Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #1 is written by Greg Pak, illustrated by Dan McDaid (with inks by Vincenzo Federici on pages 16-25), colored by Marcelo Costa, and lettered by Jim Campbell. It is published by BOOM! Studios. The conclusion to the first-ever Firefly crossover event sees Mal Reynolds and his crew dealing with the Blue Sun Corporation, who created androids based on Mal’s likeness. After a near-death experience that almost destroys Serenity, Mal resolves to take the fight to Blue Sun and their leader, Director Sang.
Pak’s script perfectly nails the tone and characterization of Firefly. Mal is still cunning and willing to fight for what’s right, even when outnumbered. Kaylee is still the plucky mechanic, and Wash is still the sardonic pilot, Jayne is still Jayne. Fans who love the show will definitely get a kick out of this issue. Pak also balances the various tones that showed up in a Firefly episode: humorous bits (most of them with Jayne) and rather touching moments. There is a heartwrenching scene toward the end with Mal and his mother, and it nearly made me shed a tear.
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McDaid’s art feels like the concept for a potential Firefly animated series. His character designs hew close to the actors’ likeness in the show without being a total replication. McDaid uses softer, fuller features for human characters and shaper, angular lines for spacecraft. Serenity, in particular, cuts through pages with the grace one would expect from its live-action counterpart. Perhaps the comic’s best image comes toward the end where McDaid draws a splash page of Serenity soaring through space, its Firefly effect activating and propelling it across the stars.
Rounding out the artistic team is Costa on colors. Costa has colored other books for BOOM!, including Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. With Blue Sun Rising, he utilizes earthen tones for most of the book, hewing to the Western roots of Firefly. The night sky is often a dark blue and fades to black whenever the Serenity enters space-a simple yet beautiful visual choice.
My main problem with this issue is that it came at the tail end of the “Blue Sun Rising” storyline and references previous elements that I missed out on. Every #1 should manage to ease the reader into the world the creators are building, not alienate them. Also, the Blue Sun comes off as rather unmenacing than previous antagonists, including Jubal Ealy and the Operative from the Serenity movie. I’d have preferred an aerial dogfight or a gunfight with Blue Sun having superior forces to prove their threat. When the most exciting sequence happens at the beginning of the book, that usually isn’t a good sign.
Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #1 manages to capture the Firefly television series’s spirit, although newcomers may feel a little lost. I would suggest reading the Firefly comic from the beginning for readers old and new or starting at the beginning of the Blue Sun Rising event.
Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #1 is available now wherever comics are sold.
Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #1
TL;DR
Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #1 manages to capture the Firefly television series’s spirit, although newcomers may feel a little lost. I would suggest reading the Firefly comic from the beginning for readers old and new or starting at the beginning of the Blue Sun Rising event.
