Serenity: Float Out is the newest Serenity comic. It’s a one-shot telling that attempts to tell a bit of the backstory of Wash. The story was written by comedian Patton Oswalt, and the art was done by Patric Reynolds. While it wasn’t bad, it definitely wasn’t up to par with the previous Serenity comics. Only fans who care about seeing everything should really bother with it.

 
In Float Out, three people are buying a new ship that they’re naming after Wash. They struggle to find something to say about Wash during the floating-out ceremony and decide to reminisce about Wash instead. Each of the three tells a story about Wash. While I want to hear about Wash, I don’t know these three other characters, and I don’t care about them. We’re never really told much about them. Each story is nothing more than telling us what we already know about Wash, such as the fact that he’s a good pilot. To make it worse, each story is only a couple pages. Float Out would have been better as a mini-series, with each story being a separate issue. This would have allowed more characterization of both Wash and the story-teller. The only actual bit of forward-moving plot occurs on the very last page. I won’t spoil it, but it’s an interesting addition to the Firefly story.
The Serenity comics seem to be going downhill. I haven’t read The Other Half yet; maybe that would change my opinion. The first mini-series did a great job of wrapping up the series. In fact, it bothers me that there are big Firefly fans that would watch Serenity without reading those three comics first. The second mini-series wasn’t as good but still told an interesting story, even if it was a prequel that didn’t truly add to the previously told story. Float Out wasn’t much more than a nod to Wash. I want an overall story that leads somewhere. Prequels are fine, but a one-shot that doesn’t offer a new look as a character is kind of boring. I am looking forward to The Shepherd’s Tale, but (I assume that) it’s going to give actual insight into Book. I’d also like to see the Firefly saga move forward rather than always looking backward. The last page of Float Out at least implies that they want to move forward, which makes me happy. Float Out definitely won’t win anyone over to Firefly/Serenity, but fans who want the whole experience should read it. It’s not bad, but it just doesn’t add. Fans who don’t mind missing a little can skip it without regret.