I really liked it! It was even way better than the first, and I loved the first. Was very happy to see Badger and Dobson again. Sex and everything. And River definitely got the best line. I read it at a coffee shop and started giggling out loud at that one. The artwork is excellent, I hear Jossian dialouge... and couldn't be happier.

so what will that startling revelation next month be? It better be Mal/Inara development or I'll cry.

Someone posted on the other thread about Captain Mal #1 at Borders around now. I went to a Borders Monday and there were three Captain Mals on a rack there, and they weren't there a week before. I asked about them and found out the few comics they have are shipped with magazines so it's possible if you have a Borders near you they will have issues out after comic book shops sell out. Of course the employee at customer service had never heard of it, and seemed to vaguely think it might come in the next few days.

The local comic book folk do seem surprised by the comic's success. I think Dark Horse knew they had a winner. I don't know a thing about comics and I knew they'd sell out fast. How could Dark Horse not know? It's nice to see the shopowners mystified, however!

WhoIsOmega? | August 03, 18:12 CET

"It stinks like sex in here"

I have a slight spoiler for the movie under this invisotext. it concerns a line that Badger says. Badger says Fanty and Mingo are why Mal lost the money. Aren't those the twins from the movie?

[ edited by eddy on 2005-08-04 02:05 ]

eddy | August 03, 18:28 CET

The first issue was fun, but kind of slight I thought. Well drawn, lots of action, not a whole lot else.

This one was great though. Loved seeing more of the Blue Hand Group, the return of Dobson, etc. Also love Mal and Book's confrontation, the pre-shadowing of Fanty and Mingo, and the broken Alliance ship at the battleground. Can't wait for part three.

[ edited by bonzob on 2005-08-04 02:12 ]

bonzob | August 03, 19:05 CET

I like the story, but I just don't think all the dialogue quite works. River in particular just doesn't ring true for me.

IMForeman | August 03, 20:14 CET

Yeah, I agree IMForeman. I think this happened on the show sometimes too, though. Like in Heart of Gold when River says "what do you think is in there?" referring to the unborn baby. At first, I laughed, but really, why wouldn't she know? She was a smart child whose brain was experimented on, which made her thoughts jumbled. So if she randomly spews some fact, I can buy it. If she speaks with unusual syntax, I can buy it. But why would she suddenly not know about babies? Anyway, basically I am saying that I think River's "craziness" can be a crutch for a lazy writer, an excuse for her to spout inappropriate comments or odd non-sequiters.

bonzob | August 03, 21:09 CET

I think the "what do you think is in there" is meant in a more philosophical way. It's a person-in-progress. A very strange thing, really. I mean, it starts as a couple of cells, and grows into this thing with a consciousness, and what is it in between? Or, alternately, she might be wondering what kind of person the thing inside is going to be, since right now it hasn't been born yet and could (in a sense) turn into anybody.
So, I think there are a couple interpretations for that which fit with River. I'm not sure that can be said for the dialogue in this comic. Although maybe if I could hear Summer's line delivery I would understand how it fit. Or maybe they're trying to show some transition in her character, that will make sense once we've seen the movie.

brimtoast | August 03, 21:20 CET

Actually, in "Heart of Gold" didn't she say "Who do you suppose is in there?" Who not what is how I remember it... it's a qualitatively different question.

IMForeman | August 03, 21:37 CET

I think the "what do you think is in there" is meant in a more philosophical way. It's a person-in-progress. A very strange thing, really.

First, IMForeman is right that the question was "who". Second, crayon-breaky willow is right about how to approach it, and it's entirely consistent with, for example, her observations about cows.

(You can almost imagine her peering through the door into the cargo hold when they are smuggling cows and asking, "Who do you think is in there?")

As for the comic's River, I initially had the same uncertainty. But try very very carefully to figure out how Summer Glau would deliver some of these lines in the comics, and you'll see how they actually do work very well as River.

This is the problem with River: Her dialogue is extraordinarily tricky on the written page. It takes the performance to pull them off truly properly. So you need to try to make a rough-guess, best-stab estimate in your head as to how Summer would have played these lines.

"It stinks like sex in here," for example seemed really off to me. Until I could imagine a couple of different approaches to it Summer might have taken. And it worked as River, perfectly.

@theonetruebix | August 03, 22:00 CET

Goddamn I hope Joss and Brett do an ongoing at some point, this is just really good. Like IMForeman, I had trouble with River's voice at a couple of points (the sex comment seemed just a little too obvious for her to me), but the rest of them are spot on ("like to hear about some coin, not some ruttin' history lesson", "not so often with the death-defying", "I'd say it holds a distant second", and everything Badger said).

And some really good one-liners (loved the use of preoccupied, "Hindsight's twenty-twenty", "I hate that colour on you"). Best scene I thought was the Wash-Mal interaction, which was lovely.

