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The Boys (Trade Paperbacks) #2
The Boys. Mandando Ver - Volume 2
Billy Carniceiro, Hughie Mijão, Leite Materno, O Francês e A Fêmea são The Boys- uma equipe da CIA formada por pessoas perigosas, cada uma delas dedicada à luta contra os seres da terra que ultrapassam os limites da lei. Alguns super-heróis têm de ser vigiados. Alguns precisam ser controlados. E outros, às vezes, precisam ser retirados de cena. Tecnoman, o Vingador das Trevas e seu ex-parceiro Suruba estão em apuros- Um perdeu o controle do seu desejo sexual hiperativo, e o outro talvez seja um assassino. Agora, Hughie e Carniceiro precisam descobrir qual é um e qual é outro. Depois, a equipe viaja para a Rússia, onde seus adversários corporativos trabalham juntos com o crime organizado, em uma superconspiração que ameaça sair de controle. Este volume reúne a segunda coletânea de histórias (edições de número 7 a 14).
200 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 2008
572 people are currently reading
1336 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,624 books3,170 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 496 reviews
August 9, 2022
Now with CIA status, who can stop The Boys. A volume of two halves. The first half sees a Batman-esque character have erectile-dysfunction, where he wants to bang anything, robot, food, object .. meanwhile a former 'Robin who was the Corporations gay-friendly hero is caught up in a murder case that The Boys are investigating... but as the cases progresses Hughie begins to wonder if The Boys have another agenda not related to justice!
The second half sees the team set off to Russia, where there are reports of new superheroes heads exploding!!! Butcher feels with this case he might be able to leverage the American Govt. if there are any Americans involved! Overall not as strong as the first volume but so many darkly comic touches that make this volume and the entire series a must-read. 8 out of 12.
2019 read; 2017 read
The second half sees the team set off to Russia, where there are reports of new superheroes heads exploding!!! Butcher feels with this case he might be able to leverage the American Govt. if there are any Americans involved! Overall not as strong as the first volume but so many darkly comic touches that make this volume and the entire series a must-read. 8 out of 12.
2019 read; 2017 read
June 29, 2017
in this second installment, our ragtag band of super-powered types who monitor other super-powered types visit Gay World and then Russia.
here's a story:
so this public figure decides to get some community cred, some faggy version of Up With The People, by doing outreach to the fag community. he's a good-looking guy, so of course all the queers rally around him, and one of the younger homos even falls in love with him. well, we all know about gaydar - but did you know that some gaylords also have a gaydar that tells them who's faking it? who's faking their love & support, to be specific. so one particular faggot with his special-powered fagdar quickly realizes that this guy is a fake. the guy's a homophobe, like most straight guys. of course the fag can't take him down himself, he's a pussy like all fags, which is kinda ironic amiright, but word gets out anyway and the public figure eventually does go down. but not in a gay way.
was that story annoying for you to read - all those stupid pejoratives and slurs and generalizations? well hey, that's what reading the first story in Get Some was like. it's also a synopsis. the story has its heart in the right place, sure. the story doesn't hate gays; it hates fakers and mocks homophobes. but it goes about telling its story in such a cringe-inducing, lunk-headed way. it is completely obnoxious in the most obvious, juvenile, strenuously straight-guy style. good job, Ennis, for not being genuinely homophobic and caring enough about gay issues to make it the point of a whole arc. but bad job, Ennis, for doing it in a way that made my skin crawl.
the second arc is about going to Russia, meeting an old school communist superhero, encountering a nefarious plot, and dealing with a deadly villainess. instead of faux-homophobic bullshit (although there is a bit of that) there is an ample amount of not-faux sexist bullshit. well maybe not 'sexist' per se. I'm not sure what to call it. let's just say that the villainess' enjoyment of dildos is offered up for ridicule and disgust, again and again. *sigh*
Ennis, you're a great storyteller but the button-pushing is about as amateurish as they come. this should have been an easy 3 stars because I was definitely entertained and the stories are smart. alas, unsuccessful button-pushing gets a star knocked off.
here's a story:
so this public figure decides to get some community cred, some faggy version of Up With The People, by doing outreach to the fag community. he's a good-looking guy, so of course all the queers rally around him, and one of the younger homos even falls in love with him. well, we all know about gaydar - but did you know that some gaylords also have a gaydar that tells them who's faking it? who's faking their love & support, to be specific. so one particular faggot with his special-powered fagdar quickly realizes that this guy is a fake. the guy's a homophobe, like most straight guys. of course the fag can't take him down himself, he's a pussy like all fags, which is kinda ironic amiright, but word gets out anyway and the public figure eventually does go down. but not in a gay way.
was that story annoying for you to read - all those stupid pejoratives and slurs and generalizations? well hey, that's what reading the first story in Get Some was like. it's also a synopsis. the story has its heart in the right place, sure. the story doesn't hate gays; it hates fakers and mocks homophobes. but it goes about telling its story in such a cringe-inducing, lunk-headed way. it is completely obnoxious in the most obvious, juvenile, strenuously straight-guy style. good job, Ennis, for not being genuinely homophobic and caring enough about gay issues to make it the point of a whole arc. but bad job, Ennis, for doing it in a way that made my skin crawl.
the second arc is about going to Russia, meeting an old school communist superhero, encountering a nefarious plot, and dealing with a deadly villainess. instead of faux-homophobic bullshit (although there is a bit of that) there is an ample amount of not-faux sexist bullshit. well maybe not 'sexist' per se. I'm not sure what to call it. let's just say that the villainess' enjoyment of dildos is offered up for ridicule and disgust, again and again. *sigh*
Ennis, you're a great storyteller but the button-pushing is about as amateurish as they come. this should have been an easy 3 stars because I was definitely entertained and the stories are smart. alas, unsuccessful button-pushing gets a star knocked off.
