Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
When Whedon’s beloved TV show Firefly was canceled, fans were left with a little spaceship-shaped hole in their hearts. This second entry in the Serenity comic-book series, which essentially presents new episodes in graphic format, should help mollify them. Whedon’s sensibility works well here, as primary hero/rogue Mal Reynolds and his crew balance snarky asides and verbal sparring with cloaked sentimentality and plenty of western-styled space-opera action. While most of the in-jokes, character quirks, and background references will only resonate with those already in the know, that is a pretty sizable—and hungry—population in its own right. Grades 9-12. --Ian Chipman