One of the Good Ones by Geoff Johns There are a lot of books out there. A lot of really great books. But this is just one of them... NOBLE CAUSES: FAMILY SECRETS #1 The second Noble Causes mini-series is written once again by Jay Faerber, with art by (newcomer?) Ian Richardson and John Wycough. Back-ups by various, including Jonboy Meyers. (Is that his REAL name? Crazy.) What's Noble Causes about? It's the Kennedy family with super-powers. Only this family is more screwed up. In a world of super-heroes, the Noble Family is the one that everyone talks about. That everyone is fascinated about. That the media and public can't get enough of. And to make matters more interesting for us, a young woman, Liz, recently married one of the Noble sons, Race. But in the first mini-series, Race was killed - leaving Liz tied to the Noble family without any guidance. And that's scary as hell with this family. In a way, this book reminds me of Powers with a little of the Ultimates in there. (Maybe it's Avon's great cover that triggered that.) It's a book set in a super-hero world that, although we only get a glimpse of one corner of the Universe, both Powers and Noble Causes manage to create this huge background tapestry to draw from. It's like stepping into Oz or Wonderland. There's a sense of style and substance, small moments and touches that help paint a whole new world of heroes. And the Noble family...most of them aren't exactly heroic role models behind closed doors. Jay has created some great characters in here. Characters you love to hate and hate to love. Doc seems like a creepy bastard to me, and Frost, the illegitimate Noble son, is a treat to watch. Also, one of the greatest things about the format of this series is the lead story with a back-up adding more history and insight to the events leading up to the relationships between the characters. In the previous series, every one of these back-up stories was vital to the present day and this attention to detail shows that Jay has really thought this family's history out. Looking forward to next issue, guys... Geoff Johns currently writes The Flash, Avengers and Avengers Icons: Vision as well as co-writing Hawkman and JSA. Each week he'll offer another recommended read for comics fans here on The Fourth Rail. Discuss this review on the Fourth Rail message board.