Can't wait for the next one, and I want more, more, more. Also, loved all three covers this week. Bought the Quesada Zoe cover, but hoping the collection has all in them.

sojourner | August 03, 22:13 CET

Goddamn I hope Joss and Brett do an ongoing at some point...

Me, I was just surprised that there are firm plans for a series of Serenity novels, as I discovered in the ad for the movie novelization.

@theonetruebix | August 03, 22:17 CET

I devoured #1 & #2 on the commute home tonight. Wow, how wonderful it felt to finally get back into the Fireflyverse!

The artwork is pretty good if a bit uneven. Conrad doesn't get Alan Tudyk's face quite right in any frame yet, but his face is probably the hardest to capture. And the dialogue (script by Brett Matthew) does justice to Joss' unique voice, even the sly slashy innuendo of "You do whatever it is to Reynolds that you stay up at night thinking about." Uh, okaaay. Hmmm, I'll be in my bunk!

punkinpuss | August 03, 22:25 CET

I adored the million little details in the main Dobson panel. The twenty different "Die, Reynolds!" and the scarecrow-Reynolds with the weapon stuck in it. Even carved right into the table. Chilling yet hilarious.

chickenbird | August 03, 22:44 CET

theonetruebix, valid points about River's voice on things, which makes Summer Glau's portrayal all the more amazing when you stop to think just how would she read this line or that. And some of the lines, heck, all of them, are, uhhhh, odd?

Drifter | August 04, 01:47 CET

In this particular comic, hearing the voices as the actors would say them is so easy, because the writing is great. I actually had no trouble hearing River's words. As theonetruebix says, if you imagine River's lines in Summer/River's voice, I think it works really well too, as do her other lines. I don't think I'm forcing anything. I've read plenty of comic dialogue with flat words at this point. I also agree that incoherent babbling by other writers can be a time/space filler, but it's not the case with River. She reflects what she sees, feels, and knows through her disjointed words and when you think about them, they really aren't disjointed observations at all. Except perhaps "I'm in a family way." :)

WhoIsOmega? | August 04, 06:41 CET

Really enjoyed the second issue, as the first was good but it just seemed all action. As always, I can't wait for the next one.

auferstehen | August 04, 07:05 CET

I read my copy last night. I think it's the first time years that I picked up a comic on the day it came out, since I mainly get trades these days. I thought it was a great issue and really kicks things up to high gear. Each issue almost feels like 15 to 20 minutes of an episode, giving it the feeling that the 3 issues are sort of like one episode of Firefly.

Also it makes me want to again curse Fox for cancelling Firefly once again, as I think that this might have been the season one finale for Firefly.

Matt_Fabb | August 04, 09:13 CET

Gah, despite my heads up warning yesterday I didn't get to the comic book shop in time. Will have to order from the States. Ah well, that'll teach me.

Simon | August 04, 11:03 CET

Also it makes me want to again curse Fox for cancelling Firefly once again, as I think that this might have been the season one finale for Firefly.

Matt_Fabb, that's exactly what I keep thinking. The pulling together of various familiar faces into one story suggests to me a season-ender, though I think it's mor likely that in tv form it would have been maybe a two-parter.

@theonetruebix | August 04, 17:46 CET

I went to my usual shop (Forbidden Planet in Manchester) at lunch time today and met my usual comic shopping companion there. She'd kindly picked up a copy of Book and Zoe for me as there weren't many left and she didn't know which I wanted. This was fine for me as I wanted Book but I'd taken orders for 2 Kaylee's and sadly there were none of them left. There is another comic shop close by though, slightly more expensive and fairly new so I only go there if I can't find what I want in FP. We went there and they didn't have any at all, so we asked and apparently they'd sold out really quickly as they didn't get enough (don't know how many they did get) so we went back to FP with the idea of buying 2 more Books and thankfully they'd restocked and so I managed to get 2 Kaylee's. Guess I should've asked there before trying the other shop. Still, nice to see #2 is going as quickly as #1 did.

I actually preferred #1 though I've not reread #2 yet so there's a chance my opinion will change. I also found it slightly strange that River said "It stinks like sex in here" but that didn't stop me laughing out loud at it, a lot. I also laughed at the Dobson panel that chickenbird describes.
All in all another excellent comic, roll on #3 and then Serenity. Hopefully with more comics to follow if only to bridge the gap between Serenity and it's damn near inevitable sequel.

Paul_Rocks | August 04, 19:33 CET

God, I loved the "stinks like sex" line. Laughed out loud. Loved Book punching Mal, good surprise since it was on the next page. Great comic, read it in the parking lot. Can't wait for the next one! I need a juicy Mal/Inara story!!!

Harmalicious | August 04, 21:14 CET