Review: Firefly: Watch How I Soar
"Watch How I Soar"
Writer/Artists: Ethan Young, Jarod Cullum, Jorge Corona, Giannis Milonogiannis
Artists: Jorge Monlongo, Jordi Perez
Color Artists: Fabiana Mascolo, Giada Marchisio, Maxflan Araujo
Letterer: Fabio Amelia
Review by Tony Farina
Summary from Boom! Studios
Return to the critically-acclaimed world of Joss Whedon's Firefly and Serenity, in an all new graphic novel spotlighting Hoban "Wash" Washburne, pilot of the spaceship Serenity... who has just realized he's about to die.
As Wash's life flashes before him, he revisits untold moments in his life, from growing up on a planet ravaged by pollution, to meeting the woman of his dreams in Zoe and in those final moments, Wash will reach out to connect with a surprising someone he never thought possible to meet...proving that some bonds transcend our mortal coils.
With five original short stories from superstar creative teams, learn the untold past, present, and maybe even future of the best pilot in the 'Verse - Hoban "Wash" Washburne.
Firefly Watch How I Soar is a sad book. I know, I know, that shouldn't be how I should really start a review. It doesn't sound positive, nor does it welcome people to this part of the 'Verse...but trust me, it's the best and only place to start.
It's sad because we see from page one what's going to happen. We whom have spent our time in the 'Verse know that Wash dies in the film Serenity. We know he says the line from the title of this book, and we've lost sleep over it, and we know that he'll never get to meet his daughter, Emma. We know all these things, and so we miss him. This book's sad because, for the first time, we see what Wash sees as he dies. We see his life literally flashing before his eyes. We learn about the dinosaurs, we learn about flying, and we learn mostly about love and it is, well... lovely.
The stories jump from one to the next with no preamble. It's supposed to be stream of consciousness, and the editors did a shiny job. While the art styles vary from story to story, the tone never changes. That's pretty amazing, because the list of writers, many of whom do their own art, is pretty long. This is a testament to a brilliant character created by Joss Whedon.
We all know Wash, who he is, and how he sounds. We love him for all of his quirkiness. These writers love him too, and they capture it so well. It feels as though we can hear Alan Tudyk's voice bursting out of these pages. Firefly: Watch How I Soar is a loving tribute to most everyone's favorite character in the 'Verse.
Conclusion
Unlike the rest of the Boom! stuff, this story takes place in actual TV/Movie continuity, so the final story in the anthology's a gut punch, but in a good way. I spent days thinking about it. I'm thinking about it still, as I write this, and I've chatted with other Browncoats about it. It lives with me in a good, albeit painful, way. It reminds readers why we love Wash so much, and that glimpse into a possible future with Emma and Zoe is simply perfect.
While all the emotions this book evokes may not feel perfect, it's still going to get the highest marks, because it, as the kids say, hit me in the feels.
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