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‘Firefly #19:’ Advance Comic Book Review

Quick recap of “New Sheriff in the ‘Verse” so far: The Chang-Benitez gang came up against the Bandit King and refused his protection for a cut of their takings. Mal arrested them in order to protect them from Blue Sun’s massively overpowered enforcers, but the merry trio are busted out of jail… by the Bandit King.  

Despite being well-loved by the little people, Mal finds himself increasingly at odds with the wealthy. I guess doing good and holding the corrupt accountable has a way of doing that.

Man, if Chapter 6 of “New Sheriff in the ‘Verse” took us on a wild ride, Chapter 7 kinda throws off the safety rails. This is an issue that merits a reread once you get to the twist at the end, just to catch all of the breadcrumbs that Greg Pak dropped along the way.

This arc has been a rollercoaster so far, and with that plot twist you don’t see coming, Greg Pak takes his work on this series to a whole new level. One of the things that has always struck me about his writing on this series so far has been how dense each arc actually is, with many moving parts, and watching how those parts come together is just so satisfying. That being said, the stories never feel leaden which I attribute to Pak’s deftness. A thing I’ve really appreciated about this arc is how heavily political it is, which I feel honors the spirit of the franchise. Stories have the ability to bridge political factions in a way that rallies, speeches, and debate can’t. That’s because stories have a way of seeking universal truths and expressing a collective human-ness which can sometimes transcend even hardline ideologies. Firefly can just be a charming story about a bunch of try-good space pirates. But is it really? In short, #StoriesMatter.

Lalit Kumar Sharma’s work is pretty astounding in this issue. It’s especially good once you realize how intentional certain angles are and how they help to heighten the drama.  Francesco Segala’s colors continue to give life to these pages, whether it’s the cold emptiness of space or the blaze of an inferno. Furthermore, they really clue you in to the characters’ state of mind, too. In an excellent issue like this, all the working parts have to come together seamlessly, and Jim Campbell’s excellent lettering really sells the script, keeping the mystery going until the very end!

Overall, in a battle of wits, Mal proves to be “smarter than he appears,” but will that be enough to get him and his through this alive?          

Creative Team: Greg Pak (writer), Lalit Kumar Sharma (art), Francesco Segala (colors), Jim Campbell (letterer)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Click here to purchase.

Wenxian Tan, Fanbase Press Contributor

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