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Noble Causes #8
Noble Causes Volume 8: Star Crossed
The lives of the Nobles and the Blackthornies continue to interwine as Zepher Noble and Slate Blackthorne enter into a secret affair, and the terminally ill Kitty Blackthorne makes an unthinkable request of Celeste. Collects Noble Causes #26-31.
136 pages, Paperback
First published December 17, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 29, 2010
When I'm describing the series, I tend to call anything before the 5 year jump "classic" just because it's easier to describe it to people that way. I have to admit, this volume sends the Noble family out with a bang & the volume title of "Star-Crossed" is very deservedly given to this volume.
Due to her time jumping from the previous volume, Liz has lost her memory. Despite the best attempts of Doc, it seems as if she might never regain her old memories of her marriage to Race or her life with the Nobles. Could Gaia be encouraging Liz's memory loss so she won't remember something she saw in the past? Meanwhile Kitty Blackthorne is losing the battle with her feral self & she now escapes nightly on a deadly rampage of terror. What will this mean for the Blackthornes?
This really was a sad volume to read, but an excellent one. This is honestly Faerber at his story telling best, with just about all of his previous story arcs getting resolved in this volume. It's also interesting to see how Gaia's evolution as a character has come about- at the beginning of the Noble Causes series we learn very early on that she is willing to do anything- even abandoning her son Frost- to keep a positive public image & in this volume we learn how very far she's willing to go in order to look good. It's interesting to see that Faeber is fully willing to show how one hero can fall into darkness & easily become a villain of their own making.
If you've been collecting the series so far, you HAVE to get this volume. It might be sad to see some of the things play out, but it really is some of Faeber's best work of the series. I can't wait to see how this all ends- after all, only 2 more volumes after this one! If you haven't read the other books in the series, I can't recommend this to you- you really have to have read the previous volumes in order to fully appreciate & understand the story in this volume.
Due to her time jumping from the previous volume, Liz has lost her memory. Despite the best attempts of Doc, it seems as if she might never regain her old memories of her marriage to Race or her life with the Nobles. Could Gaia be encouraging Liz's memory loss so she won't remember something she saw in the past? Meanwhile Kitty Blackthorne is losing the battle with her feral self & she now escapes nightly on a deadly rampage of terror. What will this mean for the Blackthornes?
This really was a sad volume to read, but an excellent one. This is honestly Faerber at his story telling best, with just about all of his previous story arcs getting resolved in this volume. It's also interesting to see how Gaia's evolution as a character has come about- at the beginning of the Noble Causes series we learn very early on that she is willing to do anything- even abandoning her son Frost- to keep a positive public image & in this volume we learn how very far she's willing to go in order to look good. It's interesting to see that Faeber is fully willing to show how one hero can fall into darkness & easily become a villain of their own making.
If you've been collecting the series so far, you HAVE to get this volume. It might be sad to see some of the things play out, but it really is some of Faeber's best work of the series. I can't wait to see how this all ends- after all, only 2 more volumes after this one! If you haven't read the other books in the series, I can't recommend this to you- you really have to have read the previous volumes in order to fully appreciate & understand the story in this volume.
August 3, 2021
I'm totally onboard for the soap opera between the Nobles and the Blackthorn's. The line between hero and villains is blurred... Do they do this to make a better world, or just for their own egos?
March 14, 2023
This one was kind of a mixed bag. Just getting out of the way, the art in this one was bad, down right terrible. I'm not sure I could see it working for anything in any context. Is it the worst comic art I've ever seen? I'm not sure, but I don't like it, at all.
The writing, is itself a mix bag. There are some moments of near brilliants in this volume, but you can also tell, at least it seems to me, this is where Faeber was starting to get bored with this project. There isn't much left and I think this is where he started planning his exit strategy. I know when I start reading the next book, there is a five year leap forward, not only have I read that in a few places, but it's literally called, Five Years Later.
