Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #2
Firefly Class 03-K64
Written by Zack Whedon
Pencils by Georges Jeanty
Inks by Karl Story
Colors by Laura Martin
Letters by Michael Heisler
Covers by Dan Dos Santos, and Georges Jeanty with Karl Story & Laura Martin
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 26, 2014
Cover Price: $3.50

The second installment of Serenity: Leaves On The Wind, written by Zack Whedon with art by Georges Jeanty, sets the stage for the overall plotline in this comic book arc. It introduces a new enemy to be reviled, as Commander Rodgers replaces The Operative from the movie and appears to be more of a military resource then an Agent assassin. Though at the moment, Rodgers doesn’t appear to have a better plan than his predecessor.

The real excitement in this installment is the return of everyone’s favorite bounty hunter since Boba Fett: Jubile Early. Complete with his cool red armor and peculiar speech patterns, Jubile Early demonstrates why he is the most formidable enemy the Serenity crew encountered during Firefly‘s all too brief run on television. If there is any disappointment to be found it is in the fact that Jubile’s plan hasn’t changed at all either. You can argue that his technique is successful but over all, Serenity isn’t showing us anything new. Same evil government, same evil plan, rehash best villain.

Serenity: Leaves On The Wind #1
Written by Zack Whedon
Illustrated by Georges Jeanty
Colored by Laura Martin
Lettered by Michael Heisler
Executive Produced by Joss Whedon
Cover by Dan Dos Santos
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 29, 2014
Cover Price: $3.50

Picking up right after the events of the film Serenity, Serenity: Leaves On The Wind finds the Firefly ‘verse in turmoil over the revelation that the Alliance created the cannibalistic Reavers. Mal and the crew of the Firefly class ship Serenity are laying low, though. Despite their victory over the Alliance, they are deeply injured by losses of their own. But with the ‘verse ready to once again challenge the power of the Alliance, a leader is needed… and that leader is Captain Mal. If he can be found.

Comic book spin-off series are always a scary venture for fans. Beloved properties are often mistreated and bland versions of the universes they present. Dark Horse, however, has pulled together a fantastic team for Serenity: Leaves On The Wind and this title feels like a true follow-up to Joss Whedon’s Firefly television series and Serenity film.

Fear Itself #1
Written by Matt Fraction
Pencils by Stuart Immonen
Inks by Wade Von Grawbadger
Colors by Laura Martin
Letters by Chris Eliopoulos
Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Release date: April 6, 2011

There is a delicate line between the amount of realism that I am looking for in my fantasy escapism and Fear Itself, the newest event from Marvel Comics, straddles the line very closely. The series, written by Matt Fraction with art by Stuart Immonen, is the next in a line of Marvel books that have taken a more “realistic” look at the world in comics. Marvel has prided itself by taking place in a world very much like our own. The President in our world is the President in the Marvel U. Problems in our world become problems in their world. They have examined many real world issues, such as drug use in Spider-Man, racism in Uncanny X-Men, and a host of other topics. However, I have to question just how much realism can exist in a fantastic world filled with colorful characters fighting against villains who can be blamed for all of society’s ills. How much realism is too much, and can real world issues exist in a world where they could be conceivably solved by the characters within that universe? I don’t just read comics for fun, I want my mind to be involved and I want the comics I read to inform the world around me. On the other hand, I still want to have fun while reading my comics, and I will admit that they are a form of escapism from the reality of my everyday life. So when reading this issue, I had to decide how much realism do I want, and how much do I just want to escape into a world where problems can be solved by an Ultimate Nullifier.

Thor #610
Written by: Kieron Gillen
Art by: Doug Braithwaite
Colors by: Andy Troy, Doug Braithwaite, & Paul Mounts
Letters by: Joe Sabino
Cover by: Mico Suayan & Laura Martin
Marvel Comics
Price: $2.99
Release Date: May 26, 2010

Well Thor enthusiasts, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the wrap up of Siege in Thor #610 was very well done and Kieron Gillen is doing an awesome job keeping up with almost all aspects from issue #1 of J. Michael Straczynski’s run. The bad news is we had an art change and I for one don’t feel like Doug Braithwaite is fully grasping all the characters yet.

This Siege Epilogue did a great job of wrapping up all of the things covered in Siege. but I do wish there was a little more set up for the future of the book. There is some dialogue that foreshadows but it is in the slowest section of the book. My favorite parts are with Kelda and Valkyrie going to see Bill in his afterlife, Volstagg trying to make up for his mistake, and Thor being welcomed back just as Ragnarok needs to be defeated.

Siege #4
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Olivier Coipel
Inker: Mark Morales
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Release date: May 12, 2010

I’ve written about the previous three issues of this series, so I may as well go four for four. The first three issues of this series were great, and fortunately, the end of the series does not disappoint. Siege #4 wraps up the story well, and sets up the new status quo where our heroes can work in the light and we don’t have to see Norman Osborn in fifteen different titles each month. With this issue writer Brian Michael Bendis closes a storyline that basically started all the way back with Avengers: Disassembled. Now we get to see what he does next.

Since this is the end of the story, in classic comic book fashion, we get a big throw down of a fight, this time it’s between the Sentry’s evil side, and the assembled Avengers, Young Avengers, and Nick Fury’s young heroes. There are a couple of not really surprising deaths in this issue and each one is handled pretty well.