FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 9TH

It’s typically a good idea to regard any spin-off media as a remix of the source material. Getting bogged down as to ‘how true to the source’ a particular thing is rarely works out well. Firefly: New Sheriff in the ‘Verse is a great example of this; the book takes the well-loved characters from the TV show Firefly and takes them in an unexpected direction. This is a book that makes liar, cheat, and all-round scoundrel Mal Reynolds the new Sherriff in town.

It shouldn’t work. You shouldn’t be able to cut and paste any old Spaghetti Western cliché into Firefly and have it be fun. But it does. Mal is strong-armed by the alliance into the role of Sherriff for a back-water world. He pairs up with a cyborg friend and the rest of the Firefly cast are pretty much relegated to supporting character status. None of this fits with the established world of Firefly and it feels like a different book cosplaying as the well-loved show. But somehow it’s still fun.

This is partly due to Lalit Kumar Sharma’s art, which lends a sort of ‘rebel storybook’ style to the work. Francesco Segala’s understated and washed-out colours and Jim Campbell’s clear and vivid lettering also stand out. Greg Pak’s story is okay, but it’s the art that sells it. This is an entertaining book if you don’t worry about the canon.