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nerdinthelibrary 's review for:
The Old Guard, Book One: Opening Fire
by Greg Rucka
content warnings: murder, violence, gore, homophobia
representation: Black main character, mlm main character, muslim mlm main character, interracial m/m main relationship
representation: Black main character, mlm main character, muslim mlm main character, interracial m/m main relationship
“You are a child. An infant, and your mocking is thus infantile. That man is not my ‘boyfriend.’ That man is more to me than you can dream in your simpering, pathetic life. That man is the stars in my sky, and the sun that lights my days. That man is the moon when I am lost in darkness, and warmth when I shiver in cold. I love that man beyond measure and reason. His kiss still thrills me, even after a millennium since I first tasted him. His body, to this day, awakens a passion you will never know. His heart overflows with a kindness which this world is not worthy. His very thoughts make music of the mundane. He is not my ‘boyfriend.’ He is not my ‘lover,’ nor is he my ‘partner.’ He is all and more. He is my everything.”
I instantly became obsessed with the movie adaptation of this comic so obviously I had to go back and read the source material. It's pretty good!
The Old Guard follows a small group of warriors who come back to life every time they die. Andy, Joe, Nicky and Booker make up this group at the start but are quickly joined by Nile after she somehow survives getting her throat slit open. Along with the introduction of a new warrior, they're also dealing with a job that went wrong and what that means.
I've never read anything from Greg Rucka before but expect that to change in the future. The barebones of this concept isn't all that fresh or exciting (it's basically just Wolverine) but he's able to elevate it with an interesting story and compelling characters. Don't get me wrong, it's not the greatest comic I've ever read, and if I'm being honest I like what he did with the movie more, but it's still a really fun read. There really are only two big downsides:
1) It starts off pretty slow, something which is ultimately forgiveable because everything that comes after is so good.
2) The art is atrocious. Many of the characters are indistinguishable from each other, something which is especially bad in big action scenes, and even the action is just okay.
Aside from those two things, though, it's an entertaining comic that birthed an even better movie.