fatmancomics
06-27-2008, 11:49 AM
As always, it is assumed that you have read the comics being analyzed so do not read on if you don't want spoilers. This is a positive review for those of you who don't want to read on.
I like comics that make sense. Of course I'm willing to suspend disbelief in order to accept super powers, magic and the like but, once you've created a character or a universe, their powers and their world have to make sense. For example, I like how it was explained that the Flash has an extremely high metabolism and has to eat like a pig when he does eat in Justice League Unlimited. It's those types of little details that earn my admiration towards a creative team. The Boys has plenty of such details.
There have been plenty of other stories done by other companies that are based on the idea of what it would be like to live in a world that has super humans when you’re just an ordinary human. Where The Boys differs from the rest is in its darkly realistic view of such a world. A view that has been attempted in the likes of DC’s Kingdom Come but never has it been allowed to come to full fruition like in The Boys.
The super heroes in The Boys are akin to Paris Hilton in their behind closed doors exploits and not too different from her in their crime fighting endeavors. The reader gets to see just how bad someone who is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound can be when the cameras aren’t pointing at him as well as just how bad they can fumble a caper due to improper training. And they get away with it because, other than being celebrities, who can really take down a hero with those capabilities? Well, The Boys can and they do.
So, who are The Boys and what do they do? In a nutshell, they’re a secret team funded by the CIA who are in charge of keeping the status quo by keeping the heroes under tabs. This means that most of their work is espionage so that they can get juicy info with which to blackmail the heroes. This leads to the occasional fight which The Boys always win thanks to the fact that they have super powers (granted to them by the government) and two crazy-ass professional assassins on the team to boot.
The book doesn’t lack its share of gore as depicted by Darick Robertson but my favorite part of the artwork is the expressiveness of it all. Every emotion, no matter how subtle, can be discerned at first glance; making the book easy to follow.
I can’t say that I’m a fan of Garth Ennis but, based on this book, I will be seeking out other titles that he has written as well.
The Facts:
The Boys Vol 1: The Name of the Game $16.99 TPB
The Boys Vol 2: Get Some $19.99 TPB
Written By Garth Ennis
Illustrated By Darick Robertson
I like comics that make sense. Of course I'm willing to suspend disbelief in order to accept super powers, magic and the like but, once you've created a character or a universe, their powers and their world have to make sense. For example, I like how it was explained that the Flash has an extremely high metabolism and has to eat like a pig when he does eat in Justice League Unlimited. It's those types of little details that earn my admiration towards a creative team. The Boys has plenty of such details.
There have been plenty of other stories done by other companies that are based on the idea of what it would be like to live in a world that has super humans when you’re just an ordinary human. Where The Boys differs from the rest is in its darkly realistic view of such a world. A view that has been attempted in the likes of DC’s Kingdom Come but never has it been allowed to come to full fruition like in The Boys.
The super heroes in The Boys are akin to Paris Hilton in their behind closed doors exploits and not too different from her in their crime fighting endeavors. The reader gets to see just how bad someone who is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound can be when the cameras aren’t pointing at him as well as just how bad they can fumble a caper due to improper training. And they get away with it because, other than being celebrities, who can really take down a hero with those capabilities? Well, The Boys can and they do.
So, who are The Boys and what do they do? In a nutshell, they’re a secret team funded by the CIA who are in charge of keeping the status quo by keeping the heroes under tabs. This means that most of their work is espionage so that they can get juicy info with which to blackmail the heroes. This leads to the occasional fight which The Boys always win thanks to the fact that they have super powers (granted to them by the government) and two crazy-ass professional assassins on the team to boot.
The book doesn’t lack its share of gore as depicted by Darick Robertson but my favorite part of the artwork is the expressiveness of it all. Every emotion, no matter how subtle, can be discerned at first glance; making the book easy to follow.
I can’t say that I’m a fan of Garth Ennis but, based on this book, I will be seeking out other titles that he has written as well.
The Facts:
The Boys Vol 1: The Name of the Game $16.99 TPB
The Boys Vol 2: Get Some $19.99 TPB
Written By Garth Ennis
Illustrated By Darick Robertson