The Boys Vol. 1: The Name of the Game

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
This is going to hurt! In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone's got to make sure the "supes" don't get out of line. And someone will! Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother's Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are The Boys: A CIA-backed team of very dangerous people, each one dedicated to the struggle against the most dangerous force on Earth - superpower! Some superheores have to be watched. Some have to be controlled. And some of them - sometimes - need to be taken out of the picture. That's when you call in The Boys! Collecting the first volume in the hit series The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson!

Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Spectacular July 2, 2007
20 out of 21 found this review helpful

It's no secret that legendary Preacher creator and Punisher scribe Garth Ennis loathes the way superheroes dominate the comics medium, and with his new ongoing series The Boys, Ennis strikes back. This first TPB of The Boys revolves around Billy Butcher; a man with a vendetta against said superheroes who organizes a group of mentally shattered and slightly insane people who have all have been negatively impacted by the wreckless actions of the heroes who are supposedly here to protect and serve normal humans. Among them is new recruit Wee Hughie (modeled after Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz star Simon Pegg), whose girlfriend was caught in the crossfire of a speedster hero's pursuit of a villain. What really makes The Boys stand out is Ennis' sick satire of a Justice League and Teen Titans-esque super teams who The Boys have run-in's with, the former of which have their sights set on Butcher and his plans, and vice versa. Darick Robertson, who worked with Ennis on his Marvel books Fury and Born, provides excellent artwork as usual; but it's Ennis' scathing, hilarious, and incredibly vulgar take on super heroes that really makes The Boys a force to be reckoned with. All in all, if you're an Ennis fan or just like seeing the super hero community get what they deserve, you should definitely make an appointment with The Boys.

5 out of 5 stars

Open Season on all superheroes July 7, 2007
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

With The Boys Garth Ennis is doing what he loves best: violently satirizing a traditional and well loved concept, in this case superheroes. For those readers and comic fans not in the know, The Boys was cancelled after issue #6 by DC's Wildstorm imprint in January of 2006 because (it is speculated) it portrays superheroes in a negative light, especially the Justice League and other DC superteams like the Titans. I understand this completely, since the two superteams we see in this first trade paperback contain amalgams of DC characters (The Homelander based on Superman, Black Noir based on Batman, Queen Maeve on Wonderwoman, etc.) and all are either alcoholics or sexual predators, definitely NOT in character with DC's "top three." That being said, I thank whatever higher power there is that Dynamite Entertainment picked up the publishing rights, and as of this writing The Boys #7 & 8 are already on the shelves. Incredibly violent and sexually shocking, The Boys takes a hit at supers in a big way, showing the reader how corrupt and irresponsible these beings might be, since they possess god-like power and therefore see themselves as more than human. Humans are their playthings, and when things get out of hand, the CIA calls in their own special black ops team to deal with the problem: The Boys. Consisting of an insane frenchman, a psychopathic asian girl, a hulking African American man, a newly recruited scotsman based on director Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), and the meanest backstabbing sociopath with a bulldog ever, this team operates on the periphery of society and keeps the supes in line. Often resorting to blackmail and assasination, the Boys keep pace with the supes thanks to Compound V, or Blue, a drug that serves as a genetic modifier that was invented by Germans in WWII. This explains all the superpowers out there, since the current 'heroes' are the offspring of the first generation of supermen and women. In the first three issues we see Billy Butcher (the sociopath with the dog, described as the single most dangerous individual ever encountered by the CIA) going after Wee Hughie as a new recruit, while the last three issues deal with their first assignment. Hughie recently lost his girlfriend horrifically due to the actions of the speedster A-Train (based on the Flash) of the Seven, the world's elite superteam. Ennis also gives us an inside view of what goes on behind the superhero facade when Starlight, an innocent young Christian supergirl, joins the Seven and discovers their true natures the hard way. Thanks to the brillliant art of Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan) and the twisted mind of Ennis The Boys is chock full of laugh-out-loud dialogue, action and bloody encounters as well as shocking sexual imagery. Not for people with delicate sensibilities, but for those who loved Ennis' Preacher and Punisher MAX series, strap yourself in for an unforgettable ride with The Boys. You won't regret it.

