An unexpected comic book series is topping Amazon Canada’s sales charts a decade after its publication — and current events may be playing a role for its resurgence. This week, Image Comics noted that We Stand On Guard, a 2015 series written by Brian K. Vaughan with art by Steve Skroce and colors by Matt Hollingsworth is currently the #1 Best Seller in Science Fiction Graphic Novels on Amazon Canada. Given the time that’s passed since the series was published — the deluxe hardcover graphic novel was published in June 2016 and the Amazon Canada listing for the paperback is dated 2017 — its sudden resurgence is a little unexpected, but recent trade tensions between the United States and Canada could be the reason.
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Set 100 years in the future, We Stand On Guard is a dystopian story that follows a group of Canadian civilians turned freedom fighters defending their homeland from invasion by a technologically superior United States of America. The series is action-packed and gritty, pulling no punches and while it’s centered around sci-fi — there are some big freaking robots in this story — it’s also political, something that Vaughan said back in 2016 was by design.
“Niko Henrichon and I had already done an allegory about noncombatant victims of war with Pride of Baghdad, but now I wanted to write about actual violent resistance against a country I love, in a way that would hopefully be relatable to anyone, regardless of nationality,” Vaughan told The Beat. “Steve and I never wanted this to be boring ‘commentary’, but underneath the pulp and giant robot guts, it’s definitely political.”
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So, why is the idea of a war between Canada and the United States of interest now, especially to Canadian readers? To that, we go to current events. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose significant tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China, placing duties of 25% on imports from Canada, though energy imports would be taxed at a 10% rate. Canada, for its part, fought back with matching tariffs, including those on alcohol and fruit. However, just one day later those tariffs were put on pause by Trump for at least 30-days after talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
While the tariff tension may be a major reason for the spike in interest in We Stand on Guard, it also may not be the only one. President Trump has also previously been vocal about wanting to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, something that likely does not sit well with most Canadians. With a potential looming trade war and even the talk of the U.S. wanting Canada to become a state, it makes sense that a book which sees Canada invaded would be of unique interest at this point in history.
We Stand On Guard is available in graphic novel format now – in both the U.S. and in Canada. Have you read We Stand On Guard? Let us know your thoughts in the commen
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