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USNA: The United States of North America
A time in the future when our two great countries, Canada and the United States, have amalgamated. Within the U.S.N.A. and especially in parts of the former country of Canada, there is a growing discontent. Family farms have been replaced by huge corporate farms that exploit the bulging prison populations as labour. Severe drought has lead to food shortages and rationing in the cities. The young people are being conscripted to fight in the Cent-am wars. The groundswell of rebellion is building and the rebels are planning the return of their leader, the exiled ex-prime minister of Canada, Samuel Stern. To combat this threat, a new organization has been created by the administration of USNA. It's a covert homeland security force; the Strategic Home Alliance Defense Organization (S.H.A.D.O.). Operating on the fringes of the law, their mission is locate and eliminate any rebel activity using deadly force if necessary. The United States of North America is the story of the people’s fight against tyranny. It takes place in our backyard.
218 pages, Paperback
First published August 9, 2012
2 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 6, 2017
this should have been quick and easy but it wasn't.
I can't quite pin point it but I can't say this was executed as well as I thought it would be.
it's a very very interesting concept that wasn't completely fledged out in my opinion.
meh.
I can't quite pin point it but I can't say this was executed as well as I thought it would be.
it's a very very interesting concept that wasn't completely fledged out in my opinion.
meh.
May 15, 2016
Given how popular We Stand on Guard was, I am surprised that USNA has received such low ratings. In this world, the US and Canada have amalgamated, resulting is military control of the continent. However, there is a group of Canadian rebels working tirelessly towards freeing their country, even when their fellow citizens don't understand why the status quo is bad.
While I think the story could have used some editing, I really don't think its flaws are that great in comparison to the bigger companies. I'd have appreciated some greater time spent on characterisation, but there's more world building in this piece than We Stand on Guard which was a blockbuster hit.
While I think the story could have used some editing, I really don't think its flaws are that great in comparison to the bigger companies. I'd have appreciated some greater time spent on characterisation, but there's more world building in this piece than We Stand on Guard which was a blockbuster hit.
October 7, 2014
The concept is what saves this book. Artwork is average and story feels aimless and unsure about what it wants to say. I am a bit disappointed, but I am glad it wasn't a clean cut ending. So points to that :)
October 7, 2017
I liked USNA, it was sometimes a bit confusing. But the characters had great development and the story was pretty strong.
August 22, 2017
USNA: The United States of North America Books One and Two by Harry Kalensky, Davey Longworth, Allan Stanleigh
In a world where politics has taken a much larger role than ever before, politically charged works of fiction are becoming much more prevalent. One such book stuck out to me, and that was the graphic novel series USNA: The United States of North America. In both books one and two of the series, the future is dominated by advanced technology and a continent formed into one nation, and a small group of rebels who hope to return their nation to the people, and not the military council that now rules. Here is the synopsis:
An action filled multi-character drama, this graphic novel tells about a time in the future when our two great countries, Canada and the United States, have amalgamated and there is a growing discontent. Family farms have been replaced by huge corporate farms that exploit the bulging prison populations for labor. Severe drought has led to food shortages and rationing in the cities. Young adults are being conscripted to fight in the Cent-Am wars while a groundswell of rebellion is building. The rebels want to return to a time when the policies of the government represented the best interests of the people, not the best interests of those who govern. To lead their movement, the rebels are planning the return of their leader, the exiled former prime minister of Canada, Samuel Stern. To combat this threat, a new organization has been created by the administration of USNA. It's a covert homeland security force: the Strategic Home Alliance Defense Organization (S.H.A.D.O.). Operating on the fringes of the law, their mission is simple: locate and eliminate any rebel activity using deadly force if necessary. This is the story of the people’s fight against tyranny in our own backyard.
A mixture of science fiction, political fiction and espionage thriller, this story showcases a future where two nations become one, and the rule of law makes corporations the dominant force, not the lower class who help build businesses or the farmers who's entire lives depend on the land they farm. This graphic novel series does a fantastic job of showing multiple points of view, from the naive widow who is shown the real world for the first time to the optimistic rebel leader to the tough as nails military general who is as ruthless as he is cunning.
