Vanguard Book Three – Comic Review
OK True Believers 2020 is on our doorstep (it’s on Saturday, so, like, REALLY close) so this New Comic Book Day I am taking a look at Vanguard Book Three from Dan Butcher, which just happens to be launching in physical form at the convention. I have previously reviewed both Vanguard and the Awesome Comics Anthology which Dan contributes to. If you want to check those out, please do.
Synopsis
The Vanguard fought for the very freedom of our nation.
Pitted against them: an army of faceless super-soldiers, conniving corporate meta-humans and back-stabbing enemies from within.
They tried. They died.
Now, 15 years after defeat, in a world governed by merciless corporate tyranny, a new band of very different heroes arises to take up the fight.
Vanguard Book Three collects the complete issues 10-14 of the webcomic Vanguard, previously published on VanguardComic.com.
So what happens now?
Vanguard Book Three picks up 15 years after the shocking conclusion of book 2. The original Vanguard team are dead, killed trying to protect the nation that formed them. In the wake of that tragedy the nation crumbled and was rebuilt as a disturbing parody of itself. The commentary on the evils of social media ramp up even more in this book. As does the satire on privatisation of services.
Out of this mess arises a new group of superheroes.
Vanguard Book Three retains a lot from the previous arc in terms of style (it’s still kinetic, vibrant, funny, and violent as hell – the ACP cameo had me absolutely rolling) but the thing that I really enjoyed in this book was that Dan has really committed to the more supernatural side of things. In the previous team we were introduced to Woden, who had some supernatural abilities bestowed upon him by Herne, a Celtic god. Well Herne is back and having a major impact on the superhero scene.
Through the course of this book we meet 3 new characters, The Wolfshead, The White Wytch and Malachi. Ask me to pick a favourite out of those three and I’ll probably tell you to bugger off. I vacillated between cheering for all three at various points during reading and I cannot WAIT to see what lies in store for them in the future.
Vanguard Book Three successfully passes the torch to a new generation, kicking off what’s sure to be a riotous arc for these new characters.
If you’re not going to be at OK True Believers this weekend, you can still read Vanguard online,
