With both sides of the team firmly on Earth That Was, a confrontation is due, especially given the diverging interests between Team Firefly and Team Earthers. With things primed to go sideways… well, here we are.

If we had to sum this issue up in a few sentences, well, the Serenity team and their friends are reunited under unexpected circumstances, and while Kaylee has always been a breath of fresh air on the crew, she’s quickly proving that she’s a capable Captain and her gentle nature should not be mistaken for naivety.

It’s kind of amazing to me that Greg Pak has been writing this series for about 3 years now. In so many ways, Pak’s contribution to the story has greatly expanded the ‘Verse, and taking us back to where the story truly began – a commentary on capitalism and its ill effects on the environment – seems to be a pretty great pivot. It continues to feel current while still giving us plenty of drama and character moments. This arc has felt a bit on the slow side so far, with a lot of emphasis on building up the new status quo, but that’s not me saying that it’s been boring. Far from it, the new direction has opened up a lot of fascinating avenues, some of which paralleled the “Brand New ‘Verse” series.

Simona di Gianfelice is back on art duties, and their linework maintains all the high points of their previous work on the series. The action is dynamic and there are some really nice bits of character work. Not much more you could ask for, really. Francesco Segala also returns to the series, and the warm dusky tones of his colorwork somehow give me post-apocalyptic Earth and also a warm sense of nostalgia at the same time. Jim Campbell has been with this series since the beginning (or at least as long as I can remember) and his work has been stellar throughout the run, too. So much so that I look forward to reading this title every month, and honestly, any time I see his name associated with a project, I have instant high standards for it.

Overall, things are ratcheting up to something big, and I feel like Earth That Was could do without the drama of more human crap, but hey, let’s see what fresh, new hell our species can wreak on the planet.

Creative Team: Greg Pak (writer), Simona di Gianfelice (art), Francesco Segala (colorist), Jim Campbell (letterer)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
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