The time is April of 1945 and a masked avenger by the name of the Phantom Reporter is heading to the front lines to do his part in the war effort. In this case, his part is to put less emphasis on the “phantom” aspect of his name and more on the “reporter”. Or in other words, he’s there to cover the story and write it up as an inspirational piece for the folks back home as well as the boys in the trenches. He’s got his work cut out for him, as the United States Army is working alongside a group of mystery men, several of whom will soon end up in a loose-knit organization that we’ll come to know as The Twelve.
Yeah, remember those guys? That awesome story that JMS was writing and Chris Weston was illustrating before… uh… what exactly happened to that book? It was released around the same time as Dynamite started Project: Superpowers. Both titles focused on heroes who had slipped into the public domain and were up for grabs and both featured heroes frozen in time and revived in the modern era. The only real difference between the two was that Project: Superpowers sucked and The Twelve was a masterpiece right up until that eighth issue, before it dissappeared from the shelves just as its protagonists had dissappeared in the end days of the second world war.
Well anyway, this one-shot serves as a reintroduction to the characters who were featured in that series as well as a two-fisted WWII story. The story is told through the eyes of The Phantom Reporter, who doesn’t have any powers other than his exceptional courage and knack for writing one hell of a headline. Inspired not only by Captain America but also by the courageous efforts of what would eventually become known as “the greatest generation”, he ends up taking the fight to the Nazis despite his lack of superhuman ability.
Similar to comics like Marvels, this issue is told from a “man on the street” perspective, giving the reader insight to what it feels like to stand next to a guy who can bench press a tank. And also like Marvels, it works on two levels. On one hand, it makes no mistake about who the real heroes of World War II were: the soldiers. But on the other hand, it acknowledges the role that superhero comic books played in those days, inspiring folks back home and abroad and giving them brightly colored adventures to help take their minds off the war.
38 pages of beautifully illustrated Chris Weston artwork with no advertisements? Yeah, this is what $3.99 is supposed to be about. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this dude’s work because I haven’t seen anything from him in quite a while. There are a few faces that I found questionable but for the most part, I love the way this guy draws. He’d have been a perfect choice for The Marvels Project if Steve Epting wasn’t doing it, as his style works really well with a 1940’s story. I appreciate the fact that his heroes aren’t all ruggedly handsome types; some of ‘em are downright ugly. I feel like it works because… hey, they can’t all look like Steve Rogers, right? And while it’s probably just coincidence, it reflects the comics of the day, which weren’t always that attractive either. Hell, some of ‘em were downright repulsive to look at.
Cover art to THE TWELVE: SPEARHEAD #1 by Paolo Rivera
And the highlight of the story? Was it the reintroduction of this (by now forgotten) team? The thrill of a one-and-done story? The cameos from dozens of classic Marvel heroes? The realization that Weston can write one hell of a good story as well as illustrate it? No… it was the last page of the comic, which heralded the return of The Twelve. Issue 9 is coming soon!
Those of you who enjoyed the mini-series while it was going on, rejoice. Those of you who weren’t reading it – this is as good a place to start as any. If you enjoy classic heroes and classically-styled comics, this issue is worth a shot. And if you enjoy a great murder mystery and poking and prodding into the dark corners of the Golden Age, do yourself a favor and dig up those previous eight issues before adding The Twelve to your pull list.
I’m giving this one a B+. I had a really good time with it.
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