Old Guard

Old Guard 1-5

A very solid concept (good guy mercenary warriors who never die) that’s expertly executed by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez.  Some great action and a surprising amount of emotion keeps this at a high level of quality from start to finish.

Plus, it’s the source material for an even better movie.  The silent communication and perfectly coordinated movements of the team make for one of my favorite action scenes ever:

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Old Guard: Force Multiplied 1-5

An old companion of Andy’s comes back to exact some revenge.  To be fair, drowning in the ocean for countless years would drive anyone mad.  

The ending makes no sense to me; the team finds out that Andy used to sell her vanquished enemies as slaves.  And by “used to,” I mean literal millenia ago.  And somehow that’s enough for them to dump her as a teammate.  Which drives her into the waiting, open arms of Noriko, who’d spent the last five issues trying to punish them all.  Sure, whatever.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Old Guard: Tales Through Time 1-6

A complete waste of money; Six issues, twelve stories, and not a single one that doesn’t feel like filler.  This is a really talented list of writers (including Rucka, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, and Jason Aaron), but none of them are able to bring anything that feels substantial to the table.  It’s really quite remarkable.  

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Didn’t suck