In We Stand On Guard, Brian K. Vaughan abandons the fantasy genre that has been so rewarding to him in titles like “Saga” to return to his roots, the realm of science fiction in general, and the post-apocalyptical subgenre in particular. In the same way that “Y The Last Man” was about the struggle for survival after a major catastrophe, We Stand On Guard focus on two survivors (brother and sister), two Canadians that have made it through the cataclysmic war between the United States of America and Canada. “I’ve always been fascinated by friendships and rivalries between our two great nations” explains Vaughan, and in this new miniseries, the American writer explores the notion of an all-out war between the US and Canada.
When I first read the solicitations for We Stand On Guard I thought this was a very amusing premise, and I was sure that every Vaughan fan would enjoy it. Turns out, I was wrong. As we can see in the letter section, the American writer received a few angry messages from his own countrymen. One particular reader from Kentucky accused Brian K. Vaughan of being a liberal (whatever the hell that means in our postmodern society), and admits he’s disgusted by the way the US is portrayed here, like “a violent, bloodthirsty nation who murders civilians in [a] surprise attack”. However, in real life the United States isn’t always seen like a benevolent nation (and it has been that way for years). So that’s why it’s so important for Vaughan to subvert the basic assumption of “Americans are always the good guys”.
I think there is something especially alluring about this confrontation, because Americans and Canadians actually have so much in common that one automatically considers them as the ideal allies but never as enemies. Here, nevertheless, things are different. And as we follow the misadventures of a Canadian guerrilla group we also get to see the cruelty of the US military leaders. Vaughan balances the fight sequences with flashbacks to the past, in which we get to know how the protagonists survived in a hostile environment.
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| Before the war / antes de la guerra |
According to Jim Johnson, Vaughan's miniseries is an “excellent futuristic military thriller”, but this isn’t the kind of book that attempts to provide a definitive answer: “the questions that remain are the stuff of modern day political arguments, where each side believes themselves to be correct”. Both Canadians and Americans seem to share a lot of responsibility regarding the origin of the war.
I had very fond memories of Steve Skroce, he was one of the few Marvel pencilers in the 90s who had his own style, different to what was ‘fashionable’ back then. I saw his work for the first time in the pages of X-Man, and I became a fan right away. Of course now, after 20 years, Skroce has changed and evolved as an artist. Perhaps his experience drawing storyboards for the Wachowskis (in “The Matrix” trilogy) has given him more refinement and confidence than ever. His pages now have a calmness and a clarity that were absent in his X-Man days. And his covers are imaginative, subtle and stunning.
“Skroce does get more opportunity to show off his skills beyond drawing impressive military hardware; he adds a futuristic flair to urban landscapes as well, all while rendering the timeless beauty of nature with equal dexterity. Colorist Matt Hollingsworth’s enhancements make all of it look beautiful, breathtaking or alarming, depending on the context”, affirms Jim Johnson, and I agree with him.
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| Canada under attack / Canadá bajo ataque |
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Durante décadas, un lugar común en los cómics o las películas ha sido retratar a los estadounidenses como los buenos, y a otras naciones como enemigos potenciales o reales. Mientras que algunos podrían considerar esto como la evidencia de una retorcida ideología política, para mí es simplemente consecuencia del lugar de enunciación al interior de la industria del entretenimiento. Es lógico que, además de ser el héroe (nunca el villano) de tu propia historia, también insertes la línea narrativa en un entorno familiar, es decir, tu estado, ciudad o pueblo.
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| Canadian guerrilla / la guerrilla canadiense |
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| everyday problems / problemas cotidianos |
Desde el inicio, la premisa de “We Stand On Guard” me pareció bastante amena, y estaba seguro de que todos los fans de Vaughan la disfrutarían. Aunque no fue así del todo. Como podemos ver en la sección de cartas, el escritor estadounidense recibió algunos airados mensajes de sus propios compatriotas. Un lector de Kentucky, por ejemplo, acusaba a Brian K. Vaughan de ser un liberal (lo que sea que aquello signifique en nuestra sociedad postmoderna), y admitió estar disgustado por la forma en que los Estados Unidos es retratado aquí, como “una nación violenta y sanguinaria que asesina civiles en [un] ataque sorpresa”. Sin embargo, en la vida real Estados Unidos no siempre es vista como una nación benevolente (y eso no es algo nuevo). Así que por eso es tan importante para Vaughan subvertir el supuesto básico de “los norteamericanos son siempre los buenos”.
Creo que hay algo especialmente atrayente en esta confrontación, porque los estadounidenses y los canadienses en realidad tienen tanto en común que uno los considera automáticamente como los aliados ideales pero nunca como enemigos. Aquí, sin embargo, las cosas son diferentes. Y a medida que seguimos las desventuras de un grupo de guerrilleros canadienses también vemos la crueldad de los líderes militares de Estados Unidos. Vaughan equilibra las secuencias de batalla con flashbacks al pasado, y así descubrimos cómo los protagonistas sobrevivieron en un ambiente hostil.
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| American soldiers versus Canadian rebel / soldados estadounidenses versus rebelde canadiense |
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| Impressive American millitary forces / las impresionantes fuerzas militares estadounidense |
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| Canadians never surrender / los canadienses jamás se rinden |
El autor ya había reflexionado sobre la política internacional en su aclamado “Y: The Last Man”, y en “We Stand On Guard” el equipo creativo “aborda con éxito los titulares de hoy y, con el menor de los empujones, los convierte en algo decididamente amenazador, sorprendentemente creíble y tremendamente atractivo”, explica Jim Johnson. Ciertamente, debemos agradecer a Vaughan y Skroce por producir una miniserie así de buena.
