We Stand on Guard

Brian K. Vaughan is one of my favorite authors of all time since I read Y the Last Man.  We Stand on Guard is not a sprawling epic like several of his other tales.  I wouldn't put it up there with Runaways, Saga, or Y the Last Man but it is a very intriguing read.

We Stand on Guard takes place in the near future in Canada.  The United States was attacked in a similar style to Olympus has Fallen and they believe Canada is to blame.  The opening of the book is the retaliation of the U.S. to Canada and our main character Amber is just a little girl when this happened.  Amber along with her brother survive the initial attack.  The book jumps ahead 12 years Amber is an adult now and she is on her own.  Amber is trying to survive on her own and almost gets taken out by a U.S. scout when she comes across a group of Canadian freedom fighters.  One of the freedom fighters goes on a great tangent about the origin of Superman during this long occupation war the United States has inflicted on Canada.  Its a great little story and it adds some levity to this serious situation.  It is similar to a moment in Saving Private Ryan.  The freedom fighters take out a Gorilla unit but lose a man in the process this gives Amber the chance to step up and show what she is made of.  The freedom fighter's leader is captured and we are introduced to a woman known as the American who is one of the leaders of this occupying force.  

The story is told through present day events as we join the freedom fighters along with Amber and engage in a suicide mission to stop the Americans from their true purpose for occupying Canada.  But the story also shows some flashbacks about how Amber and Tommy lived on the run.  The story culminates in a suicide mission lead by Amber and the freedom fighters against the U.S. as they try to siphon off Canada's fresh water supply.  There are a lot of great character moments in this book, but as I said before this is not about the war between Canada and the United States but this is about Amber and her place in this war.  This book is not really about the war that it portrays instead it is allegorical in that it is about war in general.  It is about war for resources, refugees, terrorism, manipulating the public opinion of war, all of these are issues raised in Vaughan's work and I like that he is exploring these ideas.  This is by far one of Brian K. Vaughan's most violent books and but I wouldn't say most offensive.  Saga can be quiet offensive at times.  If you love Vaughan's work or you are a fan of Brian Wood, I would highly recommend this book for you.