The Old Guard Vol. 1

This last week I decided would be my last getting the bus into work (although based on the weather outside at the moment, that might be up for debate), also ending my tradition of reading to work. However, rather than with the last few months where I've been re-reading old series to determine if they are worth keeping, I decided that I would try and read something new(er).

Something new(er) happened to be The Old Guard, the first volume trade of which I had picked up from my LCS a little after Christmas, which was still sitting on my to read shelf (along with both volumes of the Vision, Power Man and Iron Fist, both Batman: Hush volumes and all of 52).

The Old Guard, Book one:
Opening Fire

The Old Guard, written by Greg Rucka, drawn by Leandro Fernandez, coloured by Daniela Miwa and lettered by Jodi Wynne, is an Image title about five soldiers who are nigh on immortal, having lived for various amounts of centuries and millennia through every war and battle in history as they await the incredibly rare event where death may finally take them. However, despite keeping their existence secret all this time, when they find themselves betrayed and exposed, these five ancient warriors have to protect themselves by doing what they do best; fight.

Now, I think I've written that 'synopsis' in a very action movie vibe and, to be honest, it's fitting. This first volume of the Old Guard really has this action movie vibe because of its story (which made me think of the Losers) not to mention its pace. Of course, these are in no way bad points because I really enjoyed this book, which I never doubted given that it is a Greg Rucka title and, to paraphrase Comic Geek Speak, I would happily read his shopping list if he published it. That said, it was different to Lazarus and Black Magick as it was vastly less slow burn but I found was no less compelling as a result with yet another interesting lead female character (including Wonder Woman and Renne Montoya, that's five for five right?).

The art, on the other hand, I found to be a bit more of a struggle to get on board with. I think my issue comes from the fact that Leandro Fernandez's style is so different to near life like renditions found with Michael Lark (Lazarus) and Nicola Scott's (Black Magick) art on those other Rucka books, instead offering something which looked to me much rougher, abstract and chaotic and was a little jarring to get into initially. However, as I moved through the series, and after a few days of thinking of it, it has occured to me that this style is actually a really gorgeous look and is incredibly fitting for the story being told, as I think it helped portray the chaos of the various fights while also giving the series a very historical, 'stories from the past told by word of mouth' look. All in all, while it didn't captivate me at first, Fernandez's work, along with Miwa's colours, won me round.

Quite possibly my favourite panel throughout this entire book.

Of course, the Old Guard as it presented (and what I have already mentioned) is more than enough to earn the praise I want to heap upon it. However, there were other parts of it which really spoke to me, taking it from the fun action movie-sequel comic to something which was deeper and more engrossing.

The first of these had to be the concept of immortality itself and how it was depicted here. The Old Guard, i.e. the five characters the story follows, are not immortal as the idea is typically known, instead (as one character out it) 'just not having reached death yet', with stories of fallen comrades as examples of this. Therefore, all five can die at some point, but something (which isn't science) prevents them from reaching that point. Now this is pretty cool and you'd think how awesome that would be to be unable to die for centuries, but it doesn't seem to be so given that the four oldest characters seem incredibly jaded with the notion, one of whom constantly wishing for the end and another betraying their brethren to get it.

This has made me wonder something as a result; is their 'immortality' not immortality at all but the worst form of punishment or purgatory for some as yet unknown crimes?

The reason I think this is the Old Guard are all soldiers, warriors and, ultimately, killers. Not one of these characters, even those who have previously fallen, were found in a hospital or driving a taxi or something, but always on the battlefield. This has made me wonder, why them? Not to disrespect what soldiers do in service to their respective countries, but why is one of them not Marie Curie or Einstein or someone, people who have changed the world, or even some unknown housewife and mother from the 1930's? Instead, all five are soldiers, of which the oldest four are not happy with their lot. This leads me to believe that they have once (each) done something terrible and are now paying for it until such time as the universe deems their time served (as with their already fallen friends).

The dialogue on this page was
fantastic and really got to me.

This then brings me to my next thought; that Andy (the lead character, whose internal monologue we get throughout) is heavily depressed. I'm probably way off here (because that's as standard for me) but as I read through The Old Guard, what I got from Andy's personality was a short (not height wise), embittered, uncaring individual whose only desire was to find a way to die and seemed angry towards the world because they were able to. Now for me, as a depression suffer, a lot of this certainly struck a chord and made me feel like I was reading a mirror image of myself when I'm at my worst. Indeed, given what she has no doubt gone through in her exceedingly long life, it makes sense to me if this is what Rucka was trying to portray when creating the character.

Anyway, my last thought (certainly that still in my mind given that this final paragraph took me two days to write) is such that I could be considered the only disappointment of this story. This is the finale where we discover the traitorous Guardsman's fate at the hands of the rest of the team. Now, for me, given that the characters couldn't die, I had expected a degree more forgiveness from the team than what was given. This is because the arc the story displayed, for Andy in particular, seemed to be a re-appreciation for life. Therefore, it would have made more sense that Booker's punishment be a little more merciful than he actually got, as well as offer more drama as he deals with his guilt in future arcs. I guess I'm just disappointed that he's been removed from the book so soon, although there is always a chance that he may come back.

So, anyway, that's everything in my head which the Old Guard put there. All in all, this was a fantastic book and an awesome read which, although it took time, does contain some really great art. I now look forward to the next volume, although I just hope it's hiatus isn't as long as Black Magick's.