Fray

I don't remember exactly when I wanted to read Joss Whedon's Fray, but I imagine it was back in school around when I took a course on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Whatever the case, I've had the graphic novel since October 2012 (the packing slip from Amazon was still in the book).  So that's almost three years where I've wanted to read it but kept putting it off.

Fray is set in the same universe as the whole Buffy series, but hundred of years in the future.  Magic and demons have long been gone from the world and so no girls have been chosen to be the Slayer.  Until now.  Melaka Fray is the best grabber in Manhattan.  But when a man tells her she's the Chosen One (before lighting himself on fire) and a demon shows up in her apartment, her world starts to spin in crazy directions.  It seems that the Lurkers (people everyone thinks are just diseased) are actually really weak vampires.  And someone has found a way to both organize them AND open a portal to Hell.  To beat them, Fray needs to embrace her destiny as the Slayer.  Unfortunately she is missing a large part of her heritage - she has the Slayer's strength, but not the psychic connection to the Slayers who have come before her.  She's also not exactly a leader, which is what is needed for the coming war...

I honestly really enjoyed reading Fray. I loved how crazy she was, but also how human: here was a girl who was dealt a rather rough hand who manages to rise up to the challenges before her.  Sure, she may stumble along the way.  But that really makes her human.  I was actually rather sad when the book ended - sure the story was wrapped up.  But I really want to know what happens next!!!

Serenity: the Shepherd's Tale

I was really excited when I found out what the 3rd Serenity graphic novel was going to be. Shepherd Book is an amazing character who has remained shrouded in mystery. And after the events of the movie Serenity, it seemed like that was how he would remain. But then out came Zack Whedon's Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale which promised to shed some light on his mysterious past.

Unfortunately, I was expecting something a bit more from Book. There is nothing really wrong with his back-story here (and there's even a few really cool details), but I was expecting him to be like a crazy-awesome bounty hunter or a special forces operative (spoiler alert: he's neither). So while this is a neat story, especially with the way it is written (every few pages goes back in time a few years in his life), it failed to live up to my admittedly high expectations.

Serenity: Better Days

Last Monday, I wandered into Chapters with a friend. Looking around the graphic novel section, there was still only Serenity: Those Left Behind. And then I wandered back to Chapters on Sunday, and suddenly there was a new Serenity graphic novel on the shelf! I was really excited and bought it right away.

I have had Volume 1, Those Left Behind for quite awhile. I bought it when I first saw it in Chapters. It bridges the tv show and the movie, but it wasn't really spectacular.

Better Days was, overall, a better read than Those Left Behind. In Better Days, the Serenity crew finds themselves very rich. So a lot of the story revolves around the crew discussing what each individual member would do with their share of the money (River's was fantastic! I laughed so hard when I saw it!)

However, Better Days was not without problems. The end was a bit confusing. I read it twice, and I sort of get what Inara means now. But in my opinion, I really shouldn't have had to reread the ending at all! The other thing that I would have liked to know is where this story takes place in the whole scheme of things. Does it take place after the movie? Or before it?

Like I did say earlier though, Better Days was a better story than Those Left Behind. Overall, it is easier to follow, and has a lot more action in it. Better Days is a great new story featuring everyone's favourite spaceship and crew.