NOBLE VOL. 1 – graphic novel | Looking For a Good Book

It is difficult to stand out in a market that has seen an explosion of titles. The graphic novel market has really grown in the past few years and I’ve seen a lot of titles, authors, and publishers trying to male their way here. I’ve also discovered that I tend to enjoy some of the lesser-known (to me, at least) graphic novel creators. And so I had hopes for Noble: God Shots.

David Powell was an astronaut on a suicide mission to destroy an asteroid that was on a collision course with the earth. Though he unexpectedly survived the mission, he came away with telekinetic powers but also amnesia. Now on Earth, Powell is trying to avoid capture by Foresight Corporation – a company that recognizes his powers, potential, and danger. But Powell just wants to help a few people and try to remember who he was. When a team tries to apprehend him at the start of the book – a team with an agent rained to deal with someone with powers – David only has to call upon his telekinetic ability to handily defeat the force in front of him. But this only solves an immediate problem.

Meanwhile, aside from Foresight Corporation and its leader Lorena Payan, David’s wife, Astrid Allen-Powell and son are getting some insider information from Foresight and trying to get David first.

The story has the potential to be a really interesting sci-fi adventure/mystery, but it doesn’t quite rise above mediocre.

First, we have a little problem with the story-telling angles. We jump around. A lot. I’m used to reading comics and graphic novels that change view points with some regularity, but this one bounced around a little too much, so I never got really into a point of view.

Second, this clearly seems to be written with the long-running comic format in mind, rather than with eyes on a periodic graphic novel. We get a little rise in the action, and then explanation, and then a little rise in the action, and then more explanation, and then … and we don’t get any sort of clear resolution that would make for a natural break to put together a graphic novel. Instead it would seem that an arbitrary point was selected because it filled a certain number of pages.

And while there is some interest here, it so far doesn’t rise above a crowded field. I feel like I’ve read this story and these characters feel a lot like so many others.

The artwork has a nice, crisp quality to it. I am reminded of the days of the Buscemas and Romitas – days when I really appreciated the art in comics.

I had high hopes, but this didn’t quite make it.

Looking for a good book? Noble, Vol. 1 is a graphic novel that has potential but manages only to be very average.