Aiming To Not Misbehave — Reviewing ‘Firefly: The Fall Guys’

There are bad days and there are really bad days. Then there’s the crew of the Serenity level bad days. On the scale of one to ten, their bad days are probably a solid fifty.

In the case of Firefly: The Fall Guys, the score might be more of like 100.

Everyone’s backs are against the wall when an assassination is pinned on the shoulders of our crooks with hearts of gold. Sam Humphries, Jordi Pérez, Francesco Segala, Gloria Martinelli, and Jim Campbell put the characters back in a place they know too well: on the run.

Half of the fun with any story involving the crew of Serenity is just how bonkers they are, bouncing off one another, finding absurdity even in the direst circumstances. Humphries nails this tonal uniqueness, throwing some of his own flair into the mix. There is a ton going on in this series, lots of moving parts, character motivations, dealing with demons, and plenty of gun-slinging action and fascist power moves. None of it feels cramped or rushed, the pacing on point allowing everything in the room to breathe.

That being said, there are some bits that dip in the middle. Chiefly surrounding the hollow ‘cardboard cutout’ feeling new foes known as the Archambeau gang. Surface level traits are all there seems to be room to explore for them, and it leads to a couple of issues feeling sort of stand-still when it comes to the plot and character progression aspects.

There was little reason for being six issues long. Conservatively, I would wager we could cut out enough excess to peg this mini-series at three to four issues. Not that I want less work for people, perish the thought. Trim up the repeated beats and give us more time with Zoe and her struggle, making her the clear focus of the run, and we’re cooking with gas.

Every time Pérez draws these characters and the world they inhabit, it brings a smile.

Giving everything the right amount of dusty roughness that fits the sci-fi western vibes we love. Enough action is at hand to let the panels get up to speed and move the characters around. Even in the more static standing around pages, there is just enough crackling energy to make things work. . A lot of sharp edges married with a clean sort of smooth/slick sheen on top.

Characters resemble what we see in the mind, but are not exact duplicates. Emotions are so clear they might as well be shouting at us from the page. Each face really sells what is happening as these beloved characters do what they do best.

Pairing that with the colors of Segala and Martinelli is always a solid match. Part of the aforementioned roughness comes from the heavily shadowed and weighty color palette choices. Many of the colors are very muted or almost washed out, giving things a worn-out sort of appearance.

At the same time, a uniqueness is at play. Space feels appropriately dark and cold, compared to how bright and hot the sunny points of Beloved feel. Similarly, the scenes of Beloved that take place at night feel quite right. Shifts to the lighting aspects that create an accurately feeling oppressive and heavy darkness.

All the quipping and bouncing back and forth, as well as the utterly delightful character caption intros, are energetic and lively. Campbell makes the lettering side look easy, as usual. Making sure that the characters voices are clear, unique, and powerful as they bounce around the page. Giving everything the right flavor so that we play it out accurately in our heads. Taking advantage of the great panel choices to let the words frame and stand firm beside the rest of the artwork.

Firefly: The Fall Guys is now available from BOOM! Studios.