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I'm reading this in trade so I hope the first 5 issues everyone is reading is from Vol 1: In Sickness and in Health. So my thoughts after re-reading the first 5 issues:

- These guys are pretty much the Kardashians except with some actual talents. That thought didn't occur to me the first time reading this but it did this time as I thought about how crazy it would be for a normal person like Liz to date someone in that family and be thrust into that craziness. Pretty much like trying to date Kim Kardashian.

- Celeste certainly doesn't come across very well in the first issue. Race, who seems very likable right from the start, clearly doesn't like her and the issue ends with her sleeping with Frost. Not a great start for her character.

- It would have been hard to believe that so many people around the world would be interested in a celebrity marriage like in issue 2 if we hadn't just seen it happen with Will and Kate like a year ago.

- I can see what Race sees in Liz. She does a good job at standing up for herself to Gaia and Celeste.

- A huge "Holy Shit" moment at the end of issue 2 and Race gets vaporized. No way that just happened.

- I like Kennick a lot. He's a very likable character. But the hookers role playing as Zephyr is pretty creepy.

- Thought the reveal of the killer was pretty cool and surprising.

- Issue "5" is the first issue of the Family Secrets mini. Jay uses a clever device of having Liz doing an interview to give new readers a chance to jump on and learn the history but it doesn't suck down the momentum of the narrative and we see what's really happening as well as what Liz admits is happening.

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Okay, started my reading from First Impressions to the end of the first mini. Didn't start with the next arc yet. But man, I forgot JUST how entertaining this was. Great characters all about, Liz is a great character to help us through the mishaps and insanity of the superhero world and the Noble Family. All have their own voices and already are unpredictable and human. Next to Liz, I definitely found myself falling for Celeste. Just something about her. She reminds me of a more bitchy version of Monet from the X-books. Frost also stands out as the outsider of the family. Krennick being accepted into the family despite being their arch-nemesis' son with Frost is unwelcomed is indeed interesting.

I found myself loving Icarus but TOTALLY forgot about the crazy shit he ended up doing to the family. Some crazy crap indeed. Despite knowing and having read this already, I forgot about a lot of it and found myself being shocked still at certain things. Race's death at #2 definitely got me also, haha!

I'm glad to be re-reading this because it truly feels like I'm reading this for the first time again.

I actually come to like her character as the series goes on but she doesn't do much for me at this point. Even aside from having an affair with her husband's brother, she just seems like a fame seeker so far. She'll get more development as things go on.



Agree on both of these. I like Frost a lot and I've always really liked how Krennick was part of the family.

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My comicartfans.com collection. Lots of Ryan Ottley:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=49719

Man, how bad is my memory that I actually did believe Krennick was the pops of Zephyr's baby?

And Celeste is definitely a fame seeker/gold digger. BUT maybe she did love Rusty and then he grew distant, thus pushing her away. I could say maybe she feels like an outsider along with Frost, but she seems to be generally accepted despite her and Race.

I thought Zephyr's baby daddy was Invincible I gotta get off my lazy butt and start reading even though I get melancholy remembering the series. Will we read The Pact as well?

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I want you to remember the one man who beat you.

So for 5/31 - 6/6 we're reading Volume 2: Family Secrets? That would take us through the first 8 issues.

So my thoughts after reading this volume:

- We finally get a look at the Nobles using their superpowers a little (other than Race being really fast and Frost being misty). Gaia gets some lightening flying around when Liz doesn't handle the interview question regarding Zephyr's pregnancy very well. Rusty pounds on a Mega Force team pretty easily (he seems to have some anger control issues in general). It's funny that there is very little superheroing overall in this title. Seems the Nobles focus more on being celebrities more than doing actual superhero work. Almost makes you wonder what they did to become so famous to start with.

- It was fun to see Rusty going around the superhero community trying to find out who Zephyr's baby daddy is. We catch a glimpse of Invincible in what must have been one of his earliest appearances. The must be before The Pact in the timeline since neither he nor Firebreather doesn't know who Zephyr is (is The Pact considered canon for these stories?).

- Hope Liz's therapist was well paid for the info on Zephyr's pregnancy because she's going to lose her license for sure. I wonder how many actual celebrity's therapists are tempting to sell scandalous info to the press?