August 17, 2017
Well, thanks to Stewart who suggested that this series is ultimately as good as Ennnis’s Preacher, which I liked very much. I had read the first volume of The Boys some time ago, surprised myself in liking it, as it is purposely vulgar and violent: Sex, violence, language. The title is “The Boys,” so that’s maybe a kind of announcement. There’s aspects of that particular kind of “boy culture” in Preacher, too, of course.
Anyway, I reread the first volume last week, and now have read this second volume that I didn’t like quite as much as the first. Some fun things are in it, though: Ennis makes continued vicious fun of superheroes and their capes and tights and culture. Wee Hughie and Butcher are the tag team in Get Some. The first story features Tek-Knight and his ex-partner Swingwing. Tek-Knight is like some mash-up of Batman and Ironman, gorgeous vain rich man, ugh. Degenerate, entitled, greedy scum.
Tek-Knight apparently has uncontrollable sex urges (and it’s not uncomfortably assault-oriented, in my view) with people, yes, but also basically with anything. This part is actually often funny to me, but also will make some people uncomfortable. Not kid comics. The focus in this first story is actually not on sexuality per se but on gay issues, and initially it's surprising how anti-homophobic it is, but is finally not surprising if you know Ennis beyond the surface crudity. I don't exactly equate the message with Bitch Planet's views, but there is a kind of openness and cleverness in both.
The second story takes place in Russia, re: The Russian mob, where the team meets an ex-Russian superhero named the Love Sausage (right, yeah, more of guys and their obsession with/humor about sexual organs). Would you possibly be able to stand the infantile/sophomoric humor? I’m (somewhat) ashamed to say I occasionally laughed aloud and will read Volume 3. I think there’s two sides to Ennis, the profane and the sublime (which is initially hard to find, but I know is there from Preacher).
Anyway, I reread the first volume last week, and now have read this second volume that I didn’t like quite as much as the first. Some fun things are in it, though: Ennis makes continued vicious fun of superheroes and their capes and tights and culture. Wee Hughie and Butcher are the tag team in Get Some. The first story features Tek-Knight and his ex-partner Swingwing. Tek-Knight is like some mash-up of Batman and Ironman, gorgeous vain rich man, ugh. Degenerate, entitled, greedy scum.
Tek-Knight apparently has uncontrollable sex urges (and it’s not uncomfortably assault-oriented, in my view) with people, yes, but also basically with anything. This part is actually often funny to me, but also will make some people uncomfortable. Not kid comics. The focus in this first story is actually not on sexuality per se but on gay issues, and initially it's surprising how anti-homophobic it is, but is finally not surprising if you know Ennis beyond the surface crudity. I don't exactly equate the message with Bitch Planet's views, but there is a kind of openness and cleverness in both.
The second story takes place in Russia, re: The Russian mob, where the team meets an ex-Russian superhero named the Love Sausage (right, yeah, more of guys and their obsession with/humor about sexual organs). Would you possibly be able to stand the infantile/sophomoric humor? I’m (somewhat) ashamed to say I occasionally laughed aloud and will read Volume 3. I think there’s two sides to Ennis, the profane and the sublime (which is initially hard to find, but I know is there from Preacher).
November 30, 2015
Garth Ennis turns the superhero franchise on its head and slaps it where the sun don't shine with The Boys: Get Some the second volume of the series. Get Some contains two stories with the primary characters being Billy Butcher, the leader of this band of superhero bashers and wee Hughie the newest recruit.
The first story sees them investigate the murder of a young gay man and two superheroes come under close scrutiny, Tek-Knight's got a bit of a problem, he's not a legit superhero his costume is powered and he's got problems in that he wants to fuck anything that moves and his former sidekick, Swingwing, a gay-champion but is he really?
Now there's a couple of moments, one in each story that had me rolling on the floor laughing, the first was when Billy & Hughie pay a visit to the Tek-Knights bat cave. Hughie is dying for a dump, he literally has seconds, he arrives at the toilet door and it’s a keycard entry, fucked, and too cap it off there's a turtles head coming.
The second story sees the gang head over to Russia in Glorious Five Year Plan, something is afoot with superheroes heads blowing off their shoulders. An unlikely baddie in little Nina, who is 3ft and a fag end and first seen in a private plane with a sex toy, maybe not the first but it’s the bit that I remember anyways, she's recruiting supes for some nefarious activities in Moscow. The Boys stay with a retired supe called Vasilii who makes a comeback at the end in his spandex, his name, Love Sausage and he certainly has the goods, fucking hilarious especially when he enters the strip joint.
