The Boys

When it comes to stirring up the profane and the profound, there may be no better writer in comics than Garth Ennis. His Preacher is a legendary creation for exactly that reason.

The Boys is more often profane than profound, which can be its greatest flaw or its greatest asset, depending on your point of view. There are those (and hell, I'll put myself among their proud number) who enjoy the occasional graphic bit of humor, whether it involve sex, violence, both, neither, or just a good ol' steaming pile of dog crap.

If you are not one of those types, The Boys will put you off almost immediately, for that is a large part of the book's appeal. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite have the level of characterization and depth yet that made Preacher so remarkable. There are hints of it, and it seems likely that it will gain that aspect as the series continues, but for the moment, it's bring on the farts and the pissing dogs.

Darick Robertson is one of my favorite artists of all time, especially for his work on Transmetropolitan, and he's in fine form here; his gift for detail and expression is well-exploited by Ennis' scripts, and there's a grimyness to the whole affair that fits well with the book's tone.

So be warned: You must enjoy the occasionally profane to enjoy The Boys, and when it becomes profound, it will be a book unlike anything else on the stands, and pretty great to boot. As it stands, for fans of superhero lampoons mixed with outrageous comedy and relatively nuanced characterization, it's definitely pretty good.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I first read this series. At that time I was not very familiar with Garth Ennis and a friend recommended it to me. All I knew was that it was a world where superheroes were corrupt and a U.S. government backed mercenary group is hired to knock them down a peg. The only warning that I was given that the content was pretty mature.

When I read the first issue, I was blown away and hooked instantly. The individual characters are simply astonishing, which is quite an accomplishment seeing how many of them there are. Sure, the content is very mature, but I think that it can’t be any other way. Some of these characters are the scum of the Earth and there wouldn’t be any other way to accurately portray this to the reader.

I highly suggest buying the first volume to see if you like it. If the “adult content” doesn’t bother you, then I believe that this could be a very enjoyable series for you.