What if superheroes acted like the Kennedys, right down to the photo ops, sex scandals and undefinable charisma? Faerber and company explore that question in this story of Liz Donnelley, a new bride and widow of the youngest of the Noble superhero clan. The tale begins with a wedding reminiscent of Lady Diana's to Prince Charles, but when Liz's new hubby is killed on the honeymoon and she moves in with her in-laws, the narrative downshifts straight into Dynasty. Faerber succeeds in presenting a superhero soap opera. Unfortunately, there are more similarities than Faerber considered between the angsty drama of traditional superhero series (like his previous run on the DC nostalgia favorite The Titans) and the travails of modern-day celebs, so juxtaposing the two genres isn't so remarkable after all. This volume collects the first story arc of Faerber's series, with dishy behind-the-scenes introductions to each episode. But like the series, the trade paperback falls victim to a creator who tries to be a little too cute. Faerber's practice of switching artists and including an eight-page backup at the end of each 15-page main story creates too many moving parts, and he doesn't maintain the installments' order. The main stories appear in a five-chapter arc at the book's beginning, with the shorter stories gathered haphazardly at the end as a sort of appendix. Faerber's decision to use a different unknown artist on each shorter story is distracting, and the main story's art is uneven. Still, there are enough promising concepts displayed here to bear watching. (Aug.)
