At last, the story behind “Serenity”s “Shepherd” Book will be told. Dark Horse announced that “Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale” will tell the “intricate backstory of Derrial ‘Shepherd’ Book (Ron Glass), the soft-spoken preacher with a dark past”. This hardcover graphic novel is co-penned by Joss Whedon (“Dollhouse”, “Serenity”) and his brother Zack Whedon (“Terminator”, “Dr. Horrible”) with illustrations by Chris Samnee (“Siege”, “Area Ten”).
The mystery of Ron Glass’ character, “Shepherd” Book has always intrigued and eluded fans through the “Firefly” TV series and the subsequent “Serenity” movie where Book met an untimely end. Book was the spiritual man on Captain Malcolm Reynolds’ Serenity space ship. The preacher’s mysterious past hinted on high connections with enemy Alliance forces and the occasional curious display and knowledge of physical combat ability.
This project is three years in the making. Joss Whedon has only allowed four things out on Book’s backstory:
- Book killed a man, and took his name.
- He’s best known for his greatest failure.
- One part of him is artificial.
- And he found God in a bowl of soup.
Scott Allie, editor of “Serenity: Shepherd’s Tale”, talks about Samnee’s contribution:
“With Shepherd’s Tale, Chris brings very distinctive characterization to it, a great range of emotion and mood. I don’t want to say too much about the story, but it requires him to portray Shepherd Book in a variety of situations, and there’s something bold about Chris’ work that will help the character stay strong and distinctive through the whole book.”
Samnee is a Whedon fan as well:
“It’s like Sergio Leone meets ‘Blade Runner’ with Joss Whedon’s voice. There’s nothing in that formula that doesn’t appeal to me! I’m a huge fan of ‘Buffy,’ ‘Angel,’ ‘Dr. Horrible,’ ‘Dollhouse,’ ‘Firefly,’ and ‘Serenity.’ I can’t imagine not enjoying something that Joss Whedon does. Getting the opportunity to help flesh out a bit of back story on one of Joss’ characters, and one of my favorite characters from the show, has been a real treat. Zack’s script has managed to really tap in to everything that made the show work – so much so that I can actually hear the actor’s voices in my head as I read through the dialogue.”
So this graphic novel will deal with Book in his pre-Serenity days. Who will be involved in this chapter of his story? Samnee hints:
“There will be some new characters and locations that I have designed from the ground up sprinkled throughout the book, as well as a number of tweaks to already existing ‘Serenity’/’Firefly’ material, due to flashbacks. I’ll also be taking my stab at a number of people and things from both the series and the movie that will be very familiar to fans. Could I be any more vague?! Ha!“
How will this story fit in with the general “Serenity/Firefly” storyline? Samnee explains:
“I really liked being able to give a glimpse into moments that led up to scenes in the film and the show. It’s sort of silly now that I think about it, I guess, but knowing exactly what comes next made me feel even more connected to the scenes that I was illustrating.”
“Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale” will hit stores in November.
Check out this teaser cover and sketches Samnee has done for “The Shepherd’s Tale”!
[Click Images To Blow Sh!t Up]
[Source] CBR, ChrisSamnee
