Want some signed Serenity stuff and help move an author around the country? No problem!

Three eBay auctions just started, to help support I am a Softwire, the group of fans who sponsor author PJ Haarsma’s 2008 book tour. And there’s some fine stuff there.

First up is #1 of “Serenity: Better Days,” signed by Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, and some Joss guy.

Then there’s a “Serenity” DVD signed by Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion, Ron Glass, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite and Morena Baccarin. This is in the Australian collector’s tin, but the listing doesn’t say what region the DVD is.

And a trade paperback of “Serenity” Those Left Behind,” signed by Nathan Fillion.

The Serenity Collectors’ edition is on sale for $9.99 at Amazon and at  Best Buy! Right after the Firefly sale, this is a good week for Browncoats.

By the way, right now in Amazon’s list of Bestsellers in Movies and TV? #1 is Firefly, #4 is Serenity. Just saying.

Every day Amazon has new Gold Box Deals for great savings, Today, it’s the Browncoats’ turn.

Get the “Firefly” DVD set for $17.99.

Everyone needs a few extra copies…

OK, there’s a very slight “Serenity” tie-in here, apart from Save Hiatus being written by me and drawn by Browncoat artist extraordinaire Adam Levermore-Rich, but we’ll get to it. Mostly I want to give you guys a heads up that our San Diego Comic-Con contest is coming to an end and you only have an hour and a half or so to enter. First, you can win one of two piles of con swag (sample above). Just check out  Ven’s SDCC tweets to find out how.

And, if you were at the San Diego Comic and you got a Save Hiatus card, go to our SDCC page and enter the secret code to win one of many great prizes:

	A “Number Six in Black” character lithograph, a “Starbuck in Black” character lithograph, BSG character dogtags, a promotional FOX “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” cap, a set of Mal and Zoe dog tags (never sold in stores) (aha! The SerenityStuff connection!), and…

A great big “Instant Geek” kit of utter geekiness, guaranteed to turn your home or workspace into an obsessive fan paradise (items pictured and more will be included).

You’ve got till 8 pm PST tonight! Go! Go! Go!

Guess what TFAW has for preorder…

We’ve seen the artist proofs of the Little Damn Heroes maquettes - pics were leaked, one was auctioned off for CSTS, and one is a prize in QMx’s current Big Haul contest - and some of us remember the original Little Damn Heroes cartoons by Adam Levermore-Rich that the maquettes are based on. I saw them back in December and was hard-pressed not to overpower my guard and take them. But I have to admit, I was starting to wonder if we’d ever see them on store shelves.

No problem, they’re on their way. TFAW has them available for preorder for 20% off the $49.95 retail price, available September 17th (UPDATED: originally they listed a release date in October; this has been changed). They’ll be limited to 1,500, first in a series of Little Damn Heroes maquettes.

Shiny! The word epitomizes Serenity’s unsinkable engineer, Kaywinnit Lee Frye, or as she’s known to her friends, Kaylee. And now for the first time, Kaylee’s shining spirit is captured in this limited edition, hand-painted animation maquette, designed by well-known artist Adam Levermore-Rich, creator of the best-selling Serenity: Blue Sun Travel Posters. The stylized statue brings together Kaylee’s two seemingly contradictory aspects - savant engineer and girly girl - perfectly. Smiling beatifically, the 4 1/2′ Kaylee Maquette is sculpted wearing her mechanic’s coveralls (complete with teddy bear patch) and holding her trademark rainbow parasol, standing in her work boots on a black resin base. Limited to 1,500 pieces, this maquette will be a unique collectible that deserves a place in every Browncoat’s collection. Painted and ready to display.

You’ll be able to get them a bit quicker from QMx, as they’ll start selling Kaylees Sept. 15, but TFAW has the preorder discount. Your call. And, even better, if you get the QMx Insider newsletter, you can find out about the special edition that’s… well, you need to get the newsletter, don’t you?

