The Old Guard Book One: Opening Fire
by Greg Rucka
The Old Guard is a series of graphic novels that have now been turned into a film series. It is set in our modern-day world, however, the twist is that our protagonists are not your average heroes. They’re immortal. And no, they’re not vampires or aliens from another planet. These heroes, despite being immortal, don’t have any superpowers. They are just your average everyday humans, who just so happen to be a thousand or more years old. But, how did they get their immortality then? Who knows! Our protagonists certainly don’t either. But, what they can do is fight very well. Even if it’s only because they’ve had hundreds of years of practice.
Our story begins with three immortals, Booker, Nicky, Joe and Andy. As they progress through the start of the first book, these three discover that there is another new immortal that has just died, Nile. They soon find her and take her under their wing. Not to spoil much, but as we move through the story we learn quite a bit about our heroes through her experiences. One of them being that Nicky and Joe are in a same-sex relationship. As we move through the chapters, they aren’t just together, they’re openly together. As in, not ashamed, afraid, or censored by the author. They are seemingly even the only couple throughout the entire series. Which to me is all very new, especially for a non-romantic action series. Greg Rucka didn’t hold back with his character’s love for each other. I, personally, have found that most authors or writers often only give gay characters one or two lines hinting at their sexuality. Not multiple lines, kisses and hand holdings. It’s refreshing to see a gay couple represented to the same degree as straight couples are often shown in every piece of fiction in history.
Photo taken from one of the pages in The Old Guard
The other thing is, a same-sex relationship is not the only great thing about this novel or the only representation that the Greg included. Two of the main characters are female, Nile and Andy, and Andy is the leader of the team. As a woman, I find it very empowering to get to see a woman who is both strong physically and mentally, be in charge. Especially when the novel was adapted to the film. What is also great about these characters is that they all have very diverse cultural backgrounds. This also means that this novel isn’t another all-white action novel or film. It was especially great when the novel was adapted to film and I, and many others got to watch an action film for the first time have a female in charge, a black female lead and an openly interracial gay couple. I really can’t name you many action movies that have that much representation in it. It’s very refreshing to finally see more representation being shown in novels and films.
Promotional poster for The Old Guard Netflix film
Again, its representation isn’t the only thing that makes these books so great. The fact that we have female leads is amazing in and of itself, however, it’s also the way that these women are portrayed that makes reading these books so great. Every single one of these characters has detailed, and I mean detailed background stories. Every character has a motive for their actions, their own set of beliefs and lack thereof. They even dress the way I would expect most characters would realistically dress in an action novel. By that I mean they aren’t overly sexualized. No unnecessary sex scenes, or shirt removal scenes, or skimpy unrealistic fighting costumes or outfits. Again, just regular humans that just so happen to be immortal trying to do the right thing. It’s great! I think if you’re looking for something to read, or watch, that’s different from most action books, The Old Guards for you. And believe me, there’s so much to talk about in these books, and there’s so much more than its representation or portrayal of its characters. I just don’t want to spoil it all, in case you haven’t read it.
Don’t want to read the book, but want to hear more about The Old Guard? Check out the links below!