The Twelve is a clever idea to explain why many of
the super-heroes from the 1940s disappeared and were never heard from again in
the annuals of Marvel Comics history- until now. When a dozen B-list heroes are
captured and placed in suspended animation just hours before the Allies occupy
World War II Berlin, the world passes them over like a forgotten keepsake in a
dusty attic. Thanks to an excavation project to build a new parking lot in
present day Berlin, the Twelve are recovered and shipped to American for de-freezing
and adjustment therapy into the present day.
This is exactly what happens to Captain
America in First Avenger a couple of years later. So, it’s possible that this
series inspired a Marvel movie. However, I feel like a lot of this series takes
its inspiration from DC’s Watchmen. The series is about a bunch of super heroes
that find that they no longer fit into the world they helped create. The only
difference is that the Watchmen aged with their world, these Twelve heroes did
not.
The
American government takes them in and ‘repays’ them for their duty in WWII by
provided clothes, food, and a roof over their heads in hopes that they’ll
eventually become agents of the government once again after their transition
period has completed. It very well could go south very fast were it not for a
murder mystery building in the wings.
Someone is
killing stereotypes- gays, people of color, gangs and such. The evidence is
pointing to some of the Twelve. So just who is the murderer? The suspense hits
a fevered pitch when the series takes a small flash forward and shows one of
the Twelve lying in a pool of blood.
Thanks to a
great mystery hiding behind a thinly veiled allegory for the end of American innocence,
the Twelve is actually pretty good. The art is very good and I love the ‘pulp’
feel of the covers. I cannot wait to see what happens in volume 2.
Worth Consuming.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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