We got details on the new Firefly Blu-Ray set. 3 discs, widescreen 1080p, audio in 5.1 DTS Master Audio. With:

• Commentary Tracks:
  • “Serenity” (Part 1 & 2) by Executive Producer Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion
  • “The Train Job” by Executive Producers Joss Whedon and Tim Minear
  • “Shindig” by Writer Jane Espenson, Morena Baccarin and Costume Designer Shawna Trpcic
  • “Our Mrs. Reynolds” (NEW to Blu-ray)
  • “Out of Gas” by Executive Producer Tim Minear and Director David Solomon
  • “Ariel” (NEW to Blu-ray)
  • “War Stories” by Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk
  • “The Message” by Alan Tudyk and Jewel Staite
  • “Objects in Space” by Executive Producer Joss Whedon
• Deleted scenes:
  • “Serenity” scene 1 (1:34)
  • “Serenity” scene 74-75 (4:34)
  • “Our Mrs. Reynolds” scene 18 (3:39)
  • “Objects In Space” scene 6 (2:08)
• Featurettes:
  • “Heres How How it Was: The Making of Firefly“
  • Serenity: The Tenth Character
  • Joss’ Tour of the Set
  • Cast Reunion (NEW to Blu-ray)
• Alan Tudyk’s audition
• Gag Reel
• Joss Sings the Firefly theme
• Easter Egg: Adam Baldwin sings “Hero of Canton”

New commentaries, a cast reunion, and high def! Woo hoo! Current street date is November 11th, 2008. So far. Preorder it at Amazon!

As long as you’re shopping for Operative-wear (see sword, below), why not pick up this fine set of chest covering and leather-looking guantlets from the Prop Store of London?

The chest plate and gauntlets worn by The Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) in the sci-fi adventure Serenity. This excellent costume was worn by The Operative in scenes near the end of the film on Mr Universe’s planet where he tries to stop Mal (Nathan Fillion) broadcasting the message. The chest armour is made from rubber sprayed a dark bronze colour with an elasticated back section, there is a hole on the left shoulder for a squib, also a pair gauntlets made and finished in the same style.

LiveAuctioneers is auctioning off an Operative sword, complete wirh blood, on August 1.

1059. Chiwetel Ejiofor “The Operative” and Nathan Fillion “Mal” hero sword from Serenity. (Universal, 2005) This hero sword was used by Chiwetel Ejiofor as “The Operative” and Nathan Fillion as “Mal Reynolds” in the film, Serenity. It is custom made and features prominently in their final confrontation. This is the hero version featuring a metal blade, hard plastic handgrip with elaborate cord ties. It is studio distressed and features studio blood smears. $2000 - $3000

We’ve seen a few of these go by aty the Prop Store of London but this is specifically one of the “hero” metal swords that saw screen time.

ComicMix talked to Joss at Comic-Con - did anyone not talk to Joss at Comic-Con? Did the man ever sleep? - and he revealed a bit more about the upcoming Serenity comic:

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.

IGN interviewed Christina Hendricks about her role on “Mad Men” and brought up her role as YoSaffBridge in “Firefly.” She had good things to say…

The fans and the afterlife of Firefly, it’s amazing. I mean, it’s sort of bigger now then it was five, six years ago when it originally aired. I get calls from my dad in D.C. whose friends are just now coming home and saying, “I just discovered this show called Firefly, and your daughter’s in it!” It’s like, “Yeah, guys. Get with it. This is a while ago.” That show’s amazing. And, not unlike Mad Men, I think a lot of people watch Mad Men after the fact. They’re going to get the box set. They’ve got it on iTunes. They discovered it through word of mouth. And, there’s so many avenues to see shows now. It’s not like the past. I think people will continue to see Firefly. And it will become this little gem… this one season gem. And people will keep hearing about it. I think it’s amazing.

But where’s the stuff connection? I only link to items about merchandise and products - otherwise I’d never get to sleep - but I did notice this comment towards the end:

IGN: There is so much of an afterlife of comic books and fan fiction for that show. Is it funny for you to hear any of the speculation from fans on what could happen to Saffron, or with her and Mal?

Hendricks: Yeah, I’ve heard all sorts of ideas people have. And, they’ve come out with role-playing games and characters. I got sent a Barbie doll that looked like me. And, people come in costume. It’s really fun. It’s very flattering. It’s fun to be a hated villain. That’s fun.

The Barbie doll was from me, made by my wife Teresa, to thank Ms. Hendricks for judging the “Sing a Song of Saffron” contest.  Whoo!

OK, that was it. Just braggin’.