Comics have been many different things over the years. It's undeniable that some stories have gotten more serious as time went on, but there's something magical about the wackyness of stories from comics past. Things just happened in these stories that defy tone. The stories were played straight up but had ridiculous concepts that only work in the pages of a comic and probably not on the screen. Section 12 never quite rises to the level of greatness to stand out in today's market, but it honors a history of comic book kookiness that a very niche type of reader would enjoy.
Even though I read the first issue, this review is for the second issue specifically. The premise behind this series is similar to DC's Suicide Squad. A group of super powered individuals have to reluctantly work for the government as they go out and try to capture and restrain failed and out of control experiments. The second issue focused on a bizarre knight that emerged from a portal and a dinosaur that went on a downtown rampage. It's wacky action that takes itself seriously with plenty of fun and violence to go around.
I've reviewed several books from Lenovations Press by now and a definite trend has started to emerge. In all of these books I've noticed a deep and profound appreciation for the comic book history and medium. This trait shines through in other books in a very straightforward and meta way. It's much more subtle here. It can be found in the overall presentation and execution of the genre. It absolutely feels like a throwback to comic books of old. On the flip side, these types of stories absolutely feel dated. That doesn't mean there aren't readers for them. It just means audiences as a whole have moved on to different types of superhero and supernatural stories. So this will struggle to stand out on its own. Still, it does truly feel like a love letter and a successful blast from the past.