The artwork in this graphic novel is beautiful, bringing a sort of noir realism like Frank Miller's Sin City to a fast-paced, action packed world where boarders have all but evaporated on our continent. The plot is both familiar and new, exploring a new topic but giving a reassuring formula of a small, ragtag group of rebels who must become heroes to free the people under the corrupt thumb of a military based government.
Overall, this is a must read graphic novel series, which showcases the lengths a government may go to exert control over a nation and the strength of the men and women who yearn to give freedom back to the people. USNA: The United States of North America is a wonderful series from a talented group of writers and artists who I hope to see more work from in the future. Pick up your copy of USNA: Books One and Two today!
USNA: The United States of North America https://www.amazon.com/dp/098097013X/...
In a world where politics has taken a much larger role than ever before, politically charged works of fiction are becoming much more prevalent. One such book stuck out to me, and that was the graphic novel series USNA: The United States of North America. In both books one and two of the series, the future is dominated by advanced technology and a continent formed into one nation, and a small group of rebels who hope to return their nation to the people, and not the military council that now rules. Here is the synopsis:
An action filled multi-character drama, this graphic novel tells about a time in the future when our two great countries, Canada and the United States, have amalgamated and there is a growing discontent. Family farms have been replaced by huge corporate farms that exploit the bulging prison populations for labor. Severe drought has led to food shortages and rationing in the cities. Young adults are being conscripted to fight in the Cent-Am wars while a groundswell of rebellion is building. The rebels want to return to a time when the policies of the government represented the best interests of the people, not the best interests of those who govern. To lead their movement, the rebels are planning the return of their leader, the exiled former prime minister of Canada, Samuel Stern. To combat this threat, a new organization has been created by the administration of USNA. It's a covert homeland security force: the Strategic Home Alliance Defense Organization (S.H.A.D.O.). Operating on the fringes of the law, their mission is simple: locate and eliminate any rebel activity using deadly force if necessary. This is the story of the people’s fight against tyranny in our own backyard.
A mixture of science fiction, political fiction and espionage thriller, this story showcases a future where two nations become one, and the rule of law makes corporations the dominant force, not the lower class who help build businesses or the farmers who's entire lives depend on the land they farm. This graphic novel series does a fantastic job of showing multiple points of view, from the naive widow who is shown the real world for the first time to the optimistic rebel leader to the tough as nails military general who is as ruthless as he is cunning.
The artwork in this graphic novel is beautiful, bringing a sort of noir realism like Frank Miller's Sin City to a fast-paced, action packed world where boarders have all but evaporated on our continent. The plot is both familiar and new, exploring a new topic but giving a reassuring formula of a small, ragtag group of rebels who must become heroes to free the people under the corrupt thumb of a military based government.
Overall, this is a must read graphic novel series, which showcases the lengths a government may go to exert control over a nation and the strength of the men and women who yearn to give freedom back to the people. USNA: The United States of North America is a wonderful series from a talented group of writers and artists who I hope to see more work from in the future. Pick up your copy of USNA: Books One and Two today!
USNA: The United States of North America https://www.amazon.com/dp/098097013X/...
June 23, 2019
Fun concept, enjoyable art and a rebelious spirit. Interesting world building and use of documents as exposition. Strongly reccomend for any inhabitants of the canadian prarie. Farmers rise up!
(Also, I dont know if this counts as a spoiler, but if the word battle-tractor gets you pumped up, this book is a must read!)
(Also, I dont know if this counts as a spoiler, but if the word battle-tractor gets you pumped up, this book is a must read!)
September 15, 2021
Interesting scenario.
June 20, 2014
I've only read a few graphic novels, so I'm not really a good source for comparative review, but I really enjoyed this. The story was a fun and immersive take on a future joint US/Canadian government where out-of-control surveillance and corporate hegemony has created a dystopian super-state. I wasn't exactly sure how the government worked... was it anarchist-libertarian, corporate-fascism, or socialist-terrorism? Elements of all three, really. I want to say it's topical, but I think all-seeing, all-controlling government overreach stories tend to always be topical no matter your political persuasion. Our need for government combined with our constant fear of government does seem to be part of the human condition and a significant chunk of the sci-fi/alternate-reality genres, doesn't it?
