The Problem Is: Tomorrow Never Seemed To Get Here

The Twelve 1-12
Marvel Comics
J. Michael Straczynski, writer
Chris Weston, artist

This was one of those great, unfinished tales for a couple years. The complete title was The Twelve: A Thrilling Novel of Tomorrow, and I began to wonder if the story would ever be completed because as the old saying goes, tomorrow never seems to get here; it's always today.

The title centers around 12 costumed adventurers active during World War II in the pages of various Timely Comics publications, Timely being the precursor of modern-day Marvel Comics. Some of the characters had no powers whatsoever -- like the Phantom Reporter, Mister E and the Blue Blade. Others had supernatural powers and abilities -- like the Witness, the Laughing Mask and the Black Widow. Some had fantastic powers like Captain Wonder, Rockman and Fiery Mask. But all of them, along with several other colorful heroes, were present in the closing days of the war, when these 12 heroes fell into a secret Nazi trap.

The goal of the Nazis was to try to capture some of the Allies' heroes and dissect them. That plan didn't work out so well for this particular band of Germans, but these 12 heroes were still taken out of commission, being placed in cryogenic suspension and then forgotten until modern times when a construction project unearths their hidden storage area.

The rest of this story highlights the differences between the modern world and the world of the 1940s these heroes left behind, and how these heroes are left to cope and adjust to their unfamiliar surroundings.

Weston's art is crisp and clean and works well depicting both the war-era scenes at the beginning of the story and the contemporary action. He gives each character a distinctive look that allows the reader to instantly know which character from this large cast is in any given panel at a glance, even when they are not in costume.

And Straczynski has crafted a wonderful character-driven tale that presents several mysteries along the way.

I was intrigued by the idea of this series when it was first solicited in early 2008. The first issue published was a 0 issue, which included some preview pages from the story, as well as a couple reprints of Golden Age tales featuring a couple of the characters from the story. Somehow, I missed it at the time, but I've recently learned that there was also a 1/2 issue which included more preview pages and more Golden Age reprints. Then the series proper was released, issues 1-8, ending with a circulation date of December 2008 for that eighth issue.

And then nothing.

There were a number of rumors about why the delay, and as time went on, several promises of the series returning, but nothing panned out until spring and summer 2012 when the last four issues of the title were completed and released. I am happy to say that, despite the long wait, the conclusion to this tale did NOT disappoint. If you've never read this story, or worse, if you started it and gave up waiting for the end, do yourself a favor and seek these issues out. Or, if you prefer, there are trades of the series, as well as a hardcover collection.