Johanna's Image Reviews: Noble Causes, Venture, Wildguard

Noble Causes: Distant Relatives #2
Venture #4
Wildguard: Casting Call #1

















Noble Causes: Distant Relatives #2 (of 4)
Story: Jay Faerber
Art: Andres Ponce
Image Comics, 32 black-and-white pages, $2.95

Liz has seized upon the idea of the parallel dimension as a way to get 
her deceased husband back. The idea has its problems (like whether that 
version of Race would even be interested), but she's obsessed, since 
she's still mourning his loss. For a book where talking is so important, 
as the characters discuss their feelings with each other, the artist 
isn't very good at expressions. He's trying up-the-chin shots to vary 
the perspective, but his foreshortening makes people look freakish. 

The backup story, with art by Shane Davis and Sam Mooney, shows Liz 
trying to move out and her coming to terms with the fact that she'll 
always be a Noble now. I preferred the art to that in the main story -- 
it seemed more polished -- but the lesson she learned was pretty 
obvious. 

I may have felt that way because I was concerned about page counts, 
though. I thought 15 pages of main story (where the questions I'm 
interested in are interspersed with more traditional adventure) wasn't 
enough space to explore all the possible interpretations and emotions 
associated with the contemplated action. I would rather have seen more 
attention paid to the ramifications of Liz's decisions than eight pages 
of backup I wasn't as interested in. After all, the soap opera genre, 
part of this mix, is all about dramatic feelings.

Overall, there are too many plotlines ongoing for the space available. 
If the book were monthly, it might be different, but the author's stuck 
in an unfortunate catch-22 in trying to keep the series going. It 
doesn't come out as frequently as any of us would like. 

Venture #4
Story: Jay Faerber
Art: Jamal Igle, Jim Valentino, Steve Walker, and Ryan Roman
Image Comics, 32 color pages, $2.95

I'm sorry to see this series end. It was sometimes clunky, but it had 
heart. "What if a superhero didn't want to be known as such" was a more 
modern take on the secret identity, and the characters were interesting 
if not yet fully fleshed out. 

The reason this issue caught my eye was that Celeste Noble, from NOBLE 
CAUSES, plays a major guest starring role. Her publicity interests and 
cynicism were a nice contrast with the idealistic Venture. Her 
appearance makes her more three-dimensional, seeing her outside the 
realm of her family entanglements. 

The editorial page talks about more to come someday, but with no 
promises. This book had a longer run than some, and even launches in the 
established superhero universes are struggling these days. 

Wildguard: Casting Call #1 (of 6)
Writer/Artist: Todd Nauck
Inker: Lary Stucker
Image Comics, 32 color pages, $2.95

It's an issue-long Legion tryout combined with a reality show. While the 
concepts involved -- a superhero team together for publicity purposes, 
choosing new members through auditions, and so on -- have been done 
before, this particular combination is well-suited to our current 
media-crazed society, nicely playing off the superhero/superstar 
comparison. 

As with the reality shows, I have a feeling that those who'll be 
continuing have already been selected for extra screen time. The names 
and powers range from the typical to the outrageously silly, but that's 
to be expected when there are so many other heroes out there already. 
Art imitating life, I guess, with these new heroes trying to gain 
attention in a crowded marketplace. 

Plotlines typical of the genre are introduced -- the overbearing 
girlfriend, the couple finding love through the show, the opportunist -- 
on crowded, colorful pages. Plenty of head shots give the characters 
hooks for the reader. It's a riotous introduction, jumping right into 
the story. I'm curious to see what happens, or who gets cut, next.

-- 
Johanna Draper Carlson             
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