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Serenity/Firefly Reading Order: How to read/watch Joss Whedon’s series?

Serenity/Firefly Reading Order

Firefly is an American space Western media franchise created by Joss Whedon. It includes the TV series Firefly, the film Serenity, some novels and multiple comic books.

The series is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system, and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a “Firefly-class” spaceship. In this future, the only two surviving superpowers, the United States and China, fused to form the central federal government, called the Alliance, resulting in the fusion of the two cultures.

Serenity/Firefly Reading Order:

Serenity Comics or Firefly Legacy Edition

From 2005 to 2017, Dark Horse Comics published a Serenity comic book, an official sequel of the Firefly TV series, and the 2005 film Serenity. Since mid-2018, Boom! Studios now held the Firefly licensed and republished in the Firefly Legacy Edition all the Dark Horse Comic books.

  • Firefly Legacy Edition: Book One
    Collects Serenity: Those Left Behind #1-3; Serenity: Better Days #1-3; Serenity: The Other Half; Serenity: Downtime; Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale; Serenity: Float Out #1 ; It’s Never Easy.
  • Firefly Legacy Edition: Book Two
    Collects Leaves on the Wind #1-6; The Warrior and the Wind; No Power in the ‘Verse #1-6.

Or in Deluxe Edition:

  • Firefly Legacy Deluxe Edition
    Collects Those Left Behind, Better Days, The Other Half, Downtime, The Shepherd’s Tale, Float Out, It’s Never Easy, Leaves on the Wind, The Warrior and the Wind, No Power in the ’Verse

Boom Studios Firefly Comics

Since 2018, we have new tales from the ‘Verse coming from Boom Studios.

Or in Deluxe Edition:

The Firefly Novels

The Firefly/Serenity Chronological Reading Order:

The Firefly universe is still expanding, and new stories explore adventures and characters’ history before, during, or after the tv series and film. It’s not always easy to define the place of certain stories in the chronology, as there is not enough information in some cases.

  1. Fun With Dick and Jayne – short story included in Still Flying.
  2. Tam Sessions – Short Serenity promotional videos
  3. Firefly: River Run – One-Shot telling how Simon saved his sister from the Alliance Academy
  4. Firefly, The TV show, episodes 1 to 6
  5. Firefly: Bad Company – A one-shot telling the secret origin of Saffron.
  6. Firefly, The TV show, episodes 7 to 10
  7. What Holds Us Down – short story included in Still Flying.
  8. Firefly, The TV show, episodes 11 to 12
  9. Serenity: Downtime – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book One.
  10. Firefly: Carnival – Novel
  11. Firefly: Big Damn Hero – Novel
  12. What Makes Us Mighty – Novel
  13. Crystal – short story included in Still Flying.
  14. Firefly: The Sting – Comic
  15. Firefly, The TV show, episodes 13 & 14
  16. Firefly: Coup de Grâce – Novel
  17. Firefly: Generations – Novel
  18. Firefly: The Magnificent Nine – Novel
  19. Serenity: Better Days – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book One. it occurs prior to Serenity: Those Left Behind and the film Serenity, but after ‘Objects in Space’
  20. The Ballad of Chang-Benitez –  Included in Firefly: The Unification War Deluxe Edition, this story is about why Leonard became a bandit.
  21. Firefly: The Unification War Vol. 1 – Firefly #1-4
  22. Boss Moon: Birth of a Unificator – Free Comic Book Day 2019, collected in Firefly: The Unification War Vol. 2, detailing how Boss Moon was recruited as a Unificator.
  23. Firefly: The Unification War Vol. 2 – Firefly #5-8
  24. Firefly: The Unification War Vol. 3 – Firefly #9-12.
  25. Firefly: The Outlaw Ma Reynolds – Collected in Firefly: New Sheriff in the ‘Verse Vol. 1
  26. Firefly: New Sheriff in the ‘Verse Vol. 1& 2 – Firefly #13-20
  27. Firefly: Blue Sun Rising Vol. 1 – Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #0; Firefly #21–22
  28. Firefly: Blue Sun Rising Vol. 2 – Firefly: Blue Sun Rising #1; Firefly #23–24
  29. Serenity: Those Left Behind – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book One.
  30. Serenity: The Other Half – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book One.
  31. Firefly: The Ghost Machine
  32. Haven and Hell – short story included in The Ghost Machine.
  33. Firefly: Life Signs – Novel
  34. Serenity, the movie
  35. Take the Sky – short story included in Still Flying. (thanks to Jeff in the comment for this placement)
  36. Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book One. The Events mostly occur prior Fun With Dick and Jayne, but some events take place during the movie and are spoilers.
  37. Firefly: Watch How I Soar – Like The Shepherd’s Tale, it offers background on a character but uses events from the movie.
  38. Serenity: Float Out – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book One.
  39. Serenity: It’s Never Easy – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book One.
  40. Serenity: Leaves on the Wind – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book Two.
  41. Serenity: The Warrior and the Wind – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book Two.
  42. Serenity: No Power in the ’Verse – Collected in Firefly Legacy Edition: Book Two.
  43. Firefly: Holiday Special #1 – One-Shot
  44. Firefly: Return to Earth That Was Vol. 1 –  Firefly #25–28
  45. Queen Of The Night – Collected in Firefly: Blue Sun Rising Deluxe Edition. Takes place during #28 as it follows Leonard and Maggie.
  46. Firefly: Return to Earth That Was Vol. 2 –  Firefly #29–32
  47. Firefly: Return to Earth That Was Vol. 3 –  Firefly #33–36
  48. All New Firefly Vol. 1 – All-New Firefly #1-4
  49. All-New Firefly Vol. 2 – All-New Firefly #5-8
  50. All-New Firefly Vol. 3 – All-New Firefly #9-10 and All-New Firefly: Big Damn Finale #1.
  51. Firefly: The Fall Guys – The Fall Guys #1-6

20 years after the events of the TV series…

  1. Firefly: Brand New ‘Verse –  Firefly: Brand New ‘Verse #1-6
  2. Firefly – 20th Anniversary Special – One-Shot (with flashbacks of earlier times)
  3. Firefly: Keep Flying #1 – One Shot (with flashbacks of earlier times)

Not yet place in the timeline is the book Firefly: Aim to Misbehave, which will be released later this year.

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