The Shepherd Book’s Book
by Joel Champagne
Ron Glass plays Shepherd Book in Joss Whedon’s FireFly
Ever since Serenity’s credits rolled, fans have been clamoring to know what the hell was up with Shepherd Book’s backstory. Just a few of the things we know about this enigmatic character;
-His ident card gets immediate assistance with no questions asked from an Alliance cruiser
-He knows a TON about the criminal world, as well as firearms, and spaceships
-He seems to be atoning for some past deeds
-The bounty hunter, Jubal Early, referring to Book says, “That ain’t no Shepherd”
Whedon has come out as saying that, even if there were a sequel to Serenity, there would be no way to fit the Sheperd’s story into it. Even Ron Glass has stated he is tired of going to conventions, and being asked questions he doesn’t know the answer to. So Whedon will turn to the same medium he’s using to continue the Buffy/Angel worlds. Comic books.
A three-part online comic called “The Shepherd’s Tale” is due to arrive sometime next year. (sigh) It will be scripted by Jim Krueger, the man currently doing the online comic “Serenity:The Other Half.” No major spoilers yet, but Whedon has stated that it will cover Book’s entire history, including that man he killed. Wait, what?
Photo Credit: The One True b!X from Flickr used by Creative Commons license
