The first three issues of Guardian probably ranked the series in the lower half of Seven Soldiers. It was good, full of old fashioned Morrison fun – subway pirates and A Small World run amok – but I wasn’t quite feeling it. That all changed with #4, when the title character took a back seat to a story of the Newsboy Army and a glimpse of the Sheeda’s history on Earth. It built in to the ongoing story of Jake Jordan, who finally shed the “reluctant hero” badge and embraced his destiny, resulting in one of the most kickass and inspiring finales of the year. After I finished reading it, I wanted Seven Soldiers #1 immediately because by jove, that’s how you build suspense in a superhero comic. I wanted to stand up and cheer and shout “Fuck Yeah!”
The final issue of Guardian is one of my favourite single issues of the past few years, largely due to the below page, and tomorrow, finally, we get to see where it leads. (Unless you’re serviced by Memphis, anyway)
