Review: The Firefly Holiday Special

With the Firefly Holiday Special Jeff Jensen brings us the perfect encapsulation of Jayne. His tough outer exterior plays the perfect foil for this tribute to A Christmas Carol as the Ghosts of Past, Present and Future show us his best and worst qualities.

The changes between time allow for a variety of artists to work together with the different styles shift in perspective with each jump. It gives us a nice perspective of what Christmas, or in this case Sheng Dan Jieh is like on Serenity. It begins with the classic crew, Jayne almost choking and a warning of ghosts to come from River.

We than flash forward to the present times in comic continuity with the crew split and Jayne getting made and knocked out. The ghosts are well chosen with Book, Mal and Emma playing the part. The events of Jayne’s past are the highlight of the book both artistically and thematically. We then get to see the present with the current Serenity crew realizing the horrors Jayne can inspire and then a truly horrific future. The art is a bit uneven, ranging from incredible depictions of the past and future, to a much more simplistic look in the present sequences. But we get great sequences including an action-packed rescue from River, Jayne dressed as Santa and Jayne as a zombie.

Jeff Jensen finds different ways to truly show us the heart and soul of Jayne and remind us of just how great and nuanced a character he is. Jensen truly understands these characters and it makes for a fantastic story both for occasional readers and fans of the ongoing continuity.

Writing: 5 of 5 stars
Art: 3.7 of 5 stars
Colors: 4.0 of 5 stars

Overall: 4.2 of 5 stars

Writer: Jeff Jensen
Art: Jordi Perez, Vincenzo Federico, Fabiana Mascolo
Colors: Francesco Segala, Lucia Di Giammarino, Fabiana Mascolo
Publisher: Boom Studios

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.