4 out of 5 stars

Fun book, crude humor, hints of of fun to come February 4, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Modern stories demythologizing long-underwear sooper-heros have been around for a while... "Marvelman," "The Watchmen," DC's Vertigo imprint, and more recently "Powers" and Marvel's "Ultimates" timeline. But few books have approached the topic with such sheer venom as Garth Ennis's "The Boys," in which a mysterious, steroidal hardcase named Billy Butcher assembles an anti-supergroup whose aim is to take the stuffing out of the supergroups that have run rampant over the world. Butcher gets government backing, and puts his Scooby gang together, then sets his sights on some relative small fry: a teen supergroup filled with sex-crazed ultra-brat packers called the Kix. Ennis has a parallel plotline involving an, a-list elite superhero group called The Seven, who are this world's version of the Justice League or the Avengers -- and they are equally crass and unlikeable, and by the end of this first book, we're ready to see them get taken down a few pegs. Looks like Butcher and his headstompers are just the folks to do it. The characters are generally pretty thinly portrayed (which I often find true in Ennis's work) but the plot and the mood are compelling. It's a fun, though rather dark-toned, grisly book, with themes that may seem familiar to folks who have read Ennis, Alan Moore, et. al., over the years. I'm looking forward to Book Two. (ReadThatAgain)

5 out of 5 stars

The seedier side of superheroes September 25, 2007
5 out of 8 found this review helpful

In a world where Superheroes are as popular as movie and rock stars, who polices these individuals with, in some cases, god-like powers?

What are the heroes really like out of the spotlight? What drives them? What are their goals? Money? Power? Fame? Something more - sinister?

And what happens to those people who are caught in the crossfire?

People die, that's what.

How are the survivors of those killed dealt with? Fairly, just swept under the table?

Well, in 'The Boy's' we have a new universe set up, one where all these questions are answered.

It seems that most of the superheroes in this universe are publicly worshipped, and have agents and corporate sponsors who take care of their needs.

The best known superhero team is 'The 7'. Squeaky clean and adored by the public, they fight villainy and for the innocent.

However, things are no where as perfect as they seem. One of the members of the team inadvertently kills the girlfriend of 'Wee' Hugh Campbell.

Distraught over what happened, he signs a waver to protect those involved.

This is where Wee Hugh is drawn into the whole sordid situation, and offered a chance to work with 'The Boys' on exposing and policing superheroes.

See, they're far from perfect in this world. A new member to the 7 is subjected to a truly horrific initiation. Another group, the Teenage Kix are shown to be drug addicts, sex fiends and worse.

It is the job of 'The Boy's' to shed light on these so called super-heroes, to let the world see them for who they really are.

As it appears, each and every member of this small group of people have suffered one way or another at the hands of, or from the actions of these so called superheroes.

This comic is in no way a kid's comic. It is extremely violent, it contains sex, blood, gore, murder and extreme foul language.

I found the characterization to be fascinating. I also enjoyed the fact, greatly so, that Wee Hugh is based entirely on Simon Pegg, you know, of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Spaced, and Run fatboy run fame.

The intro to the trade paperback was even written by him.

The story is what really got me though, showing the dark side of superheroes and the fact that they can be worse than the villains that they're supposed to be defending us from.

If they're that bad, how bad are the villains?

Worth reading, but again, remember, this is a MATURE comic.

3 out of 5 stars

Has Potential to Go Good or Bad May 18, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

If it's possible to be standing on the wall with The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson...then that's where I'm at.

I have collected all the comics (that this TPB is based on) and as an individual storyline this isn't quite up to par. However, once the entire run of this series is complete and I have a better grasp on the "grand scheme of things" I hope I can change my mind.

The Boys' universe is essentially one where superheroes are as flawed as everyday people (to the extreme) but since they have world-shattering abilities that means that the common person runs a great risk of being killed when a bad decision is made. Enter The Boys who essentially "watch the watchmen" and keep all the heroes in check (sometimes brutally).

On the plus side Ennis has fleshed out the characters of Wee Hughie (our protagonist that we want to root for) and Billy Butcher (our protagonist that is too cocky for his own good). Darick Robertson nails the art perfectly in each issue (chapter). The build up to action scenes is also well paced.

On the negative side, the other members of The Boys are as one dimensional as they come (at least up to this point). The Boys as a whole are so arrogant that it's hard to ever feel concerned that maybe they're in a situation that they cannot handle. And biggest of all is the language, sex, and crudeness of the humor. There are times when Ennis' humor is excellent and adds to stories. However in The Boys more often than not this humor is on display to merely shock us right out of the story (when I think of sophomoric humor this is it).

So again, there's some good and bad but I think The Boys may be building to something good and in today's comic/TPB market it's at least worth checking out. You won't be bored.

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