Noble Causes Archives, Volume Two

Noble Causes Archives #2

by Jay Faerber, Various (Artist)

Behind the glamour and wonder lie dark secrets, ruthless ambition, and twisted desires! Collecting the rest of the early adventures of the world-famous Noble family, as the Nobles are re-introduced to the Blackthornes, a family of super-villains! Collects Noble Causes #12-31 and Noble Causes: Extended Family Secrets #1-2.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

598 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2008

Reviews

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this volume didn't have the writer's name right on the cover, I'd swear it was written by a different person--the change from volume 1 to volume 2 is such a dramatic change. Unfortunately, I can't say this is a good thing. In particular, although I don't think you can say the first half of the series is subtle, in this archive, any semblance of subtlety is thrown entirely out the window. Everyone over-reacts to everything, and it becomes very hard to believe anything that happens. Characters who were originally very flawed good guys are now downright villainous, and the things that bring them to that point seem rather minor.

There are some other problems here, too. The first six or so issues make copious use of flashbacks. I would assume that the coloring or tonality on those are different, but you can't tell that in the black and white volume here, so it makes for some confusing reading. Also, after getting a pretty solid artistic style set for the series, some of the new artists use wildly different styles that just don't work as well (and really, are only so-so, anyway.)

There are some larger plotting problems here, too. The introduction of a family of villains seems like a good idea, but it ends up being too many characters to juggle. And--although I guess it was inevitable--when everything ends, there are a lot of plotlines left hanging, leaving me only partly unsatisfied.

Despite all that, this series is still a lot of totally ridiculous, soap-operatic fun. It's not as good as the first volume, but even for all of it's flaws, I stilled plowed through it and had a lot of fun. But it certainly doesn't compare to the first half. I actually can't imagine it having a very wide appeal--it's trapped between a spoof and an homage--but hey, I enjoyed it well enough.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concluding volume of this series was really good, but not quite up to the first volume. The main reason being the entire series ended on a huge cliffhanger. I'm not sure if it was planned that way or if the series was cancelled, but either way it came off as flat.

The series also at one point jumped ahead five years abruptly, and that also detracted from the story as well for me. There were many changes that were just never explained. It just didn't fit the narrative well in my opinion.

Now, other than those issues, this was a good volume. The sexiness got turned up a little, and there was plenty going on to keep readers guessing. Overall this was really a good series, and I'm glad I finally discovered it.

If you like your comics to focus more on the "human" rather than the "super", then this is definitely the series for you.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read and enjoyed the first Noble Causes Archives and I was looking forward to reading through the second volume. Archives 2 suffers in its' seesawing roster of artists, some of whose work is ridiculously cookie cutter and hard to look at.

Still, the tone of the book remains consistent, blending over the top superhero stuff with crazy soap opera dynamics.