Artist: Darick Robertson
Content: The Boys is for Mature Audiences and contains extreme situations of violence, language, and sexual situations.
Introduction
Everybody loves superheroes. They are kind, noble, strong, and fight for justice, protecting the innocent from harm. But in the real world they are human beings, full of pride, arrogance, violent tempers, and when defending the innocent, often cause tremendous damage and even take the lives of those very innocent people. In this world, only a group of five keep tabs on those superheroes, protecting us from them.The Story
The Boys are a, "…a team of five super-powered operatives who work for a secret department within the U.S. government. It's their job to monitor and investigate superhero behavior….” When two super-powered beings go at it, innocent people can often get in the way, as is the case for young Wee Hughie, a man just starting a relationship with a nice girl, but only to have her killed when a superhuman named A-Train slams in to her, killing her instantly.Wee Hughie is devastated by his loss, and when a mysterious and dangerous man only known as The Butcher offers Hughie a chance at revenge, he can’t help but accept. The Butcher recruits Hughie to join his group known as The Five, and get his chance to put the super humans in their place.
Review
In reading the boys, there is a gritty realism that most superhero comic books don’t even come close to talking about. What happens when an innocent person gets caught in a brawl between good and evil superheroes? Who polices the superheroes? Who will make sure that the superheroes won’t just do whatever they fancy? I mean, who’s going to stop them?Garth Ennis has been known for his over the top style for some time, pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable for the comic book format. With such titles as Preacher, Just A Pilgrim, and Hellblazer under his belt, fans can know what to expect when it comes to a mature audiences book from Ennis. Ennis has even promised that this book will, “…out-Preacher Preacher.”
For me, the thing that hit home was when Hughie’s girlfriend was killed by A-Train, leaving Hughie an emotional mess. It was one of those, shocker moments, where you can’t believe what your actually reading. The comic has continued to be over-the-top and cutting edge in terms of its graphical content and irreverence for the goody two-shoes comic book hero. What lies ahead can only get harder to watch.
