COMIC BOOK REVIEW: We Stand On Guard #3

WORST TORTURERS EVER

The cover art by the great Steve Skroce summarizes, if not encapsulates, the entire story here in We Stand On Guard #3. Great covers lead to the interior pages with the urgency to remain consistent until the very last page. Skroce art is like a great wine that ages better and even tastes exquisitely great. The burning face and the screaming of absolute pain are illustrated delicately and with the sense of purpose that the Canadian artist unabashedly conveys without hesitation. Only those who have are soulless; and downright sadomasochists and idiots fail to see the artist’s explicit message.

This third issue carries the story of interrogation—brutal interrogation—on the leader of the freedom-loving Canadian guerrilla fighters who was miraculously survived from a hail of bullets from last issue. Simply put, as writer Brian K. Vaughan promised last time, readers witness how low future the United States of America and its troops will become in “extracting” information from their belligerent combatants.

But in true Vaughan narrative fashions, two side but interesting stories are presented to highlight Amber’s past and the group’s bickering. The former is intriguing for the writer brings up a vague reference of the American combat plan of invading Canada that sprung up in the 1930s. Upon reading the pages concerning this “plan”, I am soon flooded with some historical tidbits and conspiratorial tales on America’s “grand” views and other initiatives towards world domination and its being the so-called “EMPIRE” without the imperialistic political incorrect labeling. For examples, the propaganda “Manifest Destiny” that motivated Uncle Sam to move Westward even beyond continental America (i.e. Hawaii, Guam and even the Philippines); the tagline “neo-colonialism” that presents the new kind of colonialism and imperialism America uses to its former colonial holdings, again with the Philippines’ experiences; and the conspiracies surrounding the Central Intelligence Agency’s dubious foreign activities (i.e. Vietnam War, Cold War, and the supposed tremendous influence over the Philippine government from Manuel Roxas to Ferdinand Marcos and even beyond). Territorial disputes, sabotage, subterfuge, infiltrations, and geopolitics are indeed some of the ingredients of the world-scale conflicts. The latter on the other hand presents the cliché of an unorganized group or a leaderless pack which Vaughan explores on that dynamism that leads to something unexpected and good transitory for the next issue.

On that matter, Skroce portrays a number of close-up portrayals that illustrate his trademark hyper-detailed facial illustrations and his mastery of emotional deliveries that work significantly with Vaughan’s patented singular or two sentence dialogues or lines. Anger, anxiety, fear, confusion, satisfaction, and fear are some of the emotional illustrative takedowns the Canadian master presents that prove his overall artistic expertise without any unreasonable doubts.

As for the main course, both Vaughan and Skroce show readers why torture is inhuman, in some way or another, arguably effective if done or executed properly. For the record, I focus in this issue, not in the broadest sense on this controversial matter. Similar to above-mentioned comments, Skroce knows his assignment very well that the victim’s face of anguish, pain, determination, and eventual succumb of Elektra complex (or “daddy issue” with a twist) during the intense enhanced interrogation of the far future are so realistically drawn, readers can feel the brutality of the interrogator herself (yes, that one is a “she”). Those torture scenes remind me of the scenes in Frank Miller and Dave Gibbon’s masterpiece The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century which the protagonist also underwent a number of enhanced interrogative and crueler methods to get the information the torturers wanted. We also see those moments in some movies (see Casino Royale?), television shows (remember “24”?), and other media; and Brian expertly utilizes the turning point of most tortures, the “trump card” that eventually gives way to the will of the tortured soul and body. It is like saying in reverse, “My flesh is willing, but my mind is not”. And the torturer here is indeed a devious manipulator to the extent of doing the extremes just what she wants, as the creative team perfectly portray. Seriously, I cannot wait when this lady officer and torturer will get her karmic due sooner.

Similarly to the last two issues, I have an issue of French translation on LePage’s dialogues since this comic book series is not exclusively in North America anymore but around the world as well. Moreover, LePage can actually speak English, but reverts to his native Quebec-French tongue soon after. Furthermore, why stop on the moment when things get interesting in the interrogative sessions? This is an Image Comics that pushes the envelope more often than otherwise. Oh well, perhaps I am asking so much.

Nevertheless, We Stand On Guard #3 delivers as what the creative team promised. Torture is indeed barbaric, but war shows the best and worst human traits ever. Brian knows this and unafraid to remind readers this terrible fact of life. However, humans never learn after all from their mistakes, and thus continuing repeating these over and over. Next issue promises Skroce’s best illustrations yet, and hopefully, we invested readers/fans will be delighted on that one.