New Beginnings - Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1

by Matt Puddy

Joss Whedon has a good amount to answer for, especially in some fans' eyes, both good and bad. One of those points would be the TV series Firefly and the subsequent film Serenity. Many people loved them both, and Fox's decision to cancel the series meant that the void has been filled by the aforementioned film, alongside various novels and comics set within their 'Verse, cementing the cult status that it has achieved.

Continuing the canon from Firefly and Serenity, Dark Horse brings us a new Serenity comic series with Leaves on the Wind. Also “keeping it in the family,” the series is written by Zack Whedon, one of Joss’s younger brothers (his other younger brother Jed is currently working on Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD), while Joss himself is acting as an executive producer. It's been over three years since The Shepherd's Tale, the last Serenity comic from Dark Horse (not counting the Free Comic Book Day 2012 short story, both of which were also written by Zack Whedon) and it's fair to say the anticipation is high. This is the first story set after the events of the film, aside from the Float Out one-shot.

Having not read any of those other comics or novels though, my exposure is purely through the series and the film. Despite this I felt comfortable straight away as things picked up less than a year after Serenity ended. The story opens with a fierce televised political debate over the existence of the planet called Miranda whose millions of inhabitants were allegedly either murdered or turned into the cannibalistic psychopath Reavers. The public face of things is in dispute over what is really going on. From a military point of view though things are far more clear and sadly too close to the truth for their own liking which makes Malcolm Reynolds a very wanted man. The trouble is no one knows where he is or how to find him, and he intends on keeping it like that. It’s only aboard Firefly - where we learn of the absence of Jayne and continue to feel the loss of the late Wash and Shepherd Book - that we see all of the crew, including a heavily pregnant Zoe (apparently first introduced in the Float Out one-shot). The pregnancy is coming to term, and some complications on baby Emma’s arrival into the world mean that Firefly’s crew are no longer afforded the luxury of obscurity and have to come back into the light, which also means the firing line.

We do also get a glimpse of Jayne as well, who true to form has a price which is met when the newly formed and slowly growing Resistance enlist his services to find Mal. For once though it’s not to kill him or hunt him, but because they believe he will be their salvation.

The team of Zack Whedon and artist Georges Jeanty have produced a story and comic that is very easy on the eye, and easily fits in with everything I already knew. Jeanty is no stranger to Joss Whedon characters having pencilled most of Buffy Season Eight. The depictions of characters, with some minor exceptions, are identifiable and the dialogue even sounded like the actors in my head, complete with Malcolm’s drawl. In total it felt right - a good story and a great follow up to the film. As I said I had no clue about what happened in the other arcs prior to this, but that wasn’t needed either. It does require the reader to at least be familiar with the TV series and the film, but that's hardly a stretch for most discerning comic readers!

I would hope that fans of Serenity will love this comic; it’s a great continuation of Whedon’s world but I also know how critical they can be. Thankfully most Browncoats seem to be overwhelmingly supportive! For me it was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Matt Puddy is contemplating fleeing for his life from crazed zombies in Cardiff.

The Watcher - Marvel's Avengers Assemble

Dreams do indeed come true, over the last few years we’ve seen the threads of the Marvel universe come together and finally we see the culmination of all of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Most thought this ambitious task to be impossible, how could you make a movie with all these massive characters and their varied worlds and succeed? One man, Joss Whedon was assigned to orchestrate this very task and by Odin succeed he did! Every star has their moment to shine, all while making the best superhero action flick yet.

Loki returns and plans to rain destruction down on earth by using the Tesseract to allow an unknown alien force called the Chitauri to invade our planet. This obviously gains the attention of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D - Fury decides that it is about time to bring together our heroes and find the troublesome demigod along with the Tesseract.

While on the awesome looking S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier the egos of our big heroes begin to clash as Loki gets under their skin. It takes one good man to bring them together as a team - all they needed was that little push. Once united they stand tall ready to defend Earth, the following battle with the Chitauri is immense. Each Avenger shows why they’re part of the team and how the down to earth characters like Black Widow, Hawkeye and Captain America can stand next to the more monumental Hulk, Thor and Iron Man and be their equals.

Joss manages to pulls strong performances out of all the cast members - he makes the characters and their motives believable. You will see that while they may be super-solders, intellectual giants, gods and raging green monsters, they’re all still like us at heart - not perfect.

