Serenity

    (Dark Horse, 2005-2006)
™ and ©2005 Universal Studios Licensing

Some truly wonderful things have sprung from the mind of Joss Whedon, perhaps the most important at this point being the seven year run of television’s underappreciated Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. It was less clear at the time of its cancellation whether short-lived Firefly belonged in this same category. Firefly’s quirky mélange of western and science fiction bore no resemblance to anything else on television at the time of its run, but managed to earn tentative critical praise and a small but devoted fan base. Whedon’s passion for the Firefly project and the commercial success of the series’ post-cancellation DVD release gave the franchise new life with the hotly-anticipated Fall 2005 release of the feature film Serenity.

Dark Horse released this three issue series co-written by Whedon with Brett Matthews to bridge the events bridging the end of the television series to the movie. Each issue has three variant covers that capture all nine members of the Serenity crew. Whedon put quip-laden dialog front and center and puckishly had the crew’s curse words rendered in Chinese characters without translation. This series functions not so much as an introduction for newbies, but as an appetite whetter for further adventures of the Serenity crew.

— Leland Burrill
Jump to issue:
  • 1-2
    #1 - 2nd printing
    Sep 2010
    Cover: $1.00
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews  ·  A: Will Conrad
    1st appearance of Book; 1st appearance of Inara; 1st appearance of Jayne; 1st appearance of Kaylee; 1st appearance of Malcolm Reynolds; 1st appearance of River; 1st appearance of Simon; 1st appearance of Wash; 1st appearance of Zoe; 28 pages; Takes place between TV series & ’’Serenity’’ movie
    3 copies from $3.50
  • 1/A
    #1 Variation A
    Mal Cover A by John Cassaday
    Jun 2005
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews  ·  A: Will Conrad
    1st appearance of Book; 1st appearance of Book (in comics); 1st appearance of Inara; 1st appearance of Inara (in comics); 1st appearance of Jayne; 1st appearance of Jayne (in comics); 1st appearance of Kaylee; 1st appearance of Kaylee (in comics); 1st appearance of Malcolm Reynolds; 1st appearance of Malcolm Reynolds (in comics); 1st appearance of River; 1st appearance of River (in comics); 1st appearance of Simon; 1st appearance of Simon (in comics); 1st appearance of Wash; 1st appearance of Wash (in comics); 1st appearance of Zoe; 1st appearance of Zoe (in comics); 28 pages; Takes place between TV series & ’’Serenity’’ movie
    2 copies from $7.95
  • 1/B
    #1 Variation B
    Jayne Cover B by Bryan Hitch
    Jun 2005
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews  ·  A: Will Conrad
    7 copies from $12.95
  • 1/C
    #1 Variation C
    Inara Cover C by J.G. Jones
    Jul 2005
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews  ·  A: Will Conrad
    1st appearance of Book; 1st appearance of Book (in comics); 1st appearance of Inara; 1st appearance of Inara (in comics); 1st appearance of Jayne; 1st appearance of Jayne (in comics); 1st appearance of Kaylee; 1st appearance of Kaylee (in comics); 1st appearance of Malcolm Reynolds; 1st appearance of Malcolm Reynolds (in comics); 1st appearance of River; 1st appearance of River (in comics); 1st appearance of Simon; 1st appearance of Simon (in comics); 1st appearance of Wash; 1st appearance of Wash (in comics); 1st appearance of Zoe; 1st appearance of Zoe (in comics); 28 pages; Takes place between TV series & ’’Serenity’’ movie
    2 copies from $9.98
  • 2/A
    #2 Variation A
    Book Cover A by Tim Bradstreet
    Jul 2005
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews  ·  A: Will Conrad
    2 copies from $9.50
  • 2/B
    #2 Variation B
    Kaylee Cover B by Jo Chen
    Jul 2005
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews  ·  A: Will Conrad
    1 copy for $12.98
  • 2/C
    #2 Variation C
    Zoe Cover C by Joe Quesada
    Jul 2005
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews  ·  A: Will Conrad
    3 copies from $7.50
  • 3/A
    #3 Variation A
    Simon Cover A by Leinil Francis Yu
    Sep 2005
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews  ·  A: Will Conrad
    2 copies from $3.25
  • 3/B
    #3 Variation B
    Wash Cover B by Sean Phillips
    Sep 2005
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews  ·  A: Will Conrad
    3 copies from $5.98
  • Bk 1
    Book #1
    Includes pin-ups of cover variants
    Jan 2006
    Cover: $9.95
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, Nathan Fillion  ·  A: Will Conrad, John Cassaday, Joe Quesada, Tim Bradstreet, Bryan Hitch, J.G. Jones, Jo Chen, Leinil Francis Yu, Joshua Middleton, Sean Phillips
    Collects #1-3 of series; Introduction by Nathan Fillion
    5 copies from $4.25
  • Bk 1/HC
    Book #1 Hardcover
    Includes pin-ups of cover variants
    Nov 2007
    Cover: $19.95
    W: Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, Nathan Fillion  ·  A: Will Conrad, John Cassaday, Joe Quesada, Tim Bradstreet, Bryan Hitch, J.G. Jones, Jo Chen, Leinil Francis Yu, Joshua Middleton, Sean Phillips
    Collects Serenity #1-3; Introduction by Nathan Fillion; Joss Whedon pre-production memo for the film“Serenity"text piece with pre-production art designs follows story
    1 copy for $125.00