Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #3

By Zack Whedon, Georges Jeanty, Karl Story & Laura Martin

For those who have been following along, this review will likely read much like those of the first two installments from Leaves on the Wind. However, this also speaks to the sheer consistency of the creative team behind this Serenity story.

With three issues into this mini-series, we’ve now reached the halfway point. While every aspect of Leaves on the Wind has been perfectly executed and very enjoyable, it should be noted that the actual pacing of the story may be one of the strongest factors here. As in previous months, issue #3 really nails the timing required for excellent storytelling with an excellent overall pace. This book is constantly moving the story forward from a few different angles, but each side gets an appropriate amount of time that really helps even out the many perspective shifts. Furthermore, the character interactions are always very enjoyable and sincere.

The opening sequence features some pretty wild visions experienced by River in her voluntary medically-induced coma. This was not only really creepy, but it effectively served to hint at the direction the crew of Serenity should take next; exciting to say the least! However, the conflict with Jubal has also reached an interesting and fairly unexpected turn. Again though, Zack Whedon carries this wonderful story through the pitch-perfect dialogue. The writing in this series has been surprisingly good, while Whedon consistently demonstrates just how well he understands each and every one of these characters and their respective relationships with perfect dialogue and language throughout. As always, Leaves on the Wind #3 fits right in with the original franchise while still feeling fresh and even a bit deeper.

Georges Jeanty and Karl Story are on visual duties again and their work is a big contributing factor to the excellent consistency of Serenity. The characters really look like their source personas, at least more often than not. The overall attention to detail throughout each panel is really quite impressive and provides a very immersive experience. Of course, Laura Martin’s color work also adds a lot to the overall depth and immersive sensibility of the book. All of the backgrounds are fully fleshed out and the colors are quite vibrant, even throughout some of the darker sequences.  As a whole, everything looks quite realistic and well-designed while remaining true to the visuals of the source material.

Leaves on the Wind has been a really fun book and issue #3 more than kept up with previous installments. The story is exciting and engaging, the characters and dialogue are a perfect match for the original Firefly and Serenity, and there is never any slack given to the plot development. This will definitely be an enjoyable read for both old and new fans.