Robert Downey Jr presents his usual swagger as Iron Man, Chris Evans is ever the honest leader as Captain America and Chris Hemsworth as Thor brings the Yin to Loki’s Yang. It's a shame his relationship with Jane Foster only briefly gets touched on. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is a lot less of a brat this time around, he is much more full of evil and disdain, driven on by the ordeal of his exile from Asgard.

Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk is great - as Banner he’s bigger than what we’ve been used to but at the same time very quiet and vulnerable. Using motion capture on his face adds a lot more of an emotional element, making his initial transformation into the Hulk quite intense and rather scary.

Last but not least, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) both kick ass - a lot. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) seems to show more of his deceptive side but it’s all still for the greater good. As always, Agent Phil Coulson played by Clark Gregg is wonderful and has some great moments, he will forever be a favourite of mine. Finally, newcomer Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)  doesn't have a lot to do after the opening sequence, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of her in the future.

I struggled to find negative points to write about. I did see it in 3D and it didn’t add a lot but it didn’t feel intrusive ether. The few things that were niggling at me were the Chitauri being an army of faceless drones, ready to be beaten with little insight into their further motivations. Their massive battleships reminded me a little to much of the Transformers movies too. A couple of things were also left unexplained, like Thor’s hesitation to pick up his hammer - is this a worry about whether he is worthy? And was Loki’s staff affecting the emotions of our heroes, we’re just left to assume that this is the case. These are only really very small complaints and they don’t spoil the experience one bit.

During the earlier promotional interviews for the film, it was said that this would not be like Whedon’s usual work. This worried me due to the fact I loved most of his previous creations. Fear not! His trademark clever writing and wit is present in bucket loads, I laughed out loud and squealed with geek joy many times. He also directs the big blockbuster action sequences brilliantly, the movie feels big! It runs at two and half hours in length but never feels overly long, the editing keeps the pace up and gives the story chance to unfold nicely.

All that is left to say is assemble and enjoy the ride!

Stefan Harkins may go to see this movie again and again!

The Lion's Share - Avengers Assemble

It's almost here. Tomorrow, Joss Whedon's Avengers movie opens in UK cinemas.

I grew up reading comic books - getting a weekly issue of Transformers from our local newsagent, delivered with the newspaper. Transformers UK featured a serialised chunk of the monthly Transformers US comic, an original black and white Transformers comic by British creators, and a reprint of something else. For a brief time, it was Iron Man - in his red and silver Centurion armour heyday.

It was my first exposure to American superheroes and I loved it. Eventually Tony was replaced by Visionaries and finally Action Force/GI Joe, but I never forgot the Armoured Avengers. Years later as a college student, I found an American comic shop in Swindon - True Believers. It was during the chaos of the Onslaught saga, but as the dust settled Marvel announced two things that caught my interest. The first was the Thunderbolts - which remains one of my favourite comics fifteen years later. Though, quick aside - damn you Marvel for rebranding it as Dark Avengers in the coming months - that sucks.

The second was Heroes Reborn - the classic Avengers titles, reimagined by Image creators. I loved the chance to pick up an all new Iron Man comic and enjoyed the way the Hulk's origin was linked to Tony becoming Iron Man. Sadly the Heroes Reborn experiment was as flawed as it was inventive and eventually the idea was shelved, replaced by the Heroes Return titles. With Thunderbolt's co-creator Kurt Busiek at the head of both Avengers and Iron Man, this was a golden age for this fan.

Heroes Reborn however, did lead the way to the Ultimate universe and following the success of Ultimate Spidey and Ultimate X-Men, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch brought us the incredible Ultimates book (coming soon - Why Should I Read... The Ultimates!). This arguably gave a fresh modern take on the Avengers that incorporated the Millar/Hitch "widescreen" flavour of comic storytelling. It seemingly became the blueprint for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with the incredible Iron Man film.

2008 will always have a special place in my heart. I opened my own comic shop! After years of working for others I was finally my own master. Then Marvel gave us the most amazing superhero film with Iron Man. Managing to be both respectful to the source material and yet forging its own story, the film combined action with real emotion and gravitas plus a great sense of humour.

The post credits scene hinted at a larger shared story to come, with Samuel L Jackson bringing the Ultimate Nick Fury to life. The Incredible Hulk movie a few months later chased the taste of the Ang Lee travesty out of my mouth and continued to show that there was a larger plan behind these movies. After that came Iron Man 2 and that first glimpse of Thor's hammer. At the end of Thor, we saw the cosmic cube (aka the Tesseract) that was a key plot point in Captain America, and at the end of Cap, we find Steve in present day ready for a new mission. Help save the world.

