Book's backstory

[Allan]

In the letter column of Serenity: Better Days #2, the editor announced that they are doing a third Serenity comic, this time focusing on Book's backstory.

Do you think that this is a good idea, or now that the show is finished, should it be left alone? While it will be cool to learn about his history, is it better left as a mystery?

[shred]

Honestly, I'm not sure whether it's a good idea or not to reveal his backstory. On one hand, I'm really interested to know who Book was and what he's all about but on the other hand...hmm, I guess there's no bad side to it.

I don't know. Something about revealing Book's backstory in comic form doesn't sit right with me. It's hard to explain. :-\

[Bre]

Ah depends who's writing it. Or as long as it's Joss' idea on what his back story of Book is, then it's fine by me. But it just means I have to go out and buy the other Serenity comics.

[Allan]

Apr 13, 2008 20:04:43 GMT 10 shred said:

I don't know. Something about revealing Book's backstory in comic form doesn't sit right with me. It's hard to explain. :-\

Why doesn't it sit right? It's all canon, and you don't have to read it.

Apr 13, 2008 20:08:44 GMT 10 Bre said:

Ah depends who's writing it. Or as long as it's Joss' idea on what his back story of Book is, then it's fine by me. But it just means I have to go out and buy the other Serenity comics.

They didn't reveal who was writing, but both Serenity comic miniseries so far have been co-written by Joss and Brett Matthews (Joss's assistant on the shows and writer of "Heart of Gold"), and I'm assuming they'll be the ones behind it. I don't think Joss would be letting anyone tell his backstory without his involvement.

[Forsaken]

I'm looking forward to it. This is one of those things that haunts me and will until it's dealt with or I croak.

[Beck]

Did this ever happen does anyone know? I'd quite like to read it if it did. I would be a bit worried about being disappointed though

[shred]

I'm not sure. I don't read the comics.

[Deleted]

As I've not read all the Serenity comics I had to look it up. This is what Wikipedia (if you trust the site) has to say:

The Shepherd's Tale
Prior to the 2007 Browncoat Cruise, a Firefly convention held aboard a cruise ship, Ron Glass asked Whedon for some information to answer the inevitable questions on Shepherd Derrial Book's backstory.[16][12] At the time, no new comics for the Serenity series were planned, but Whedon emailed Glass some facts from Book's past to reveal, along with permission to announce that the character would be the subject of the next Serenity comic.[12] Scott Allie, senior editor at Dark Horse, only found out about this because he was copied in on the email.[12]

The comic, originally to be titled A Shepherd's Tale and released as a three-issue miniseries, was later verified by Allie, who stated in the letters section of Serenity: Better Days #1 that a comic based on Book's past was slated for a late 2008 release.[17] This release date was not met, and no news was forthcoming until March 9, 2010, when Dark Horse announced that the work will be published in November 2010 as a hardcover graphic novel under the title The Shepherd's Tale.[12][18] According to Allie, the three-year delay was because no appropriate author could be found to write the story from Whedon's outlines, until Joss brought his brother Zack in on the project in late 2009.[12]

The Shepherd's Tale is set primarily before Firefly, and as it is focused on a single character, Allie stated in a June 2008 interview that it was an opportunity for the Serenity comics franchise to "go in a real different direction."[19]

I, too, could be disappointed in the story depending on what's revealed and how that meets up with my thoughts on the topic, etc. Book was a character that worked well shrouded in mystery. Even though I would love to know how he came to be who he was when we met him, I'd be afraid of too much being revealed. I think he needs to keep at least some of his mystery.

I agree, Irene, that something about it being put in comic form seems strange. I always saw Book as this epic character and it feels almost as though he's being "reduced" to comic form--although I realize what a wonderful media the comics can be.

[Sammy]

Ooooooo I can't wait for this to be released. I am really interested in Book's backstory, I want to know where he got the kind of Identification Card that could get him treated by the Alliance and given back again, no questions asked. I want to know how he learnt so much about fighting and the Alliance. I am a very curious person. Therefore, I must know!!!

[Deleted]

I'm not so interested in how he came to be so good at fighting and learn about the Alliance. That's knowledge that people can pick up anywhere, although how much he knows about the Alliance is yet to be fully discovered, I think. I'd forgotten about that identification card of his! That I would love to know about! Given all this knowledge of his, I'm also interested in how he became a shepherd. I've always believed he was groomed to be something else.

[shred]

Aug 23, 2010 13:58:37 GMT 10 @haffner280 said:

Given all this knowledge of his, I'm also interested in how he became a shepherd. I've always believed he was groomed to be something else.

Me too.

I always thought he was some top government official or maybe like that dude in the Serenity movie that was after River and Simon (can't remember his name right now). That would explain his gun/fighting skills.