Why do I think he was getting sick of this project? Well in the last book and this one there are ads of Dynamo 5, his next series after this that that as I understand it is generally considered better and is more popular. But also things like... Ok, without spoilers. The Blackthorns become something of a mirror reflection rivals for the Noble family. Mercury, who is one of the Blackthorns, was introduced a long, long time ago before we had any idea wo the Blackthorns were. At first it seemed like he was going to be a major player, but he never was. He kind of just fades away and occasionally shows up in the background.
When Hunter Blackthorn, the patriarch, their Doc Noble, is saying goodbyes to his family, he just looks at Mercury and says, "We don't need words, right?" It's stuff like that that almost seems like a joke. There are tons of other threads, seeds that got planted, that never germinate. I'm not sure if that's intentional, because life is like that. Things you think are going to happen, things you see coming that just never manifest. Or, it's almost like he would start writing with one idea in mind, then he would get another one and just run in that direction, never coming back to the earlier ideas.
But oh man, does some shit really happen in this book. Lots of big emotional and dramatic moments. There is a lot of character growth for some. And, I actually like it a lot. It's amazing how much the writing carries this one, because lord knows the art was trying to drag it down.
The writing, is itself a mix bag. There are some moments of near brilliants in this volume, but you can also tell, at least it seems to me, this is where Faeber was starting to get bored with this project. There isn't much left and I think this is where he started planning his exit strategy. I know when I start reading the next book, there is a five year leap forward, not only have I read that in a few places, but it's literally called, Five Years Later.
Why do I think he was getting sick of this project? Well in the last book and this one there are ads of Dynamo 5, his next series after this that that as I understand it is generally considered better and is more popular. But also things like... Ok, without spoilers. The Blackthorns become something of a mirror reflection rivals for the Noble family. Mercury, who is one of the Blackthorns, was introduced a long, long time ago before we had any idea wo the Blackthorns were. At first it seemed like he was going to be a major player, but he never was. He kind of just fades away and occasionally shows up in the background.
When Hunter Blackthorn, the patriarch, their Doc Noble, is saying goodbyes to his family, he just looks at Mercury and says, "We don't need words, right?" It's stuff like that that almost seems like a joke. There are tons of other threads, seeds that got planted, that never germinate. I'm not sure if that's intentional, because life is like that. Things you think are going to happen, things you see coming that just never manifest. Or, it's almost like he would start writing with one idea in mind, then he would get another one and just run in that direction, never coming back to the earlier ideas.
But oh man, does some shit really happen in this book. Lots of big emotional and dramatic moments. There is a lot of character growth for some. And, I actually like it a lot. It's amazing how much the writing carries this one, because lord knows the art was trying to drag it down.
April 18, 2026
Unfortunately, a decision made in this volume drags it down to three stars out of five. This story has always had a teeeny bit of a problem with 'tell-don't-show' that periodically flares up like acne, but it really explodes with Gaia Noble in this volume. She's been the most consistently underdeveloped Noble since this ongoing started (assuming we don't count Icarus, who hasn't been mentioned by name once, I don't think), and now
There's a brutal shaggy dog (cat) moment in this that would have worked a lot better if, again, we'd had more time with the characters in question. Tying back into the aforementioned Gaia issue, I thought the 'flowers that smell' thing was a biiiiiiit too convenient.
There are good bits - I talked about how I liked the shaggy cat moment conceptually, I also like , and Rusty and Celeste gaining a new sort of respect for one another. Doc Noble getting this self-pitying rant when Webster Dodge does what he does is such a great moment - ties naturally into this entitlement we see so frequently from the Nobles in this comic - I just wish we would see **more** of that
There's a brutal shaggy dog (cat) moment in this that would have worked a lot better if, again, we'd had more time with the characters in question. Tying back into the aforementioned Gaia issue, I thought the 'flowers that smell' thing was a biiiiiiit too convenient.
There are good bits - I talked about how I liked the shaggy cat moment conceptually, I also like , and Rusty and Celeste gaining a new sort of respect for one another. Doc Noble getting this self-pitying rant when Webster Dodge does what he does is such a great moment - ties naturally into this entitlement we see so frequently from the Nobles in this comic - I just wish we would see **more** of that
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews