Dark Horse Launches Adult Coloring Book Program with Serenity and Avatar the Last Airbender

I'm trying really hard to control my excitement of this, but I can't! This is something Browncoats and Avatar: The Last Airbender fans (like me!) have been waiting for.

Since Avatar: TLA went off the air in 2008, fans have wanted more. We got the awful movie, which never should have been made, we've gotten to read about the continuing adventures of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko in the graphic novels, and we got Korra. But you know fans, we always want more, and luckily, Dark Horse knows how to deliver.

I don't think I need to go into anything about the Serenity coloring book, because Browncoats, and Whedonites, and most of geekdom know the story of Firefly's stupid cancellation and its resurrection with Serenity. We've all been there. Dark Horse is now giving us more. Because we always want more. The press release states:

"Dark Horse proudly announces a brand-new adult coloring book program hitting bookshelves and coffee tables this fall.

Kicking off the coloring books line are Avatar: The Last Airbender and the fan-favorite Serenity series. Each adult coloring book features forty-five pages of original artwork created specifically to be colored on thick, heavyweight 10 x 10–inch pages at a $14.99 value price point!

Relive your favorite scenes from Avatar: The Last Airbender with this beautifully detailed coloring book. Filled with original black-and-white illustrations by artist Jed Henry and produced in collaboration with creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, this book is sure to be a hit with the Avatar fanatic in your life.

Game Review: Firefly Fluxx

Out this week is Firefly Fluxx from Looney Labs in partnership with Gale Force Nine. I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy at Toy Fair this year. Actually, I saw the Firefly art from the distance, made a beeline for the booth, and then questioned them incessantly so they gave me a copy to shut me up. Looney Labs are awesome people.

This is a licensed version of the Fluxx game. Looney Labs has created a number of Fluxx versions including Batman, Uglydoll, and Cartoon Network but also Holiday, Pirate, Nature and Zombie!

Review: Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1

Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics

If you don't already know, I'm a huge Browncoat.  Yeah, super big.  Like throwing a whole party around the Firefly game.  On New Years Eve.  I turned the year playing the Firefly game while ignoring the clock.  So I was a wee bit excited for the release of Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1 from Dark Horse Comics.  With the team of writer Zack Whedon, penciller Georges Jeanty, inker Karl Story and colorist Laura Martin, this series continues the story of our favorite Firefly crew nine months after the events of the movie Serenity.

It's Shindig Time!: Can't Stop the Serenity 2011

It is my favorite time of the year because it is time for all the Browncoats to come out and get together!  That's right, because it is Can't Stop the Serenity 2011!  I went to the Browncoats of NYC event this past Saturday and had a blast.  

So, in case you don't know, Can't Stop The Serenity is a fan-run event started in 2006.  It is a chance for fans to get together and re-watch Serenity, the little movie that could.  This event began so fans could thank Joss Whedon for all he has done by raising money for his charity, Equality Now.  

Equality Now is an international women's rights advocacy group that was started by a student of Joss’s mother, so he grew up with this cause.  EN works towards the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world. Working with national human rights organizations and individual activists, EN documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes international action to support their efforts to stop these human rights abuses.  Since 2006, the Browncoats have contributed over $557,000 to the cause and that number just keeps climbing!

As I said, I attended the NYC event this weekend.  The Browncoats of NYC are such a great group of people, and I had been looking forward to this for weeks!   At each event, the custom is to re-watch Serenity but there is so much more!  Plenty of people come in costume, with music, dancing, crazy food, amazing auctions and Jayne hats as far as the eye can see!  I was pretty lucky to walk into the music of Ramblin Andy and the See Ya Laters.  I said hi to some friends, then I hit the auctions and raffles and my bank account is still crying.  Then as we got ready for the movie, we got a surprise video message from the man himself.

So, next year is a biggie.  Next year, Equality Now will celebrate its 20th Anniversary and Joss is excited.  He sent a video message to every event saying that 2012 is going to make some serious noise and he is leading the charge.  While he doesn't give much detail yet, he is excited and it makes me excited.  *You can kinda hear this video if you watch the streaming feed of California Browncoats event.  

If you are not excited yet, I have no idea what will make a difference.  Go find your local event and show your support for this great cause.  If you don't have a local event, find your local Browncoats and start one for next year!  Just remember, you can make a difference.  People, fans just like you and me, built this event and helped change lives.  If each of us makes the choice for equality, we can spread it like wildfire.

"No Power In The 'Verse Can Stop Us" - Firefly

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Review: Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale

Finally released (after years of impatient waiting) is The Shepherd's Tale by Joss and Zack Whedon. This story answers the questions of the mysterious Shepherd Book, such as how does a preacher shoot a kneecap so well?

Minor Spoilers Ahead!!!!

The story starts on Haven, the planet community that Book starts after he leaves Serenity (the ship). We actually are watching the very scene from the movie where Haven is destroyed, which is kind of depressing but does fill in some interesting backstory. Here is where we get my favorite quote of the book, from the good Shepherd himself:

"Well, if you look at your life as a chain of events, each responsible for the next and caused by the last, where does any story begin?"

As the scene continues and the fight begins, Shepard Book begins to flash back on his life and we jump back in time a few years to Book living on Serenity (the ship), observing the crew we all know and love. We see them through Book's eyes, as he observes them in their daily scraps, such as Jayne being Jayne or Mal fighting with a arms dealer. We can see the sadness in Book's eyes when he goes to his quarters to pray. As he prays for the crew, we jump backwards again to the Abbey he lived in before joining the Serenity. And back and back we go through his life, learning about how that man got to be our Shepherd Book.

This is a powerful story that really tries to explore what makes a man choose a path and how he lives with that choice. I, along with many Browncoats, did predict some of his past but Joss and Zack threw in a few twists that shocked and surprised me. I like surprises. Best of all, this helps to sum up a mystery left hanging for the past few years. I particularly like the one scene when Book really begins to see how the whole universe is connected and how everything depends on each other.

This "tale" was written by Joss and Zack Whedon, with the art of Chris Samnee. The brothers came together to write this, with Joss penning the outline of the story and Zack taking it from there. This has a strong resemblance to the show and really supports this character. I have read that the timeline in the book doesn't exactly match up to the show but in my opinion, it doesn't hurt the story at all. The art takes some time to get used to. At first, it did bother me because it seemed so dark and shaded, but once I began to see the whole book as a memory, it began to feel more comfortable. The story made the art work.

This is the third Firefly/Serenity comic from Dark Horse Comics and they have hinted that there will be more to come. If you haven't gotten it, go already and pick it up!!! This is a great story that everyone (especially Browncoats) should read. It would even make a great TV show...... :(