Noble Vol. 1

A group of astronauts embark on a suicide mission to prevent an asteroid from impacting Earth. David Powell, loving husband, and father is among them when something otherworldly happens. Thought to be dead, Powell is instead imbued with telekinesis lost his memory. His heart remains intact, though, as he helps out the locals in a Spanish-speaking country, which serves him well later.

CEO Lorena Payan is aware of Powell’s survival and is searching for him for her own nefarious purposes. She and her subordinates are not without special abilities as well. Payan is not the only woman looking for Powell as is his wife gets a word in her ear that her husband is still alive. Wifey gets suited and ready to find her husband.

God Shots

There are a few aspects about this graphic novel that I think are worth noting.

1. The protagonist, the superhero, is an African-American male. The superhero genre has influenced the psyche of young kids, especially boys, and the general society for decades now. Recognizing that the public image of Black people in America, especially men, has been negative for so long, it is essential to have positive representations in the media.

2. Our protagonist’s wife is a highly skilled and competent Black woman, which, again, is important because it adds diversity to the images of women and Black women in the media.

3. The protagonist and his wife are…married. They are a Black married couple that seem to have a supportive relationship. David doesn’t have much of his memory, but the wife cares enough about him to go on a mission to find him so, it’s probably a safe assumption that they have a healthy relationship. That too is important to see and is unfortunately not often portrayed in media.

4. Another major and powerful character in the story is a Latina woman. And this is something we don’t often see in American Media. It’s good to have positive and powerful images of American ethnic minorities.

Why I Chose this Book

I must have been scrolling through hoopladigital.com. I must have been. I came across a cover with a Black man who looked like a superhero. It also wasn’t published by DC or Marvel. I had to check it out. It turns out the author was also a Black man. I had to check it out.

Conclusion

The story was fine. It was straightforward. Some readers may find the timeline to be a little confusing because it jumps back and forth though I think it’s manageable. I appreciated the ethnic diversity and gender representation. Also, the artwork was pretty good. Reading this story, I pictured Will and Jada Pinkett Smith as the couple in a film adaptation. Jaden is a little too old to play the son, but wouldn’t that be interesting if a film production could make it work. Just because you might as well, they would add a daughter, who would be played by Willow, and who knows, Trey may even make a cameo appearance.

Author: Brandon Thomas

Cover Art, Artist: Roger Robinson

Cover Art, Colorist: Juan Fernandez

Artist: Jamal Igle

Artist: Robin Riggs