Joss Whedon's cult sci-fi show Firefly gets another comic book spinoff in Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale, which delves into the murky back story of benevolent minister Shepherd Book.

Written by wisecracking siblings Joss and Zack Whedon (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) and illustrated by Chris Samnee (Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps), the new Serenity comic – due Oct. 27 from Dark Horse Comics and exclusively previewed in the gallery above – is a bloody but bittersweet look back at one of Firefly's kinder, gentler outsiders.

Who, it should be noted, had zero problem breaking out the fists or guns when problems arose on the TV show (which was often).

Firefly might have filled in the blanks on the Shepherd Book character if the series hadn't been canceled by Fox, a network that evidently has never met a popular cult program – The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., Firefly, Futurama, Family Guy, should I go on? – that it couldn't help but kill.

Unlike Patton Oswalt's recently released Firefly comic, Serenity: Float Out, Dark Horse's newest narrative from the Whedons' fertile universe features other well-known characters from the beloved sci-fi series. Scan their faces and try not to feel bitter that Firefly is mothballed while American Idol still flies.

Images courtesy Dark Horse Comics

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