COMIC BOOK REVIEW: We Stand On Guard #6

LONG LIVE, CANADA!

“Not all wars are won in the battlefields”. These words of wisdom speak volumes on the ultimate and climatic chapter of the highly critical independent work of Brian K. Vaughan and Steve Skroce’s discoursing and polarizing collaborative magnum opus, WE STAND ON GUARD #6. As promised by the multi-awarded comic scribe himself, the great Canadian artist extraordinaire pulls no punches and unleashes many of the best illustrations the Canuck draws ever. Alongside with the powerhouse tandem is colorist Matt Hollingsworth who only amplifies the already incredible pencils of the legendary artist.

The final issue naturally continues what left behind from the pulsating penultimate part, only this time around, deaths are guaranteed without any blemishes or censorship whatsoever to illustrate how war is truly brutal, dehumanizing, devastating, and paradoxically, portrays the best of human determination, perseverance, resiliency, and dreaming the impossible dream, so to speak. Indeed, the first page alone can shock some sensitive readers out there, but death picks randomly and war is anything but pleasant. Vaughan’s dialogues present the true mark of the writer that encapsulates what a comic scribe can achieve without being so metaphorical or so exaggerated at all. The exchanges between the comedian and the dying tough gay/guy illustrate the kind of humanity Brian wants to illuminate in the midst of chaos and almost surrender to the inevitable. Even the pet canine hybrid is part of the emotional spectrum when its owner is in the clutching of death itself. In addition, the author rewards his readership/fans of granting something unexpected, unleashing the comedian’s true weapon that the chief antagonist previously fears (and correctly so), exposing the undesirable. And, in terms of narrative cadence and pacing, Brian effective times these storytelling elements to the appropriate pages/panels without making any more exaggerated rhetoric or bombastic nonsensical wordings at all.

But most importantly at all, the overall shocker is that the revelation of the true enemies and their tactics in obtaining and achieving their goals. We are familiar of this one, and there are many examples in the annals of human history for these kinds of people are the types fellow comrades should look or feel at. This is neither untrue nor imagined, the phrases “divide and conquer” and “enemies from within” are still relevant even colonialism, imperialism and neo-colonialism are almost passé, if not old-fashioned ideological thoughts, for the invaders need someone or somebody who are part or familiar with the insides, as reveal with the leading protagonist and the equally brutal antagonist, whose tactics are so efficiently effective and manipulative the former nearly falls to those so-called “facts”. And, exposing the “true” motivations to the greater demographics is presented as credible as possible, similar to what happened in the disaster that was the Tut Incident during the final phases of the Vietnam War, where the American media “revealed” and “exposed” American military’s follies in then Indo-China. Same here with this last issue, the ragtag guerilla outfit fails to win the entire war, but the last “battle” is nevertheless a “victory” in itself for it achieves not only its primary objective against the imperialist Americans but the people’s hearts as well, as again feared by the “American” femme fatale herself. In true Vaughan fashion, the ending is something a cyclical storytelling trope that can be fitted to the initial chapter to reflect the frozen memory that is nostalgia, the good old times, the so-called “best times” of the lives. To mere writers, that approach can be seen as lazy writing, but not to this fellow for it brilliantly connects to the Pyrrhic victory and the supporting cast’s apparent failure to the brave and heroic but tragic femme fatale. Brian is really a true student of history who utilizes the lessons of our brutal past in crafting another engaging dystopian possibility in the comic medium. He is truly THE MAN!

Steve Skroce never ever fails to disappoint either here. He remains one of the few most consistent artists in a mini-series comic department, and this one is the ultimate proof of his dedication for finer details in virtually everything he illustrates, from cover up to the last endearing and heartwarming page. Gore, blood, fight sequences, explosions, sequential paneling, angular perspectives and the facial expressions are expertly done right, almost realistic one can feel the various emotional spectrums that rage and emote throughout this issue and to greater degree, the entire series itself. Skroce is simply AMAZING!

As usual, my perennial rants are still the same, LePage’s French wordings. Actually, he can speak Canadian English at all, but seriously, I can comprehend his language (or Brian’s usage) through Skroce’s excellent grasp of visual storytelling and paneling. Also, some conservative pro-American readers may take offense on this moral victory the hard-fighting Canadians display even though this series is only a “comic” series. And, why there is neither the afterword nor the letter column at all? Seriously, I anticipated one of these, especially either Brian or Steve’s thoughts about their beloved mini-series.

Anyways, We Stand On Guard #6 finishes almost perfectly a brutally harrowing but resilient story of the underdogs who literally and figuratively “STAND ON GUARD” when almost everything is stacked against their backs, similar to the wounded wolverine whose life is on the line and never looks back whatever the odds against this small but powerful symbol of the northern hemisphere. This one is a true winner! GO CANADA!!!