The artwork was just terrific. it added an emotional resonance to the story that I didn't expect, and there were more than a few times when I gasped or felt real sorrow. A well-drawn panel of a canyon landscape with two sleeping bodies slumped over weary horses can really convey a lot of emotional wallop. I can't imagine the time and effort that goes into drawing panel after panel of detailed, expressive faces to not just follow a story but actually drive the story. In an action movie the visuals sometimes overwhelm the plot and are used in place of writing a compelling story line, but in graphic novels (or at least in USNA) the nonverbal portions of the story had such great mood and tone and motion, and always kept things going forward. This was a story about revolutionaries who don't really get too many moments of rest and respite, and when they do there is always the knowledge that they will be forced on the move again soon.
There were a number of times when scene transitions confused me or I got momentarily lost between character/POV swaps, but, like I said earlier, I'm not used to reading graphic novels and the same thing happened when I read The Watchmen (which I believe is considered the gold standard). So this is at least partially (if not wholly) my unfamiliarity with the medium. I'm currently holed up in a cabin in the Hudson River Valley working on a novel, and this really made me think about the differences between writing fiction, theater, and film. I suppose a graphic novel is much closer to film... it's so visual and it's mostly dialogue. But just the sheer book-ness of it makes me think it needs to tell a story in a different way than a movie. At least I felt that USNA did so.
So, full disclosure: I met the artist at a party which is how I ended up reading this. He warned me that the book was anti-American so I might not like it. Interestingly though, the heroes and the bad guys in this novel were all pretty much Canadian and if I was insulted by anything is was the fact that the evilest person in the book wasn't American. :) Come on, you don't think we can produce a villain of that magnitude? It's kind of like when you watch a movie and it's theoretically about some international crisis (aliens, zombies, etc) but 99% of the people saving the planet are from the USA. But I'm cool with Canada stealing focus for once.
The artwork was just terrific. it added an emotional resonance to the story that I didn't expect, and there were more than a few times when I gasped or felt real sorrow. A well-drawn panel of a canyon landscape with two sleeping bodies slumped over weary horses can really convey a lot of emotional wallop. I can't imagine the time and effort that goes into drawing panel after panel of detailed, expressive faces to not just follow a story but actually drive the story. In an action movie the visuals sometimes overwhelm the plot and are used in place of writing a compelling story line, but in graphic novels (or at least in USNA) the nonverbal portions of the story had such great mood and tone and motion, and always kept things going forward. This was a story about revolutionaries who don't really get too many moments of rest and respite, and when they do there is always the knowledge that they will be forced on the move again soon.
There were a number of times when scene transitions confused me or I got momentarily lost between character/POV swaps, but, like I said earlier, I'm not used to reading graphic novels and the same thing happened when I read The Watchmen (which I believe is considered the gold standard). So this is at least partially (if not wholly) my unfamiliarity with the medium. I'm currently holed up in a cabin in the Hudson River Valley working on a novel, and this really made me think about the differences between writing fiction, theater, and film. I suppose a graphic novel is much closer to film... it's so visual and it's mostly dialogue. But just the sheer book-ness of it makes me think it needs to tell a story in a different way than a movie. At least I felt that USNA did so.
So, full disclosure: I met the artist at a party which is how I ended up reading this. He warned me that the book was anti-American so I might not like it. Interestingly though, the heroes and the bad guys in this novel were all pretty much Canadian and if I was insulted by anything is was the fact that the evilest person in the book wasn't American. :) Come on, you don't think we can produce a villain of that magnitude? It's kind of like when you watch a movie and it's theoretically about some international crisis (aliens, zombies, etc) but 99% of the people saving the planet are from the USA. But I'm cool with Canada stealing focus for once.
August 28, 2015
An intriguing graphic novel dealing with a future take-over of Canada by the United States and resistance to the same by Canadian rebels. Unfortunately its analysis of the future it forecasts is rooted in a Canadian nationalist perspective which lacked class analysis. It also seemed to advance the idea, popular in many left circles, that it is possible and desirable to revert to the days of an agricultural society based on smell enterprise and individual farming. In this way it seemed techno-phobic and even hostile towards cities and their inhabitants. Still, an interesting and enjoyable read.
May 30, 2015
This seemed more of an action drama on premium cable, but it was okay.
April 4, 2017
I thought this graphic novel was going to kick ass and that I'd love it. wrong! It didn't kick ass and I didn't love it. I found it terribly dull and boring. It was too political for me. I would not recommend.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews