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NOBLE CAUSES #3
Recommended (8/10)
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Image Comics
"In Sickness and in Health, Part Three"
Pencils: Patrick Gleason
Inks: John Wycough & Damon Hacker
Colors: Chris Sotomayor & Jeremy Roberts
"Common Ground"
Pencils: Jeff Johnson
Inks: Damon Hacker & John Wycough
Colors: J. Brown
Writer: Jay Faerber
Letters: Ray Dillon
Price: $2.95 US/$4.60 CAN |
Along with the First Impressions one-shot, this is Faerber's fourth installment of Noble Causes, and it's clear now that he's a got a soldi property and some solid storytelling on the go here. His super-hero soap opera is entertaining every time it crosses my desk, and this issue is no exception. I'm honestly surprised the soap-opera elements have played so well, making for strong character-driven storytelling as opposed to cheesy melodrama.
Rusty loses his cool after catching his wife, Celeste, in a compromising position with Frost, his half-brother. Their scuffle is interrupted by news that Zephyr Noble has been attacked and is in hospital. And in the backup story, we learn that the late Race Noble and Krennick weren't always such close friends. In fact, they spend several months once trying to kill one another.
Gleason continues to impress with his work on this title. I'm not surprised to hear he's got some work coming in the near future from DC Comics. His cartoony style suits the super-hero genre, but there's also a darkness and detail to his work that sets it apart. His character designs are fun but plausible, and his page layouts are inventive but clear. As for Johnson's work in the backup feature, it's slick and fun, but those looking for an even better example of what he's capable of would be well advised to check out last week's Way of the Ray #1 from CrossGen Comics.
The highlight of the main story -- and the greatest strength of the series so far -- is Liz Donnelly's role in the story. She stands out as not only the average person's gateway into the bizarre lives of a petty family of super-heroes, but she's also the voice of reason. It's her down-to-earth background that emerges as the most unique quality among a group of unbelievable people with powers, curses and limitless bank accounts.
The backup story wanders into some cliched super-hero territory, but at the same time, Faerber seems to poke fun at super-hero conventions. Race and Krennick fight because... well, because it's what's expected of them. And this piece continued to portray the elder Nobles as being far from the type of people their surname suggests they are.
Note: This comic book was not among this week's new releases.
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