Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days (Paperback)

by Joss Whedon (Author), Brett Matthews (Illustrator), Will Conrad (Illustrator), Adam Hughes (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
When Whedon’s beloved TV show Firefly was canceled, fans were left with a little spaceship-shaped hole in their hearts. This second entry in the Serenity comic-book series, which essentially presents new episodes in graphic format, should help mollify them. Whedon’s sensibility works well here, as primary hero/rogue Mal Reynolds and his crew balance snarky asides and verbal sparring with cloaked sentimentality and plenty of western-styled space-opera action. While most of the in-jokes, character quirks, and background references will only resonate with those already in the know, that is a pretty sizable—and hungry—population in its own right. Grades 9-12. --Ian Chipman

Product Description
Serenity: Better Days follows everyone's favorite space cowboys in a thrilling, action-packed adventure, where Mal and his crew take on a heist that promises a big payoff. But when one of Serenity's crew is taken captive and tortured, the gang must put their enduring differences aside and work together to save one of their own, even if it means losing the cash prize of a lifetime! Joss Whedon returns to the world of his blockbuster film Serenity, reuniting with Brett Matthews and Will Conrad, his collaborators on the bestselling 2005 series Those Left Behind.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse; illustrated edition edition (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595821627
• ISBN-13: 978-1595821621
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,724 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A huge improvement over the previous Serenity series, October 27, 2008

By	Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

A few years ago fans of FIREFLY/SERENITY were given a rather lack luster series called THOSE WE LEFT BEHIND. There isn't a great deal of narrative squeeze space right now in the Serenity universe. The reason is that Joss Whedon and his stars still hope to make another movie. Whether it would be a direct to DVD (which is more likely) or a a theater release is an open question.

There there have been rumors from time to time that Universal, given the impressive and steady sales of both FIREFLY and SERENITY on DVD, was at least interested in considering a DVD film at some point, but so far nothing has materialized. But as long as there is a chance of a continuance of the story of Mal, Zoe, River, Simon, Jayne, and the rest of the crew of Serenity, Joss Whedon is not going to reveal the remaining major secrets about his characters. In commentaries on the film SERENITY, Whedon in particular mentioned Inara's story as the great unexplored mystery. The first film cleared up most of River's untold story, which leaves Inara's. And, of course, Shepherd Book, who will not be part of a future movie because of his death. His backstory will be covered in the next Serenity comic series, focusing exclusively on him and the story that he had been unwilling to tell in either the TV series of the film. It is at least tentatively titled A SHEPHERD'S TALE. But like THOSE LEFT BEHIND and BETTER DAYS, it will be another prequel, this one a prequel to FIREFLY as well. After that, I doubt if we wee much more in the way of Serenity comics, since Whedon clearly doesn't want to pick up at the end of the movie SERENITY. If Universal doesn't move forward with a film (they have exclusive rights to the franchise until the middle of the next decade and even then for films only -- TV rights revert to 20th Century Fox at that time), Joss Whedon might be tempted to tell the rest of the story, presumably is a comic closer in length to ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL, rather than the two short Serenity comics that we have seen so far.

As I stated above, this three-episode sequence is a considerable improvement over the earlier THOSE LEFT BEHIND. There are some adventures that truly are similar to those in the TV series or film. Though not as satisfying as another film or TV series, it adds to the canonical body of adventures our heroes have embarked on. Because of its odd placement in the period of time after the TV series but before the film, not much can really happen of great import. You know no one is going to die (Joss Whedon basically invented the body count as we currently recognize it on TV) because of the later film. And River, who emerged as the ultimate lethal weapon in the film, is still self-contained and only minimally interactive with the outside world (though we the most memorable graphic in the series is a full page portrait of River having all her fondest desires realized). But given that, Whedon's team did a great job of creating a fun and funny and interesting story.

In my review of THOSE LEFT BEHIND, I did not recommend that fans of the TV series and movie give it a read. I definitely recommend this. This succeeds in all the ways that the earlier book failed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice sense of nostalgia, December 14, 2008

By	William James - See all my reviews

You know how it feels like when you break up with someone and a few months later you come across this person somewhere? Feels a little awkward? Well one can experience a similar feeling with this book. There was definately an "It's over" moment from fox when this show was abruptly ended and it's wonderful magic never caught on again as much as one would like. The movie couldn't bring what I loved about the show back and the same goes for this somic but for different reasons.
This book is not set after the movie, the setting would be before it, yet not a prelude like the other. This is like an episode which never aired in comic book form. So we know that whatever happens here won't have any repercussions on a grander story in the making. The good thing about this is that you get the good old feeling of the team from the TV series again. Wash is alive and kicking and Book is with them on the ship, so is Inara. It reminds you of how great the show was, but it only lasts 3 issues with nthing telling you that there is hope for more Firefly goodness later.
But, these three issues seen independently of anything else, are fantastic and if you liked the show, then you'll love these. They're written by Joss so every character sounds like they should. What I really love is how it reffers to previous episodes. For example, you'll see how far and wide the Hero of Campton's tale has been spread :) Art wise, it is the same artist as the previous comic and he makes most of the characters look very similar to the show, with the exception of Wash. Wash looks like a regular white guy. But Mal and the rest look perfect.

If you are a fan of nostalgia, then this is definately the book for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better Days is worth the time., February 22, 2009

By	D. Ingram "Soup N Eggroll" (OK, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This graphic novel was a necessary purchase for a Firefly fan like me. The art work is above average, and looks like the actors from the show. The humor was very Whedon.

I had a couple complaints. One was that the Chinese used in the story is actually written in Chinese characters, so it cannot be pronounced unless you actually READ Chinese, and there is no translation for it. As a person who has found out what all the Chinese from the show meant, this is disappointing to me.

Also, I was confused at the end about the Simon/Inara thing. I somehow missed that bit if information completely, and I have no idea where the money went, or who took it.

So the whole of the story was good, but the ending was a let-down because I am apparently too dense to have caught some important bit of plot information. Perhaps it was written in Chinese.