The Shepherd's Tale is comic book prequel to the tv serie Firefly, written by Joss Whedon and his brother, Zack Whedon (who would later write Leaves on the Wind). The comic was published in 2010 by Dark Horse. The story centers around the shepherd Derrial Book and his mysterious past.
The Shepherd's Tale contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Book's father was a drunk who beat him.
- Anachronic Order: The comic starts with the unseen battle that killed Book in the movie. Each subsequent section jumps backwards a few years to show other important events in his life, and it closes with his childhood.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Book shoots down an Alliance gunship by doing this.
- Electronic Eye: Book volunteered to have one implanted when he was working with the Independents, which they would then use when he joined the Alliance military to learn secrets.
- Eye Scream: Some of the surgery for the above procedure is shown.
- No Honor Among Thieves: In his youth, Book committed crimes, and he's shown abandoning a fellow thief to be captured by the police after a job goes wrong.