(There are so many more connections between the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, from the super soldier serum in The Incredible Hulk, to the Tesseract in Iron Man 2 and the World Tree in Captain America - it's a wonderfully rich tapestry that reveals the shared universe ethos of Marvel comics transposed onto the big screen.)

So, for me, Avengers Assemble is the most anticipated film of the year. Sure, I've obsessively watched the Prometheus trailer. I've devoured every bit of info on The Dark Knight Rises. And I've championed The Amazing Spider-Man even in the face of that dire Mirror's Edge-style sequence in the first trailer. But Avengers is the one for me this year.

To that end, on Thursday 26th April, Proud Lion will not be opening until 2pm. In the morning, this self-employed smuck with no company or statutory sick pay and no minimum four weeks holiday a year, is taking the morning off. I'll be making a fannish pilgrimage to Cineworld, to see the first showing of Avengers Assemble.

Then as a reward for your patience, I'll be open 2-6pm and there'll be a special bonus. 

ALL AVENGERS STOCK WILL BE 20% OFF! FOR ONE AFTERNOON ONLY!

That includes comics, graphic novels, action figures, t-shirts. It also includes Avengers team members' solo stuff such as Iron Man, Cap, Thor, Black Widow and even Spidey and Wolverine. It even includes Reservation Service folder comics. It DOES NOT include back issues from upstairs though. Sorry about that.

So, come on down from 2pm and grab a bargain. Just remember, I'll be closed tomorrow morning. Just this once.

Ben Fardon CAN.NOT.WAIT!

The Watcher - Cabin In The Woods

Right, where do I begin with The Cabin in the Woods?

It's a movie written and directed by Drew Goddard (Cloverfield) and Joss Whedon. The basic premise is one you’ll be familiar with, a group of friends decide to take a break and spend their vacation ‘off the grid’ within a cabin deep in the woods. Sounds like your average slasher horror right? Think again! We have the standard horror trope characters - the virgin, the stoner, the jock, the intellectual and the slut. But as the group start to discover the mysteries of the cabin, the layers are pealed away for us as well. You will reach a point where you feel like you’ve guessed the endgame, think again! As everything is turned up another notch and we start to hit batshit crazy territory!

And to be honest that is all I can tell you about the story without spoiling it. I would even go as far to say avoid all further buzz about this movie. Just go and watch it fresh, hell don’t even watch the trailer and definitely avoid spoilers!

Shockingly the filming for the movie actually began in 2009 under MGM studios, but due to the studio filing for bankruptcy in 2010 the movie never reached release. So there it sat, gathering dust until thankfully Lionsgate decided to pick it up. The script only took Whedon and Goddard three days to write and they’ve both expressed that it’s a devotion to classic horror. They feel that a lot of the modern day horror movies have moved a little too close to sadistic torture porn and are actually missing what makes horror great.

Goddard had previously written episodes of both Buffy and Angel with Joss but also Alias and Lost with J.J. Abrams. And trust me it shows, this was his directorial debut (with Joss working second unit) but you wouldn’t have guessed it. Their script and the way the direction is handled is exceptional, layers of tension, action and comedy all built upon each other. They definitely work to show you that the best way to break the rules is to first, know how they work.

All the actors in the group fulfill their allotted roles wonderfully, Kristen Connolly as the slightly shy and nerdy friend who would rather stay and study but is being dragged along anyway. Fran Kranz as the massive stoner who has a different and more paranoid view on life. Chris Hemsworth as the leader and sports star boyfriend. Jesse Williams as his more intellectual best friend and Anna Hutchison as the very outgoing girlfriend whose talent for kissing stuffed animal heads was so raunchy it gave me a bit of a husband bulge!

I cannot finish without mentioning some other noteworthy performances, particularly Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) and Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) as long suffering co-workers but also lets not forget the awesome Whedon-verse regulars Amy Acker and Tom Lenk make great additions as well. Plus a very special, nudge your friend, jaw dropping cameo...but shhh thats enough of that!

Lets just say if you go down to the woods on April 13th you’ll sure to be in for a big surprise!

Stefan Harkins wants that bong dammit!

FACT x IMPORTANCE = NEWS

A much quieter week this week, but there are a few odd gems that stand out. Here it is, the best in TV, film, gaming and comic book news from across sci-fi, fantasy and more.

