The Old Guard Book One: Opening Fire

by Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernández | Graphic Novels |
ISBN: 9781534302402 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 10/21/2021
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, October 21, 2021
I got this softcover at Barnes and Noble, after watching the 2020 film adaptation on Netflix. It's about a handful of immortal warriors who've been trying to fight evil and make the world a better place - but are running into a number of issues now that modern technology makes it harder to keep up their masquerade.

Some game-mechanics that affect things: the immortals are indeed that as it's usually imagined, not aging and unable to be killed - though if enough damage is done to their bodies it may take them a while to regenerate. But there's a loophole: every now and then one of the immortals will simply reach an expiration date, failing to regenerate from that final death - with no warning. So they each have the same doubts that the mortal world does as to when they'll actually die, even though their odds suggest they'll get through lots of temporary deaths before then.

The regeneration also means that the gang can quip about the many times they've killed *each other* over the centuries; indeed, lovers Joe and Nicky joke that they killed each other a LOT before they grew past their original enmity. (They fought on opposite sides during the Crusades, so yeah.) Their bond is one of the strong points of the story, especially during a scene where they've been taken captive by someone who wants to analyze them in hopes of achieving immortality for himself: the guards sneer at "your boyfriend," and Joe delivers an intense, beautiful, jaw-dropping testimony of the love he bears for Nicky that it even gives the bad guys pause. (Temporarily. But not to worry, Joe and Nicky get out of that one!)

Other elements of their situation: new immortals pop up rarely, but when they do, the existing ones dream about them, as if it's a kind of beacon to let them find each other. There haven't been any new ones in a while, but now a young black woman has become immortal - and is very, very much opposed to being drafted into this special combat unit.

Other issues include a traitor in the ranks - and the threat of non-lethal punishment, something that the gang's immortality won't save them from...

The story in general is one long kill-fest, with only some of the characters popping back to life; our heroes take out huge numbers of enemies, and are threatened at every turn, so the whole thing's pretty grisly.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the comic and the screen adaptation, with some entertaining tidbits.]

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Little Free Library, Dracut Town Hall in Dracut, Massachusetts USA on Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Released 2 yrs ago (10/27/2021 UTC) at Little Free Library, Dracut Town Hall in Dracut, Massachusetts USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.

I left this book in the handsome Little Free Library that's between the Dracut Town Hall and the library on this rainy day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2021 Tick Tock challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2021 Spook-tacular challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2021 Movie challenge. ***

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