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Friday, January 18, 2008

Marvel's "The Twelve" The New "Watchmen"?


I bought Marvel's The Twelve #1 simply because I read artist Chris Weston's name on the cover. I knew nothing else about it. Then I noticed J. Michael Straczynski's name on the cover, and, given recent events, I was a little wary. But, in the end I enjoyed The Twelve #1 -- and I couldn't help think of a similar mini-series...

Spoilers

It was the death of swashbuckling character Blue Blade, reminiscent for me of that of The Comedian, that really sunk in the Watchmen comparison. Certainly Weston's art -- superb -- helped that connection along.

But, whether JMS's story has the texture and depth of Alan Moore's masterpiece remains to be seen. I think relating this tale about the dark side of Golden Age heroes to the DC mini The Golden Age -- or even the recent Grant Morrison arc of Batman with the "Batmen of many nations" storyline/murder mystery -- might be more apropos.

Worth a read.

Some preview pages from #2: (click for bigger)

7 comments:

  1. I can't understand why this series is a big surprise for everybody... I've been excited for The Twelve since it was announced.

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  2. Excuse me: we all know that the New Watchmen is really Countdown to Final Crisis.

    (What, who wasn't expecting that?!)

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  3. I thought The Twelve had promise; it certainly was better than most of the crop the week it came out. A Civil War tie-in that...doesn't suck? Woah.

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  4. Thanks for the kind words!

    I think the scope of The Twelve is more intimate than Watchmen. It's more of a psychological drama... and a meditation on how our world has changed in the last sixty years.

    Hope you stick with it!

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  5. I'm looking forward to Alex Ross' Super Powers instead.

    It promises to rehash Watchmen as well - but with better costume designs.

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  6. For me, The Twelve is an example of how Marvel has poisoned their entire universe for me. I thought it looked interesting, brought it... and then got to the point where the guy was ranting about not waking them up because of Civil War, and realized I just didn't want to read this anymore.

    I did skim through the rest, and the feeling only got more overwhelming. It's not even that I expect JMS to write paeans to the SHRA -- he was about the only writer in Marvel that allowed Cap to actually say anything in his own defense rather than being an inarticulate jerk -- but that whatever happens, this really poisonous system will remain in place at the end of the maxi.

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  7. Wow, Tavella...

    one single line of dialogue is a deal-breaker, eh?

    Comic fans... toughest audience in the world.

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