No, seriously. Art & Franco are writing it for the new 52, and it's coming out in May.
Along with this book, about the other 99%, from Gail Simone and Freddie Williams III (his work on Captain Atom really impressed me, and at last he's on a book I want to read!!): The Movement.
So that's two of May's new books... never thought I'd see the day that The Green Team was revived as an ongoing. Truly, we live in an age of wonders.
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Wow. Never heard of the Green Team before, but these souind like two intriguing books, Simone on the second is enticing, but I don't know much about the other creators.
Apart from the word 'awesome' in one of the solicits, these don't sound like Nu52 books at all. Is the worm turning?
The Green Team appeared in 1st Issue Special #2. The story concerned a club of four millionaire boys (initially three; the fourth made his pile and joined in the course of the story) who were interested in taking on challenges. At least two further issues featuring the characters were prepared but not published, and included in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1. The writing was by Joe Simon and the pencils by Jerry Grandenetti. Their other work together in the period included Prez, Champion Sports (an anthology sports stories title which ran for three issues), and "the Outsiders" in 1st Issue Special #8 (which was about a team of monsters/freaks).
Many of the Cancelled Comic Cavalcade issues were planned DC Explosion ones, but the GCD says pages of the third "Green Team" story are stamped "N.P.P. INVTY 11-30-74". DC Indexes tells me 1st Issue Special #2 came out in Feb. 1975; possibly DC had already decided not to publish a series at that point and was making use of an inventory issue.
From what I've seen of them, the "Green Team" stories were zany without being witty and sloppily-done. I think there was a potentially interesting idea there, as I think Randy has also said, but what I see is a potentially interesting idea for a children's comic. (Richie Rich was successful in the period, and they're effectively a club of Richie Riches.) How close the new comic will be to the original one I can't tell. The introductory paragraph of the interview says it will be a book that "wonders what would happen in the DC Universe if you had limitless financial resources", which sounds to me like a different spin on the concept. (For the record, the Simon/Grandetti stories were not DCU set.)
They can follow with Dingbats From Danger Street, The Outsiders and Lady Cop.
Figs, Art and Franco write and draw the wonderful Superman Family Adventures (and at the moment have a successful Kickstarter going on for their upcoming AW YEAH COMICS, where you can see some of their work. Now, they're only writing this, not drawing it, but I think their artwork will at least give you a sense of their sensibility. How much of that will translate into a comic for the New 52 audience, I don't know, but the're not the guys I would turn to for "dark." By a long shot. They could very well be capable of it, but their track record -- and their podcast, and the kid-friendly focus of their comics store in suburban Chicago -- all point in another direction.
Anyway, check out their Kickstarter. Looks like a blast, and it reached its goal within a day. Aw Yeah, Comics!
The Movement sounds like something Simone might knock out of the park; get a little of that Secret Six mojo back. A shame she's being paired with Freddie Williams III, I've never really warmed up to his art, but this sounds interesting enough that I'll check it out regardless.
I'm also curious to see how Art & Franco will carry off the Green Team. It almost sounds like it will be melding the original concept with The Manhattan Projects. An idea with potential.
Definitely a step away from business as usual for the New 52. (Of course, they're likely already cancelled, but hey, we may get an issue before the decision to chop them is made.)
It does beg the question of why DC is releasing these two a month ahead of the next six? Is the wave release not helping as a marketing tool or were they finding the months were getting too uneven without new #1 sales spikes? It would seem to me that your unknown quantity books would benefit more from being given the support of a "wave" and books with a built in audience would be the better ones to release by themselves, but what do I know.
In any case, I'm looking forward to at least trying these two.
I, Vampire and DCU Presents were canceled with April's issues, so there was room for two more books in the (admittedly arbitrary) 52. (Similarly, Threshhold released in January, a month earlier than Constantine, JLA, Vibe and Katana.)
I hope Williams wins you over. I didn't care for his art a few years ago (his run on Flash, for instance), but his work on Captain Atom looked really good to me, with a real Trevor Von Eeden influence. (Someone else DC should really be calling up, IMO.) If you want to see what his current art looks like, check out the Channel 52 "newscast" in the back of this week's comics. That's Williams.
Green Team with Art and Franco? I'm there!
Heh, Lady Cop takes me back. I think if Marvel had done this book it would have worked. Angie Dickinson's Police Woman was a hit at the time (and Charlie's Angels and Bionic Woman were about to hit the TV screen) so it should have gathered an audience. But of course DC put the usual half-arsed Kanigher/Rossenberger/Colletter team on it, so it just looked liked another Lois Lane when that book was in the death throes or already cancelled, I forget which.
Philip Portelli said:
Well, at least now I'll bet they will reprint the original in a book somewhere. At least I hope they will. I'd love to see 1st Issue Special reprinted in a hardback, a la the Kirby Omnibus editions. Or maybe reprint them without the Kirby issues if they must, since those are reprinted in the KO books. I'd love to see Lady Cop, Codename: Assassin, and Doctor Fate's "first issues" in one handsome volume.
Here's the press release, posted a few days ago.