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Episode Studies by Clayton Barr
enik1138-at-popapostle-dot-com
"Brand New 'Verse" Part 1
Firefly: Brand New 'Verse #1
Written by Josh Lee Gordon
Illustrated by Fabiana Mascolo
Colored by Lucia DiGiamarino
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Character designs by French Carlomagno
Cover by Qistina Khalidah
20 years after the time of Mal's captaincy of Serenity, Zoe and her daughter pilot the ship with a smaller crew for further loot.
Notes from the Firefly/Serenity Chronology
This story is set about 20 years after the events of the TV series.
Didja Know?
Firefly: Brand New 'Verse is a six-issue comic book mini-series published by BOOM! Studios in 2021. The story is set about 20 years after the events of the TV series.
Each issue of this series had a special thanks to Dr. Janelle Lamoreaux. She is a sociocultural anthropologist focused on reproduction, gender, and environmental health at the University of Arizona.
Characters appearing or mentioned in this issue
Emma Alleyne Washburn
Lu Bao
Skinny Sly
Mal (mentioned only)
Rasalia Robles de Meras (containment box passenger; not named until "Brand New 'Verse" Part 3)
Didja Notice?
Page 1 gives a very brief summary of the exodus from Earth-That-Was, stating that "At the end of a long-ago-era, the two great powers of the Earth-That-Was joined together to achieve what none could do alone." The two great powers are not named here, but they were the United States and China, as revealed in episodes of the Firefly TV series.
The "title" seen on page 2 ("Mysteries of Earth-That-Was!") is actually the name of a virtual reality sim being experienced by Emma and Lu from which they are awakened on page 4. On page 12, Lu mentions the sim. This is the first mention of "sims" as a form of entertainment in the 'Verse. Sims are accessed by placing a tiny device on the forehead and they can be synched to allow multiple viewers to experience the same sim together as if they were participants in the story.
This issue reveals that Emma Washburn's middle name is Alleyne, which is the same middle name as her mother, Zoe.
Even 20 years later, there is still at least one of Wash's toy dinosaurs on the navigation console of Serenity, as evidenced by the Stegosaurus on page 5.
On page 9, an Alliance Skyguard patrol refers to the incoming Serenity as a Firefly-class G-82659. This is the first mention of the Alliance Skyguard. According to several Firefly-related sources, "G-82659" is the hull number of Serenity.
Also on page 9, Emma remarks that Serenity is currently smuggling a hold full of black market Iskellian. Iskellian Technology Solutions is a corporation in the 'Verse that manufacturers weapons and ships for the Alliance according to the Serenity Role Playing Game.
Page 10 reveals that U.A.P. Statute 921-C covers the unauthorized transport of Class A trade goods.
On page 10, Zoe swears in Chinese, but the word bubble is actually written in Chinese characters, so I have no idea what it says!
On page 12, Emma is excited about potentially picking up the new Truthful Steadwives of Beylix Gap sim at Blue Mart. Lu refers to that sim series as "trash". The title seems to be a play on the various trashy reality TV series of our own world going by the title of Real Housewives of... (Beverly Hills, Orange County, New Jersey, etc.). Beylix is a world of the 'Verse that was mentioned in "Trash". Lu mentions another sim called Three Coin for a Companion.
This is the first mention of Blue Mart in the 'Verse. It most likely refers to a store owned and operated by the Blue Sun Corporation, though there is a real world supermarket chain called Blue Mart in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
On page 12, Lu says something in Chinese.
Emma, Lu, and Salo visit a scrapyard called Skinny Sly's Ships 'N' Shiny.
On page 14, Lu makes an exclamation in Chinese.
Lu says that he and Emma used to play "Reavers and roughnecks". This is probably a child's play scenario like "cowboys and Indians" or "cops and robbers". He also finds a super-hero action figure called Beaumonde; this was also the name of a planet first seen in "Our Mrs. Reynolds".
Salo is wearing a bandage on his nose on page 15 and through the rest of the issue, while he did not have it before. No explanation is given.
Some Chinese characters are seen on a sign on page 16.
Inara is now a priestess of the Companion's Guild.
On page 20, Zoe tells the crew they are going to hit a space hauler carrying Blue Sun merchandise, saying they'll do it "nice and quiet-like", not like they did on Higgins. "Higgins" probably refers to Higgins' Moon, first seen in "Jaynestown".
In panel 4 of page 21, the Chinese characters under the word "cargo" above the hauler's cargo bay door actually do stand for "cargo".
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