By Dan Brown
Canada and the United States have gone to war only once. Starting in 1812, before Canada was even Canada.

But in the realm of pop culture, there have been any number of battles between the True North and its superpower neighbour.

There’s Michael Moore’s only fiction film, the comedy Canadian Bacon.
There are the pulpy Richard Rohmer novels Ultimatum and Exxoneration from the 1970s. 

And there are graphic novels such as Little Bird.

The focus of this column is on another comic book, We Stand on Guard. In these tense political times, you might want to check it out.

Published in trade-paperback form in 2017, We Stand on Guard was a six-issue Image Comics series picturing the armed resistance to a U.S. takeover of our home and native land.

It’s packed with all kinds of references only diehard Canucks will get – for example, the action starts in the future in the year 2112.

What a rush.

And what name do the resistance guerillas give their small band of freedom fighters? Why, the Two-Four of course.

Written by veteran hand Brian K. Vaughan, Steve Kroce supplied the art and Matt Hollingsworth the colours.

The most dominant colour in the book is white, as much of the action takes place in Canada’s north at an abandoned mine the rebels have turned into their hidden base of operations.

The official reason for the American military venturing north is to avenge a surprise attack on Washington, D.C.

The real reason? America, dried out from climate change, needs new sources of water to refresh the parched dust bowl the American heartland has become.

I love the look of Kroce’s near-future Canada. One of the reasons the graphic novel packs a real punch is the mechanical-versus-organic theme running through the book: Massive hovering metallic war machines face off against the plucky Canadians, who even have a trained coywolf on their side.

The invading soldiers also have an N-word they use to refer to people here: Nucks, the shortened form of “Canuck.”

There are no superpowered beings coming to Canada’s rescue in We Stand on Guard, it’s ordinary folks who must answer the call.

But there are Superman references, which call attention to the fact this is a comic book – the Americans would never declare war on our country in the real world, would they?
I hate to say it, but on Sunday, American President Donald Trump confirmed in an interview with Fox News before the Super Bowl that he is serious about his intention to make Canada the 51st state.

I don’t even like trade wars, let alone real ones. The problem is, these conflicts often lead to unintended consequences that none of us can anticipate.

When pre-Confederation Canada squared off against the U.S. during the War of 1812, the end result was a White House in flames.

No one saw that coming.

So I hope the friction between our two nations can be worked out soon – and without any violence.

Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 32 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.