The Twelve

[PhotoJones]

****ing up Alan Scott is not cool.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

He didn't **** him up, he just didn't look quite like I expected. Eaglesham seems to draw him wearing slacks instead of tights, for one thing. Weird, but not altogether uncool.

 

[PhotoJones]

Now, I want to see it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Oct07/previews/Geoff_Johns_31st.html

Check the bottom.

 

[PhotoJones]

Oh, God. He's way too old and thin. Alan Scott should have barrell chest, at least.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

He's in good shape. He just looks skinny because he's standing next to Hawkman, who's like 300 lbs. of pure muslce.

 

[PhotoJones]

He's smaller then Wildcat.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

And Wildcat's an ex-heavyweight boxer who still trains regularly.

 

[PhotoJones]

It's Alan Scott, dude. He might be as toned as Hawkman or Wildcat, but he should definitely be as big.

 

[Anubis]

Maybe he doesn't feel like being big today.

 

[PhotoJones]

Alan Scott is big everyday. He eats his spinach.

 

[Kitsune]

Maybe he doesn't feel like being big today.

He can be really big

 

[PhotoJones]

Art deco rules.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Haha, that cover rules.

 

[PhotoJones]

I just noticed...it looks like he's hittin' that trolley from behind.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Hence why that cover rules.

 

[PhotoJones]

Among many other reasons, yes.

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

That Green Lantern cover looks great,it goes to show that artists back then knew what to do.Even if they had to do more work themselfs.

The Twelve still look great,but i don't see them being long term in Marvel.Especially with Joe Q.

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

Did the first issue come out yet?

 

[Dread]

Did the first issue come out yet?

Yes, it did. I always meant to bump this topic for it, but I was too lazy. Thanks.

The first issue shipped on the 9th and it was pretty good. I'll repost my review, with spoilers:

THE TWELVE #1: The other big launch this week, JMS & Christ Weston seek to add to Marvel's vastly underutilized Golden Age characters, considering DC has been making hay with JSA for years now, and that quite a few of their longtime characters from that generation, like Jim Hammond and Steve Rogers, are dead. The designs from Weston have been previewed and debated, and some of JMS's hints about how the team survived into the modern era were met with some skepticism, especially in the wake of his Spider-bungles. But, THOR at least shows that JMS still has some pep, he simply had been on ASM far, far, FAR too long (to which everyone replies, "YA THINK!?"), and The Twelve can also be put into his "good" pile, at least for the moment. With 12 characters and each issue seeming to center around one of 'em, people are even calling this a WATCHMEN rip, and to that I say, "So?" Shouldn't most writers at least try to match the character depth, the flowing artist direction, the mature subject matter, and the relevance that WATCHMEN gained? Especially with characters who are relative clean slates.

Spoiler

The story is introduced by Phantom Reporter, one of a bunch of Golden Agers who took part in WWII in 1945 and wound up being captured and cryogenically preserved by Nazi scientists. The Nazi's wanted to dissect them to create their own "supermen", or at least more of them as they already had a few, like Master Man, Power Princess, and so on. Note at this point, Red Skull himself could have been considered a "tourist", a cute past term that JMS coins for a costumed character with no superpowers; no cloned super-soldier body, Skull was just a wonk in a mask with "death dust". Weston's art is great, detailed but not too much so, and while he is as faithful to their outdated costumes as he can be, the last page notes that at least some of 'em don new duds, so I am being lenient for now. It made sense that the Nazi's didn't anticipate the Russians, or at least some didn't, and fortunately after the heroes are found, they are revived by U.S. forces and in the wake of CIVIL WAR, their placement as leftovers from "the greatest generation" is exploited to get some extra hands on the Initiative side that some of the old time generals can trust. It makes sense, and I liked the subtle way that Phantom Reporter figures out what year it actually is. This is obviously the first part of a 12 issue story and after introducing the characters and the status quo, there are few pages left, but for an intro issue, it did more than plenty of others I could mention (the entire team is assembled in this issue, for instance). And if the last page is any hint, Blue Blade may not be surviving it.

We have a long way to go and probably quite a few flashbacks and flash-forwards until the end, but with so many characters to dust off, I expect it so I don't mind it. JMS & Weston convince me this has direction and promise, and that is most of the battle right there. Even for an intro, I liked it. And yes, the cover is supposed to look like a beat-up comic. Dynamic Man looks like he is about to poo on the cover, though, and Blue Blade is the swishiest superhero, ever. But that's no biggie for now. Bring on more, I say. Perhaps it does seem odd that with so many "neo-Nazi" elements to have survived WWII, from Skull to Hydra and so on, that they'd have so easily lost track of 12 frozen metahumans and a robot, but I've seen wonkier elements be utilized for far worse storylines (heroes with over a decade of friendship and experience suddenly becoming mortal enemies who hate each other in the hour of need over a law very similar to one they debunked about 15 years prior, for instance). Color me interested.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I think it looks pretty promising, too. I've seen reviewers complain that it's too reminiscent of Captain America, whose origin is still pretty sharp in people's minds because of Ultimate Cap having an almost identical one just a few years ago. I don't mind, though. I'm looking forward to the inevitable conflict when the Twelve figure out that the government is duping them.

 

[PhotoJones]

I loved the first issue, myself. I'm looking forward to the interaction these guys will hopefully have with the modern heroes.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm looking forward to that and all the costume redesigns.

I love how Weston released all that preview art, then it turns out that they're only going to be wearing those costumes for like 1 or 2 issues.

 

[PhotoJones]

Weston is flat out amazing.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yes.