Quick recap: On Earth That Was, WashBot led the crew to the Midwestern headquarters of Washburne Industries. Unfortunately for them, they’re not the only ones from their side of the ‘Verse that have discovered the Earth That Was. While most of the crew opted to make a run for it, Zoë takes a stand to protect the Washburne legacy.
Taking a stand against their aggressors, the Serenity crew resorts to the usual heroics and a bit of sheer dumb luck. We see perhaps the beginnings of a change of heart in Mal when he realizes that although Kaylee’s methods are different than his, her way does work, too. With some new allies on their side, the gang gears up for more conflict.
Six issues in, Greg Pak hits pretty close to the heart with the nostalgia and climate change commentary. The theme about those left behind is ongoing here, with the proper introduction of the “Earthers” that are descendants of the people left behind when the others took to the skies to get away from the environmental catastrophe that resulted from human narcissism. #StoriesMatter because, in this case, it almost feels like Pak’s just writing news commentary, with constant new warnings from climate scientists about seemingly inevitable climate disaster that we’re nowhere close to averting or even mitigating and the recent news about how a few billionaires are about to embark on a space jaunt. It’s almost like you can’t make this stuff up anymore.
Simona Di Gianfelice closes out her first arc on the series with lots of action and explode-y stuff. I do like the few character moments that she peppers in along the way to really keep the emotional connection to the crew. Francesco Segala’s colorwork telegraphs the emotional baggage of each of the scenes beautifully. Jim Campbell’s lettering is effective, as usual; they seem to fill the page with the characters’ words without feeling cluttered.
Overall, with the end of the first 6 issues, we see some new directions for some characters. The title of the next issue foreshadows some development for a character that has pretty much kept to the background for a while now.
Creative Team: Greg Pak (writer), Simona Di Gianfelice (art), Francesco Segala (colors), Jim Campbell (letterer)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Click here to purchase.