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The Boys Vol. 1: The Name of the Game$16.99 add to cart

McNally Robinson's Ryan Gelley reviews The Boys, a graphic novel series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.

Although I greatly admire what writers like Ed Brubaker, Brian Bendis, Grant Morrison, and Geoff Johns are accomplishing in the field of mainstream superhero comics, it's the bold work of graphic novelist Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson that is at once reinvigorating and brutally subverting the genre.

The Boys is an ongoing series published by Dynamite Entertainment focusing on the blood and profanity-drenched exploits of a US government-funded group of superhero watchdogs. When decadent and destructive superpeople battle at the expense of human bystanders' lives, The Boys are there to reign in the cape-wearing narcissists before they cause more harm than good. The intense language and violence would make Tarantino and Scorsese blush, and 70 years of American superhero mythos is blatantly and purposefully skewered. It also occurs to the fan of Alan Moore's Watchmen that the series itself is a definitive answer to the famous question "who watches the Watchmen?". In the case of The Boys, the Watchmen are replaced by a Justice League/Avengers lookalike called The Seven, a corrupt and self-important team of superhumans, whose public face is that of the eternally righteous and respectful Superman/Captain America archetype. But, behind closed doors, they are depraved and generally unpleasant, requiring one particularly innocent applicant to perform sexual favors before being considered for membership.

DC Comics, who published the first six issues in 2006, decided to cancel the title, fearing their long-established noble heroes would suffer from the association of being published in the same building. DC have previously published work such as V For Vendetta and The Invisibles, both of which feature a decidedly ambiguous portrayal of domestic terrorism, so dumping The Boys should indicate the level of concern DC felt over the series content. Thankfully, Dynamite picked up the title and continues to solicit it monthly. Garth Ennis has expressed the intention of creating about 60 issues of the series, which would translate into eight to ten trade paperback collections.

I highly recommend this series to anyone of legal age, who occasionally feel as if their superheroes are insulting their intelligence. The only thing The Boys will insult is your delicate sensibilities.

Also recommended by writer Garth Ennis - Preacher, Vol. 1: Gone To Texas.

Also recommended by artist Darick Robertson - Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1: Back on the Streets.