Noble Causes Archives: Vol. 1 written by Jay Faerber, art by many and various

Jay Faerber’s Noble Causes follows the celebrity super-human family the Nobles, starting from the introduction of super-speedster Race Noble’s new girlfriend, “regular” girl Liz Donnelly. Liz serves as the entry point character for the world of both the super-human and high profile celebrity. Through her the often dysfunctional relationships of the Nobles and their family is explored.

This first of two volumes collects the first twenty-six issues of Noble Causes and their assorted back-up features. Almost six-hundred pages of super-human soap opera, family squabbles, murder, cross-dimensional travel, sex scandals, more murder, more family fighting, and even some old-fashioned cape-style face punchery…

Artesia by Mark Smylie

Epic fantasy with war and blood and ghosts and monsters and sex and murder and betrayal and religion and visions and violence and ladies with pole arms. What more do you want? Ok, it’s also got wonderful, crisp, clean art teamed with its high-stakes, large-scale story. Its always good to find a fantasy series that doesn’t feel like a rehash of someone’s D&D campaign. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love a decent D&D inspired fantasy as much as the next RPG nerd, but its still nice to have something with a creator not afraid to aim big…

Story and art by Bob Layton, colors by Christie Scheele and Bob Sharen and letters by Rick Parker

See yon noble godling Hercules. Verily, doth he climb up unto the heights of Olympus, home of his brethren. And lo, there he be mightly shushed for his father Zeus has proclaimed that it be a day of quiet reflection for it is truly the anniversary of the day upon which the mightiest of the Olympians was born. And lo all droopy pants is the mighty Hercules for truly he had hoped to return home and have a truly righteous party. But weep not for mopey Hercules for are these not some of the handmaidens of Olympus come to offer him refreshment?

But alas! For it is not in the nature of the Lion of Olympus to quietly partake of either refreshment or haindmaiden. But the groovin’ and the shakin’ of the Prince of Power has disturbed the solemn contemplations of all-mighty Zeus and truly he is most wroth! And so the scion of Zeus is banished! Let him go forth unto Bel Airedeepest space until he has learned humility…

And so Hercules sets forth upon the borrowed sun chariot of his brother into the vastness of space. There to encounter recording robots, aliens, sexy space ladies and even Galactus the World Devourer…

Superf*ckers by James Kochalka

For everyone who ever wanted a team of super-teens that actually acted like teens, here you go. Rude, stupid, petty, confused, vulgar and stupid. Just like regular teen-agers. James Kochalka’s parody of super teen teams is sharp, witty and above all funny as hell…

morningglories written by Nick Spencer, drawn by Joe Eisma, colors by Alex Sollazzo, letters by Johnny Lowe

I’ve read the first volume of Nick Spencer’s story about Morning Glory Academy three or four times so far, and I still have no idea what is going on. There are bizarre and sometimes fatal tests given to the students, some strange killer ghost guy, a spinning thingy, and possibly some time travel. Not to mention the enigmatic headmaster with plans for the students selected for the school who all have the same birthday for some reason.  I have no clue what any of it means, but the book feels like the first season of Lost. The mysteries may pile up, but you keep wanting to know more and see if it can be made to all fit together…

Thor The Mighty Avenger written by Roger Langridge, art by Chris Samnee, colors by Matthew Wilson, letters by Rus Wooten

Here, Langridge and Marvel present a fun, main-line continuity-free re-telling of Thor. It captures the basic elements of what makes Thor appealing, pseudo-Norse mysticism mixed with superhero punchery. Plus, there’s the basic Thor/Jane Foster dynamic. Here Thor is partially amnesiac, unsure of why he is on Earth but still drawn to acts of heroism. Of course, he’s still plagued by the trickery of his brother, Loki. Langridge grasps what makes Thor work and his art partners back him perfectly, making for an enjoyable all-ages, easy entry comic. Of course, it’s already been canceled because apparently too few people actually want that…

Still, that means it will be an easy series to complete. As a bonus, this first volume includes reprints of the original Thor stories from Journey Into Mystery #83 & 84.

Finder: Voice by Carla Speed McNeil

I’ve covered Finder a few times before. And everything I said then still holds true. McNeil is one of the best out there and a new collection of her series is always a good thing…

What is new here is the publication. Finder started as a normal floppy style comic that McNeil published on her own and just managed to scrape by. Then McNeil stopped doing that and moved the series to the web, putting up the story and early pencils as she finished them and just selling and self-publishing the trades. But this volume marks her move to having Dark Horse publish the book. This volume is smaller in size than the standard trade. But, hopefully, it begins a bigger audience for the series…

Which is good. Because as I (and many others) keep saying Finder is one of the best comics around. Just one of the best…

Rapunzel’s Revenge written by Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrated by Nathan Hale (no relation).

Rapunzel’s Revenge is a reimagining of the classic fairy tale in an Old West-ish setting. A mean old witch Mother Gothel rules over the territory by controlling all the local crops. If you want to be able to grow food, you’ll do what she says and pay her taxes. Her “daughter,” Rapunzel, knows none of that at first. She just knows she’s been confined in the castle forever and ever. However, a kindly guard’s lariat lessons allow her to climb the walls and see what’s outside. Part of that is a slave mining camp where she finds her true mother. That leads to her reconfinement, this time in a giant tree tower in the middle of a swamp. She escapes again and begins a series of adventures that will hopefully eventually bring her back to Mother Gothel’s castle so she can free her mother.

The Hales’ Rapunzel is a feisty heroine with an imaginative way of using her trademark hair as tool and weapon. The pseudo-Old West setting fits well with the fairy tale origin. Rapunzel’s Revenge is an excellent re-telling of a classic story.

King of RPGs written by Jason Thompson, art by Victor Hao

Shesh Maccabee is a freshman at the University of California, Escondido and a recovering World of Warcraft/World of Warfare addict. His friend Mike is also a new freshmen and a fan of Japanese console RPGs, cosplay and all things otaku. His job is to keep an eye on Shesh and watch for relapses. The two get roped into Theodore, a fanatical Dungeons & DragonsMages & Monsters gamemaster. Soon Shesh and Mike are part of the strange world of tabletop gaming, collectible card games and LARPing and running into obsessed anti-gaming cops, black market card smugglers and LARPers…

*shudder*

Vampire LARPers… one step above Furries, I tells ya!

daytripper by Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba with colors by Dave Stewart and letters by Sean Konot

daytripper is about one man’s life. The small moments, the big decisions and the surprises that it can deliver. Bras de Oliva Domingos is the son of a literary giant who works to establish himself as a writer as well. And Brazillian twins Moon and Ba introduce us to his life one day, one moment at a time. From start to finish…

The brothers’ art has long been a pleasure on any title they grace. But here they show a storytelling skill that is a joy to behold. Delivering a memorable tale that is a truly memorable take on life, on death, on family. A more than worthwhile addition to any bookshelf…