Dark Horse and Whedon bring Serenity to comic fans

By Patrick Luce May 4, 2005, 18:37 GMT

Cassaday cover image

The three-issue series hits stands on July 6 with a retail price of $2.99. Whedon and Brett Matthews write the series with art by Will Conrad and Laura Martin.

Each issue of this series features three covers, one for each member of the Serenity crew, drawn by the biggest names in comics. Issue #1 features Mal by John Cassaday, Inara by J. G. Jones, and Jayne by Bryan Hitch. Subsequent covers come from such artists as Joe Quesada, Josh Middleton, and Jo Chen. 
 
Serenity continues the story of a ship full of mercenaries, outlaws, fugitives, and one law-abiding prostitute running across the fringes of space.   The Universal Pictures movie is due in theaters in the U.S. on September 30, 2005 and in the UK on November 4, 2005.

The plot of the comic book series centers on the crew members of the ship known as Serenity, who once again find themselves broke and on the wrong side of a number of very large firearms when a heist goes awry, and some old enemies catch their scent.  After facing one failure after another, Malcolm Reynolds becomes the target of a conspiracy between government and mercenary forces, and a tense and divided crew must try to unite behind their compromised leader. Mixing intense Whedon-style dialogue with cinematic action and violence, artist Will Conrad and colorist Laura Martin paint a rough and wild world of adventure across a dangerous universe.

Jones cover image

In a Dark Horse press release, Matthews said it was a privilege to work with Whedon and the characters that he created on the cult favorite Firefly series.

“I love the characters and the world so much, how distinct and consistent the vision is and always has been,” Matthews said. “That sometimes to just keep going is enough, that there’s meaning in the struggle even if you don't know exactly what that meaning is -- that speaks to me, and you get it in Serenity in a way that's dusty and real and organic, not forced. It just fits. It all just means a hell of a lot to me.”

Visit Dark Horse for more information about the comic.