between the end of the Firefly Series and the Serenity movie. with the number of questions fans were left with after series “completion” i was expecting to have a bone thrown to me, but.. nope. didnt happen. one of the tri-part comics was decent, the other was, well.. read on to get my true opinion.

Better days, the second set to be released, happens before Those Left Behind. so far as i am concerned, Better days should be renamed “better never made”. characters were thrown in that had no frame of reference. the story was loose and thrown out with no real cohesion. i had to read it twice through, then jump online and consult wikipedia to figure out the remainder i could not muddle through. instead of plot closure, new info was tossed in that opened plot doors. it is in essence, nothing more than firefly porn, with all of us fans providing the money shot directly into Whedon’s pocketbook.

seriously, never should have been made. the only saving grace of the thing was a single page image of River Tam, which i am including at the bottom of this post (see FNORDinc for image) to save everyone the waste of time getting to it. do not let it fool you. one page is not worth suffering through the rest. a job goes better than expected, and everyone is rich. they are all describing what they will do with their cut. River’s description of the perfect life was a single page and the only one worth looking at.

~~

Those Left behind, the first comic released, wasnt so bad,it was an enjoyable read. in all, it has a lot of the same issues Better Days had. there was no closure, new questions arise, but you do begin to understand why Inara and Book left Serenity and are separated in the film.. in the end though, it was a quick and mellow read with no real high or low points worth pointing out. it was almost like watching a well done episode, each character got some face time.

ultimately, nothing but geek porn, but enjoyable on a base level.

It was announced a few years back that there would be a new comic coming out focusing on Shepard Book and all of his mystery. this is yet to come to fruition after two years. to be fair though, if it ever comes out at all, following the above trend, it will be another year, and will not be worth picking up except to place on a shelf next to your firefly lunchbox and Mal Reynolds action figure.

- FNORDinc.com ( )

"Serenity: Those Left Behind" is a book that is meant to fill in the gap between the last show of the "Firefly" television series, and the "Serenity" movie. It tells the circumstances of how Inara and Preacher leave the ship Serenity, captained by Mal, and of a job that Mal takes on to earn some money, but encounters some decidedly unfriendly faces along the way.

Since it presumes some understanding of the characters and plot of the television series, it is not really something to introduce a newcomer to the world of Firefly, let alone demonstrate Whedon's skill in storytelling, because they would be quite easily lost as to the plot here. However, it's not as if the story here is particularly original or inventive, so you wouldn't be showing it to anyone but a fan of the "Firefly" television series, anyway.

Arguably worse than a lack of inventiveness and skill in story-telling here, is that this is not a story that really needed to be told. It doesn't really expand on the stories of the characters in the Firefly universe. It doesn't give us a wider view of the society of Firefly, or the motives of the shadowy arms of the government of the television series or movie. We know that Inara and Preacher depart from the Firefly ship from the movie "Serenity". The details behind this were not really necessary, nor are particularly interesting.

The artwork on show here is does the job (we can tell which characters are which, and the story is conveyed), but it's not particularly noteworthy.

And that's the one note that constantly resounds through "Serenity: Those Left Behind". It's just so... well, pedestrian and ordinary. There's nothing of note here, nothing particularly good, and nothing particularly bad. And that's the hardest thing to swallow, when the television show "Firefly" and the movie "Serenity" were anything but pedestrian and ordinary. ( )

Summary: Set after the last episode of Firefly and before Serenity the movie, Those Left Behind goes a long way to filling in that gap in the storyline of everybody's favorite space cowboys. After (yet another) job goes south, Mal and his crew once again find themselves low on cash and high on tension. They're at desperate ends - desperate enough to accept another job from Badger - during which they run up against an enemy from their past while barely staying one step ahead of the Feds.

This volume also includes a foreword by Nathan Fillion and a memo from Joss Whedon to the Serenity production team describing the Firefly universe.

Review: Those Left Behind is meant to be interstitial, to fill in fans as to how things got to be the way they are at the beginning of the movie - in particular, the circumstances surrounding Shepherd Book and Inara's departures. However, even if its main purpose is gap-filling, there still could have been a little more story to the story; the plot here is about that of an average Firefly episode, and while it probably would have been fine on film, it felt a little bit thin on paper.

The script and the dialogue were well-done; Firefly's got the most distinct patois of any of Whedon's shows, and the characters' distinct voices make the transition to paper well. However, I wasn't crazy about the artwork. There's a distinct range of how much characters look like themselves, from Book and Zoe, who are instantly recognizable in almost all of their panels, to Jane, who looks like a comic-ified version of himself (i.e. the head:bicep ratio is steadily decreasing), to Simon, who is identifiable only by his vests. All-in-all, though, it was an enjoyable read, even if it wasn't quite everything I'd hoped for. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: For Firefly fans only; there's no backstory or explanation given for the newbies. For dedicated fans, though, it's a nice chance to spend some more time with Cap'n Tightpants and crew, whatever the reason. ( )

D-Perhaps future volumes will raise my opinion of this book, but it certainly didn't stand on its own. ( )

Graphic novel, filling in the gap between 'Objects in Space' and the BDM. Er … it's a graphic novel. It fills in some gaps. The end. ( )

Makes a nice bridge between the TV series and the movie. Would probably make only a short story or novella, not a full story. ( )

Bridging the gap between the end of the Firefly series and the movie Serenity, "Those Left Behind" answers the questions of when Inara left and why Book left. If this had been text only, it would have been a stretch to call this a short story, but being a graphic novel, the images add some length to the text, though it still lacks depth. The images themselves leave a great deal to be desired. I'm not a big fan of comic books. If Joss had taken the traditional Grapic Novel/Manga route, the images would have fit the story better and would have been more appreciated by me. But being a fan of Firefly and Joss Whedon, it is a necessary addition to my library and will no doubt become as beloved as the Firefly series itself. ( )

Not a bad gapfiller between the end of Firefly and the beginning of Serenity. The art is solid and the characters/actors recognizable, although (with the exception of Inara) I did prefer the full-body character illustrations to the panel work. The story does rely heavily on knowledge of the TV series, and to a certain extent, of what will happen in the movie (to help build that sense of foreboding). This is no problem for the fan as far as the main cast goes (although it may be a struggle for a casual reader), but since it's been a while since I have seen either the series or movie, I had to search my memory for the details of some of the reoccurring characters, who showed up without preamble and jumped back into relationships that may not have been explored or referred to since the early episodes of the TV show.

(Oddly enough, one of the best parts of this graphic novel was the introduction by Nathan Fillion; it was full of atmosphere and excitement, and provided a gentle chuckle or two. Even if you're the sort that skips prefaces and other introductory material to get to the meat of the matter, I'd suggest giving it a go anyway.)

Regardless, Those Left Behind was an enjoyable (and quick) read, and it's nice to see Serenity's crew back in the skies again. I hope to see more in comic form (if nothing else) beyond the two graphic novels currently available. ( )

Basic Reason for Beginning: Saw this on a friend’s LT recent activity and, since I enjoyed both the series and the movie, I went off and bought it.
Basic Reason for Finishing: Look at the pretty pictures!
Texture: Artwork on it, so no real texture here, sorry! Lots of darks and browns if that helps?

Full review here.

Rereadability: I’d like to, in between my rewatching of Firefly and Serenity. Might help show me something I missed too.
Recommendation: Only to those who enjoyed Firefly (or Serenity) and want to know what happened to get the characters from the series to the movie. ( )

This is a graphic novel, written by The Man himself, covering events in the 'Verse between the end of the TV series Firefly and the movie Serenity. It fills in a few holes for fans, but no one else would know what was going on. ( )

There isn't a whole lot of story here, but it does fill in a few gaps between the TV series and the movie, and let's face it, it's always fun to spend some time in the 'verse. Fans of Firefly and Serenity will want this in their collection. ( )

Set between the end of the tragically short-lived Firefly sci-fi/western series and its movie spinoff Serenity, the story of Those Left Behind is a fun, well-written, and stunningly illustrated bridge between the two mediums, tying up some loose ends and plot arcs left by the series while effectively setting up moods and events for the film.

Things are as bleak and desolate as ever for Serenity's crew, particularly its Captain, Malcolm Reynolds, whose continual hard luck and subsequent dark mood is driving his crew slowly away. When a "business associate" shows up with a job that looks too good to be true, Mal and company find they've been led into a trap sprung by an antagonist from the past, as well as an organization hell-bent on kidnapping one of Serenity's crew, a young girl with whose brain the government had been tinkering before she was rescued by her now-fugitive brother.

Written by series creator Joss Whedon, who seemingly is incapable of writing anything bad, and with gorgeous artwork by the team of Will Conrad and Laura Martin, this graphic novel is a must-have for any of the many die-hard fans of this show and movie. As a standalone story it's obviously less appealing and perhaps a little more confusing, but it does make for an entertaining short read that has plenty of pretty artwork. The introduction by series actor Nathan Fillion and Whedon's Brief History of the Universe, Circa 2516 A.D. add perspective and depth to the story as well as the fictitious 'Verse from which everything hails.

Definitely recommended for YA graphic novels section. The violence in the story is visible but mostly brief and not excessive or showy, while any sexuality in the story is suggested instead of portrayed, often for humorous effect. ( )

This was a nice story in addition to the TV series and movie. I felt it was just another episode to the show. I loved the artwork as well. My hope is that they do not stop there and continue to create more stories. Very well done. ( )

Every Firefly and Serenity fan will need to own this "missing episode" that takes place between the TV show and the movie. But, chances are, if you're a fan, you ALREADY own it. ( )

Rather disappointing prequel to the Serenity movie. (The movie was fantastic, though.) ( )

I LOVED this graphic novel! It was way too short. This storyline fills the gap between the Firefly series and the movie Serenity, explaining why Shepherd Book left, showed where they dropped off Inara, etc. I would buy a whole series of these no problem! ( )

Very useful as a bridge between the tv show, Firefly, and the movie, Serenity. Not all that awesome by itself, though. ( )

I think the biggest problem with this for me is that I just now got to read it; it may have had more of an impact if I'd actually read it BEFORE watching "Serenity," but alas. Post-movie, it's kind of pointless: it fills in some of the gaps between the series and the film, but not in any way the film fails to. The plot resurrects a character that in my mind should have stayed dead, only to kill him again, and makes very poor use of the Two by Two, Hands of Blue guys. Also, the art annoyed me. Some comic book artists are very good at conveying action, but the way the fights were drawn in this I couldn't actually figure out what was happening. I mean, I'm glad to have finally read this, I guess, but it was really not worth the desperate efforts to get it over the *last several years*. ( )

Show and movie were incredible. This was so-so. ( )

I wasn't going to review this, and really, there's no need of a review. However, I figure some of you will want to know about this and what's it about, so here's a mini review:

Before the movie Serenity opened, there was a comic book mini-series that was published. The story is meant to bridge the gap between the television show Firefly and the movie Serenity. And, without giving too much away about the movie, the graphic novel does exactly that. If you've seen the movie, you get the title of this graphic novel immediately, though I have to say, it lets me down a little bit. The mini-series was just three comic books, and to be honest, they could've gotten away with more, telling a longer story and really giving fans something to settle into. The story goes by too fast, but it does it's job, which is to explain certain things about the movie.

The art was good, though I couldn't stand the rendering of Inara, and the use of SUPER blue eyes at times was beyond annoying. Still, the story captures the flavor of the characters, which is most important. I had no trouble hearing the actors speaking the lines, and River was captured particularly well. The story also brings back a couple of baddies from the episode "Ariel", which was good to see.

If you're a fan of Serenity the movie, get this. You can get it off Amazon or find it in your bigger bookstores. Also, note the number "1" on the spine of the trade. I haven't heard anything (though I don't follow comic book news), but I get the feeling there's going to be an actual comic book series with these characters. Or at very least, the universe. And in hindsight, I think that's a fair trade for the fans. While not every fan is a comic-book reader, this format does allow this universe to carry in a medium true to the show. Episodic, with quirks of humor and tales of deeper emotional peril. And of course, there's the adventure. If Whedon ever does do anything in television/film again with these characters, at least he'll have a chance to play with them in another format first. :) ( )