From Image Comics, writer Brian K. Vaughan (Saga), artist Steve Skroce, letterer Fonografiks and colorist Matt Hollingsworth comes the epic mini series about a future war between Canada and The United States of America. Check out my review of We Stand on Guard issue 4.
WE STAND ON GUARD is an action-packed, military thriller set in the 22nd century. The series follows a heroic band of Canadian civilians-turned-freedom fighters who take up arms against a violent invasion of their country by a technologically superior nation: the United States of America.
After last issue, the US Army had figured out where the Canadians were hiding and have sent out a drone attack to clear out the mountain base. After a brief flashback and clever Canadian zing where a soldier calls my people “Moosefuckers” (that was a good one), chapter four is mostly a chaotic escape sequence. The problem with a chaotic escape sequence where the main components are robots chasing giant robots in a cave, is that the action itself doesn’t appear so threatening without any up close and personal human elements.
Skroce’s art is still brilliant, but even he can’t make me care about a bajillion robot wolves getting rocks dropped on them by a giant mech arm, or leg, or whatever appendage is thrashing about. It may have translated better if done outside in order to better grasp the scale of destruction. I wasn’t as thrilled with issue four as I have been with the previous ones because it felt a little incomplete. The final pages were pulse-pounding to be sure and Vaughan sure knows how to grab you with suspense and high stakes, but many of the pages before that just felt a little flat.
The cover promised something that wasn’t delivered and I think that pissed me off more than anything. I wanted robot wolf vs the real deal dammit. That cover is one of the coolest of the year and it wound up being the best part of this issue. We Stand on Guard is winding down with only two issues remaining and I’m not so sure all the questions have enough time to be answered in regards to the backstory of the USA vs Canada cause of war. It’s going to be one helluva finale regardless of that however and I’m looking forward to it. Death to America! I take that back….
Rating: [star rating=”3″]