USNA at the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, The Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, May 23-25.
The schoolchildren rise and pledge allegiance to the United States of North America.
"... and the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God.. ." Like a temporary tattoo with a stubborn streak, the border between Canada and the United States left a few traces when it disappeared.
From Victoria, B.C. to Venice, Florida, Americans and Canadians constitute a single citizenry toiling under the electronic eye of one government. But there are still those maple syrup socialists who call themselves Canadians, and they're ready to rebel.
That's the premise of USNA, a graphic novel that feels more like alternate history than science fiction.
With a few strokes of the keyboard, the trio of authors behind the black and white comic book did what the Liberals and NDP only dreamed of: they ended Stephen Harper's reign as prime minister.
Instead of MPs and MLAs, former Canadians are at the mercy of a series of checkpoints that dot the highways of the Orwellian wasteland.
The dystopian future was the vision of author Davy Longworth, who imagined armored vehicles, combines, threshers and
tractors engaged in battle.
He spoke with co-author Allan Stanleigh and the two screenwriters realized they were describing a "heartland revolution."
"We thought, 'Well, if the two countries were at odds, or if the ideologies were at odds. .. and it just kind of grew out of that," Longworth explains.
The duo turned the story about an insurrection of glowing hearts into a long screenplay, a "great Canadian adventure."
But pushing the
screenplay into production proved problematic.
It was too epic for Canada and too unflattering for the United States, Longworth explains.
"The Canadians thought it was a good adventure story, but they just didn't have the budget for something that size," Longworth explains. "The American producers, they saw the United States being the bad guy. .. so they weren't really reading it."
The screenplay languished until the writers
noticed comics like Sin City and V For Vendetta making the transition to the silver screen.
When it came time to revisit their screenplay, the duo became a trio as Harry Kalensky, the original bass player for Trooper, added his creativity to the mix.
Turning their story into a graphic novel was "a great way to go in the back door of the film industry," Longworth says.
Asked about disputes with his fellow writers, Longworth demurs.
"We were grown-ups when we met so we're able to let stuff go, and it's all imaginary anyway," he explains. "We are a benevolent majority democracy."
The story details two nations that ostensibly amalgamated to compete with economic unions in Europe and Asia. However, the military controls more than 50 per cent of the USNA's economy, giving them more power than the business and political leaders with whom they're
meant to share authority.
As a child, Longworth says he was always aware of Canada's neighbour to the south.
"On their best days, you always sort of thought, 'Well, why can't we just be part of the States and then we can all buy cheap Levis.' And then in the bad times, it was like, 'Man, am I glad we live in Canada,'" he says.
While we might wear the same jeans and drive General Motors products, Longworth recalls feeling it was important to define what distinguishes the two countries.
Those distinctions, as well as the difference between being a terrorist and a nationalist, feature strongly in the book.
The book's bright lights and deep shadows are supplied by Dave Casey, who was going to art school in New York while completing work on USNA.
Casey found his voice while working on the story, according to Longworth.
Longworth was originally hoping to create something the Canadian film industry would produce. While that's by no means a sure thing, there has been some interest in seeing USNA become a movie, according to Longworth.
And like all action movies, the sequel is already being written.
