WE STAND ON GUARD #1

Brian K. Vaughan is one of my favorite comic book writers. Not just now...but of all time (Frank Miller and Alan Moore are probably the only two better than him). So it's a little sad to admit that his new book, We Stand on Guard, isn't very good. Perhaps it is better than I give it credit for...but Vaughan set such a high standard with Y: The Last Man, Runaways, and Saga, that this new book just feels weak in comparison. The premise is that there's a war between the U.S. in Canada in the future. It's the future, hence the U.S. has giant robots fighting. In this issue we see a Canadian family get blown up at the start of the war and then the little girl that survives has grown up to be a freedom fighter in the woods. Steve Scroce, who left comics to draw storyboards for Hollywood (he did boards for The Matrix), does a decent enough job here upon his return. His work is unique and pretty and movie-like, albeit a little stiff. For 34 pages of art the book at $2.99 is a steal. I'd love to say that it'll get better eventually but, alas, it's only a mini-series. ** (out of ****)