- It is really kind of gross that Zephyr slept with Draconis. Seriously, that's going above and beyong trying to get back at your overbearing parents.

- Was surprised that Doc actually killed Draconis. Seemed like they were having a genuine bonding moment. Not enough to become friends but maybe enough to give him a pass for the day.

- I do give some props to Zephyr for giving Gaia the tongue lashing she so richly deserves. Gaia clearly cares more about the PR than her family's actual feelings.

- We see a little bit of back story on Frost growing up. He is probably the most sympathetic character in the books at this point even when he's sometimes a jerk.

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My comicartfans.com collection. Lots of Ryan Ottley:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=49719

Reading for 6/7 - 6/13 is Volume 3: Distant Relatives which brings us up through 12 issues:

- I'm a little surprised that Liz was so open with her friend after the problems they had with her therapist selling info to the press. Of course, I think this was just Jay's way of giving a little background info to new readers.

- Love how the Nobles are actually wanted criminals in the other dimension. Although they seem to still be helping people so I didn't really catch exactly why people hate them so much there.

- Not surprised that Gaia cheated with her Doc with the alternate Doc. He seemed like a nicer, more attentive version in his brief appearance.

- I really felt bad for Frost having his new found family (who actually accepted him other than Race) taken away from him so fast.

- Really like Rusty's new girlfriend. She's nice and not afraid to stick up for herself. Even knowing about her from reading the series before, I still like her much more than his ex-wife.

- Thought Zephyr deserved the tongue lashing that Krennick gave her. Sleeping with Draconis was such a pathetic move. Of course he gets caught with his creepy Zephyr twin hooker so it's no surprise that they never really have much to do with each other from this point on.

- I want to make sure I understand the ending of this volume - Liz goes to the different, almost identical dimension where Race is still alive and from that point forward we are actually reading the adventures of a different Noble family. That's right, right? Kinda crazy and ballsy when you think about it. But a way to get Race back into the book without a straight up resurrection cop out.

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My comicartfans.com collection. Lots of Ryan Ottley:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=49719

Wait, Draconis was killed? I thought Doc simply shot him with a beam gun. Hmm. Okay.

But yeah, this was a great read. The soap opera elements are a lot of fun to read and I liked that we're getting more depth with the characters. The scene with Doc and Draconis was most definitely my favorite part, them discussing their struggles on being fathers and their "bonding" over their sons' friendship. The honesty between them was very well written and you felt for them, especially Draconis. And yeah, I'm glad I'm doing a re-reading after all these years because a lot of these story points and twists and turns feel rather new for me. I totally forgot who the father was going to be. Also, Rusty going through the Image superhero community in search of Zephr's baby daddy was great. I loved Patriot's and Firebreather's responses.

While you may not be enjoying Celeste, it's Gaia who annoys me. Her whole thing with the public image just rubs me wrong, and I understand from her POV, but the fact that it causes her to neglect Frost annoys me. And still, the revelation of Frost's father was great. I think I'm remembering a bit of that backstory, but I'm excited to get back into it again.

I'm gonna catch up this weekend. Capuga, about the ending, Wasn't Liz dead in the new dimension? So it was an alternate dimension, but I remember Jay saying not to dwell on it. Basically the story would proceed w/o any acknowledgement of the change. It's kind of like when Bobby Ewing showed up in the shower, and the whole season following his "death" was a dream. Gonna re-read the first trade tonight.

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I want you to remember the one man who beat you.

Hmm. Okay, so Draconis IS dead.

Loving the pace of these stories, although I get through them so damn fast. Loved Doc in the alternate universe and I loved how welcoming he was of Frost. Frost is a fantastic character, I do hate how he's treated in the regular verse. So I'm guessing on Gaia and Frost knows who his father is? Not even the regular universe Frost? Man, Race was a douche.

I like Rae also. The revelation about her later on I totally remember, though I'm not too sure if I like it. Guess we'll discuss it when we reach it.

And yeah, we follow the family with the new universe that Liz is now part of. I must say, I felt that ending was rather weird, just that it seem rather rushed and abrupt, but the overall idea of it works for me.