A STAKE THROUGH THE HEART

I'm sure you've heard about this already, but for the one person who just got back from Narnia, here it is again. Warner Brothers have decided to reboot Buffy The Vampire Slayer, WITHOUT the character's creator Joss Whedon.

Sadly the rights to Buffy reside with the director of the original 1992 film starring Kirsty Swanson. The studio has optioned the rights from Fran Rubel Kuzui, her husband Kaz Kuzui and Sandollar Productions. The reboot will be produced by Atlas Entertainment from script by Whit Anderson. Anderson is an actress turned screenwriter, so that'll be good (sarcasm mode off).

Kristin Dos Santos from E! Online emailed Joss Whedon for his reaction and received this beautiful (and paraphrased) email:

Kristin, I'm glad you asked for my thoughts on the announcement of Buffy the cinema film. This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.

I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don't love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I'm also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can't wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I'm making a Batman movie. Because there's a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.

Leave me to my pain! Sincerely, Joss Whedon.

To read the full article and email, head to E! Online.

Just to make you laugh even more, Kirsty Swanson has expressed interest in reprising the role.

Former Buffy and Angel stars documented many of their reactions on Twitter. Eliza Dusku had this to say, "Joss made the "Buffster" & w/out him... I just don't trust the girl. Or the world."

Here, here.

Finally, over on the set of Bones, creator Hart Hanson tweeted this picture of him and David Boreanaz saying, "I just informed DB that they are remaking Buffy."

WHO'S THAT COMING DOWN THE CHIMNEY?

Last Friday saw Children in Need bring us our first glimpse of A Christmas Carol, the festive episode of Doctor Who.

‎"Amy and Rory are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way The Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser, in a festive edition of the time-travelling adventure, written by Steven Moffat. But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve?

Amy Pond is played by Karen Gillan, Rory Williams by Arthur Darvill, The Doctor by Matt Smith and Kazran Sardick by Michael Gambon."

A Christmas Carol will transmit on December 25th, in both the UK and the USA. This will be the first time the Christmas special has been seen on the same day on both sides of the Atlantic. Great news!

JUST WHY?

To being our wrap up for this week, SFX have the first set photos from the filming of Ghost Rider 2 - though I'm struggling to care.

GOING BATTY

Following up on our early review of Batman, Inc. - Grant Morrison spoke to Comic Book Resources about the future of the new title.

GHOSTLY BOOCHIES

Kevin Smith finishes his run on Green Hornet this week. He also spoke to Comic Book Resources - all the cool kids are doing it.

Speaking of Kevin Smith, here's the teaser poster for his new, independent horror film. Something different from the Bluntman. I have high hopes. See you next week.

Ben Fardon hasn't written the word "Snoogans" in years. Thankfully, that is now remedied.

Serenity and Firefly fans! Wash one-shot! Shiny...

Here's some news that Browncoats have been eagerly awaiting!

Firstly in early June, we get a one-shot comic book looking at the late and great Hoban Washburne. Two covers available. We're taking pre-orders now. Email your order to shop@proudlion.co.uk.

SERENITY: FLOAT OUT

Patton Oswalt (W), Patric Reynolds (A), Dave Stewart (C), Frank Stockton (Cover), and Jo Chen (Cover)

On sale June 2

FC, 40 pages

$3.50 (Proud Lion price: £2.75)

One-Shot

Acclaimed writer/actor/comedian Patton Oswalt (The Goon, Batman, JLA, Dollhouse, Ratatouille) brings back one of Firefly’s most beloved characters in this special spotlight issue!

Always ready with a brilliant aerial maneuver and a terrible one-liner, Wash was pilot of the Firefly-class ship Serenity in Joss Whedon’s cult-classic TV series before being killed in the movie. Float Out includes three brand-new stories of Wash in a series of exciting smuggling raids, each providing a hair-raising escape or daring last-minute rescue! Featuring a cameo that will leave Serenity fans reeling, this special one-shot presents new tales of the Serenity universe’s past and tantalizing hints about its future!

Acclaimed writer/actor/comedian Patton Oswalt pens Serenity!

Then in November we FINALLY get the Shepherd Book miniseries! Comic Book Resources have a full confirmation here along with interviews with some of the people involved.

Four little titbits of information to tide you over till then.

Derrial Book is known for his biggest mistake.

Derrial is not his real name, he took that name from a man he killed.

A part of him is artificial.

He found God in a bowl of soup.

When we get the full solicitation for the miniseries, I'll post it here. Should be in September's Previews catalogue.

Keep flying.