There's a lot happening in Family Secrets, most of it at breakneck speed. It's hard to get bored with Zephyr's pregnancy scandal and the mystery of who is responsible, not to mention the affair between Frost and Celeste and the fallout that's having with the anger-prone Rusty. The downside, however, is that none of these plots get quite enough room to breathe in this issue, especially when you consider that there are several other subplots going as well. Though I have appreciated the modern day/flashback split-book effect that Noble Causes has been going for, a sense of a rushed lead story and a weaker backup this issue have me once again wishing for one story per issue.
Central to the Family Secrets mini-series is the identity of the father of Zephyr's baby. The media scandal surrounding it, and Liz's part in that, are nice connective ties to the theme and approach of the series so far, but really, what we all want to know is, "Who's the father?" With a little more room, I like to think Faerber would be introducing some suspects, because it's kind of frustrating to have a mystery no one can guess at. But what we do get plenty of is character fallout from this and the other major events.
Faerber's characterization on this book is top-notch. The interplay between the angry Gaia and the somewhat befuddled and frustrated Liz is terrific, and I also really enjoyed seeing Rusty show a softer side to Liz as well. In many ways, since she's an outsider, Liz has things the easiest in the Noble family, since she hasn't had time for everyone to build up old grudges against her. Speaking of old grudges, I enjoyed seeing that Megaforce and the Nobles haven't necessarily gotten along, and the resentment there is a nice commentary on the tendency of old moneyed families to be seen as spoiled rotten.
Richardson and Wycough do a terrific job on the lead story's artwork. The devastation wrought by Rusty, or the idyllic surroundings of Celeste's relaxation spot, are great backgrounds. And I detect a touch of Mike Avon Oeming's simplicity in some of Richardson's work, particularly his work on Gaia, while the sophistication of his faces reminds me more of artists like Chris Cross and Mike McKone. In addition, the battle royale (well, as royale as it can get in only two pages) between Celeste and Frost was great.
If I seem to be harping on the rushed pacing, it's because I really felt it this issue, and I resented it more because the space taken from the main story was used for something of a weak backup. While most of the flashbacks have established context for modern story points, the tale of Krennick and Zephyr's strange relationship doesn't really show us anything new, other than a hint that Krennick's unrequited love could cause him to go bad again. And the artwork by Wendt and Herrera, while passable in storytelling, is inconsistent in details and features some rather ugly and rushed-looking characters.
