Dark Horse GelaSkins are decorative coverings for phones and laptops featuring some of Dark Horse’s most popular properties, including "The Umbrella Academy," Yoshitaka Amano, Tim Burton, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Hellboy," and many more. The special Dark Horse GelaSkins are scheduled to be released in August of this year and will be available to order from www.gelaskins.com. However, as an added bonus to San Diego Comic-Con attendees, a selective number of advance skins will be available for purchase at the Dark Horse booth # 2615.

The Dark Horse versions aren't available at gelaskins.com yet, but you should check out what they already have. Incredible artwork of all sorts. And you get a downloadable wallpaper with each one, so your screen can matches the exterior.

Gelaskins are very thin wraps for your portable device that offer protection without bulk, and add a touch of style to your day. Available for iPods, iPhones, Mac and PC laptops, phones, and portable gaming devices. And the artists get a cut of every one you buy. If you really like the art, you can buy a Giclee print of it!

Waiting for a SugarShock Gelaskin…

Such as, say, the Inara Shuttle Ornament from Dark Horse for only $8.99, and the Reaver Ornament for only $11.99!

And Geoffrey Mandel's wonderful "Worlds of the Alliance" lithograph, designed for but never used in Serenity, and Ben Mund's  gorgeous Serenity Valley map, both originally $39.95, are now just $11.98. Regular price was $39.95, this is an amazing deal.

Go check the rest of their stuff, it'll be marked down to 70% off till May 24th, when it goes to 80%. Books, comics, statues, toys, collectibles, over 1,400 items all incredibly cheap. Don't miss out!

OK, this kinda came out of the blue… This month's "Dark Horse Presents" over at MySpace has an 8-page stand-alone Serenity story in it called "Serenity: The Other Half," with art by WIll Conrad. It's written by Jim Krueger, the man who (according to Joss) will be writing the Book miniseries coming out next.

ComicMix talked to Joss at Comic-Con

COMICMIX: With The Shepherd's Tale, why is Shepherd Book the first character from Firefly to get a solo story?

JOSS WHEDON: I've done a breakdown of the story. I think Jim Krueger is going to write the actual script. The biggest mystery of what we never got to tell is Shepherd's backstory. Everybody knew there was something more than just being Shepherd in there. And poor Ron [Glass] came to me during the strike and said, "I'm going to another convention. You've got to give me something." It's been a number of years and they always ask [about Shepherd]. I said, "You know what, it has been long enough and this isn't something I'm going to save for the sequel that may never happen, so we'll make a comic book out of it."

Because it's an interesting story, really. It's the single most-asked question: "What's up with Book?" And now we're going to answer that.

The interview has more about the current best-selling Buffy and Angel comics, so go check it out.

UPDATED: Dark Horse hsa cancelled their proposed Serenity laser-etched lucite ornament. According to Dark Horse:

"The market didn't show any significant support for the lucite ornament during the solicitation period, so we were forced to make the unfortunate decision to cancel production."

TFAW has sent cancellations to early buyers and updated the product page.

Sorry folks, no paperweight yet.

Which is pretty cool, you gotta admit.

The California Browncoats will be selling the comics at SDCC. It will be a variant edition of "Serenity: Better Days #1" with the Will Conrad wraparound cover art they used for their special DH 100 version, only this will display Will's pencils instead. 32 pages, all the stuff from the first one, but with a cardstock cover for extra specialness. Only 5,000 will ever be available and they'll be $10 each, a good portion of which goes to Kids Need to Read, the children's literacy program founded by Nathan Fillion and author PJ Haarsma.

These will only be available at Comic-Con 2008, but even if you can't go the California Browncoats are there for you. Specifically, on eBay, where on all five days of the con they'll be selling copies of the DH-California Browncoats SDCC edition of Serenity. Again, all proceeds will go to Kids Need to Read. Bookmark their eBay page and be ready (I'll give you a heads up when it gets close).

Major thanks to Dark Horse and to the Cali Browncoats sponsors Gabriel Stempinski, Margaret Weis Productions, Creation Entertainment, Poplollies.com, The Powers Team – Marsia and Eugene, Dwight Bragdon, Done The Impossible , SaveHiatus.com and Quantum Mechanix, who helped make this possible.

This is a great collectible and a great cause (funny how so many Whedon-based projects combine the two). Check out the California Browncoats site for more details.

The Serenity lunchbox: “With the Serenity logo in brilliant litho-printed color on one side, and the ship herself on the other, bordered by the exotic intergalactic currency created for the film, this makes a striking lunch box for any Serenity fan to tote around.”

And the Fruity Oaty Bar lunchbox: “Serenity fans everywhere will be able to recognize each other when carrying the cute and colorful lunch box bearing the iconic images from the “Fruity Oaty Bar” commercial. If you know Fruity Oaty Bar, you know your Serenity! This attractive lunch box is an insider’s dream come true. Wow!”

These are also the perfect size for stashing your collector cards and spare Fruity Oaty bars. Stock up!

Serenity: Better Days trade paperback, just $7.96 (retail $9.95). Ships Oct. 29.

Serenity laser-etched lucite ornament, just $13.59 (retail $16.99). Ships Oct. 8.

You're gonna get 'em anyway, why not save a few credits?

Joss Whedon (W), Brett Matthews (W), Will Conrad (P), Michelle Madsen (C), and Jo Chen (Cover)

On sale Oct 29
FC, 80 pages
$9.95
TPB, 6" x 9"

Serenity: Better Days follows everyone’s favorite space cowboys in a thrilling, action-packed adventure, where Mal and his crew take on a heist that promises a big payoff. But when one of Serenity’s crew is taken captive and tortured, the gang must put their enduring differences aside and work together to save one of their own, even if it may mean losing the cash prize of a lifetime.
Joss Whedon returns to the world of his blockbuster film Serenity, reuniting with Brett Matthews and Will Conrad, his collaborators on the bestselling 2005 series Those Left Behind.

- Collects Serenity: Better Days #1-3.

No cover yet, I'll keep you posted. Preorder it from TFAW for 20% off!

Joss Wheden’s blockbuster Serenity continues to capture the attention of fans of fantastic adventure. Dark Horse is pleased to support the “browncoats” with the next in our series of Serenity themed ornaments.

We have scanned the Serenity ship and using the wonders of modern science, crafted it as a wire frame 3D image inside a 4" x 4" clear lucite cube. This process has allowed us to acheive an unprecedented level of accurate detail.

We are adding a mechanism of ribbon that can be glued to the cube for hanging display, but as with most ofther “tombstone”-style collectibles, it may be best displayed sitting on a window sill or over a small LED light base. The LED light, commonly available on the open market, is NOT a part of the package.

That last part sounds kinda defensive, but otherwise it looks good. 4"x4", clear lucite. Coming Oct. 8, $16.99 (preorder it from TFAW for 20% off!)