Now I'm liking this series, it's dark and dirty, funny as fuck with plenty of outrageous violence, the Seven or the elite supes don't feature in volume 2 and it’s really intriguing to see where Ennis goes with that so I'll be on the next of the series soon.
Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
The first story sees them investigate the murder of a young gay man and two superheroes come under close scrutiny, Tek-Knight's got a bit of a problem, he's not a legit superhero his costume is powered and he's got problems in that he wants to fuck anything that moves and his former sidekick, Swingwing, a gay-champion but is he really?
Now there's a couple of moments, one in each story that had me rolling on the floor laughing, the first was when Billy & Hughie pay a visit to the Tek-Knights bat cave. Hughie is dying for a dump, he literally has seconds, he arrives at the toilet door and it’s a keycard entry, fucked, and too cap it off there's a turtles head coming.
The second story sees the gang head over to Russia in Glorious Five Year Plan, something is afoot with superheroes heads blowing off their shoulders. An unlikely baddie in little Nina, who is 3ft and a fag end and first seen in a private plane with a sex toy, maybe not the first but it’s the bit that I remember anyways, she's recruiting supes for some nefarious activities in Moscow. The Boys stay with a retired supe called Vasilii who makes a comeback at the end in his spandex, his name, Love Sausage and he certainly has the goods, fucking hilarious especially when he enters the strip joint.
Now I'm liking this series, it's dark and dirty, funny as fuck with plenty of outrageous violence, the Seven or the elite supes don't feature in volume 2 and it’s really intriguing to see where Ennis goes with that so I'll be on the next of the series soon.
Also posted at http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
March 24, 2021
Continúa siendo entretenida, es recomendable si quieres leer algo diferente al típico héroe bueno que no tiene defectos.
May 1, 2018
Topping one’s most impressive achievements is a perennial woe amongst all artists – no matter their medium. The zenith is reached and at best, things plateau (for the most part) at best and at worst things crater. As a very personal example, I’m always amazed at how much Pink Floyd sucked after The Wall and even more so following, Roger Water’s untimely departure after ‘84.
Going along with this same theme, it’s gotta be tough to follow up to probably one of the best comics of the mid/late 90’s-earliest 00’s – Preacher. Impossible to top, I do give high marks to Ennis’ unwavering ambitions. However, this result of the author’s plan to quote, “out-Preacher-Preacher,” is a woeful shade of that previous high point of artistic achievement.
All the stranger is that beyond a few instances of ultra-violence, both yarns within are quite dialogue heavy. In contradistinction to the highly imaginative brutality of Preacher, The Boys seems to favor words over weapons. Disappointingly disdaining one for the either – it fails on both levels.
The first story is a real doozy. A convoluted soap-opera involving rape, (closeted) homosexuality, and incidental murder is as confusing as it is unexciting to read. Sure, there are a couple guffaws here and there but, for the most part it was pretty dumb. Once the issues were read, left with an empty stomach, I felt like the over-arc hadn’t moved an iota on its odometer.
The second story is entrenched at the same level of swampy mediocrity and odometrical inertia. Moving from the realm of the gay bar to that of the Russian bar, there seems little in the way of thematic connection and its ensuing progression save our trenchcoated band of protagonists showing up once again. Sure enough, Vodka is shot-glass’d and the second spool of narrative unfurls with all the government subterfuge we would expect. Again, when everything coalesces together and finishes at the end, it feels like another unsatisfying conclusion with nothing to show for it.
Overall, I’m pretty bummed about this. I’ve been a pretty big Garth Ennis fan over the past few years and he’s yet to disappoint me until now. I’ll keep reading (being the completeist I am) but, my expectations aren’t particularly high.
Going along with this same theme, it’s gotta be tough to follow up to probably one of the best comics of the mid/late 90’s-earliest 00’s – Preacher. Impossible to top, I do give high marks to Ennis’ unwavering ambitions. However, this result of the author’s plan to quote, “out-Preacher-Preacher,” is a woeful shade of that previous high point of artistic achievement.
All the stranger is that beyond a few instances of ultra-violence, both yarns within are quite dialogue heavy. In contradistinction to the highly imaginative brutality of Preacher, The Boys seems to favor words over weapons. Disappointingly disdaining one for the either – it fails on both levels.
The first story is a real doozy. A convoluted soap-opera involving rape, (closeted) homosexuality, and incidental murder is as confusing as it is unexciting to read. Sure, there are a couple guffaws here and there but, for the most part it was pretty dumb. Once the issues were read, left with an empty stomach, I felt like the over-arc hadn’t moved an iota on its odometer.
The second story is entrenched at the same level of swampy mediocrity and odometrical inertia. Moving from the realm of the gay bar to that of the Russian bar, there seems little in the way of thematic connection and its ensuing progression save our trenchcoated band of protagonists showing up once again. Sure enough, Vodka is shot-glass’d and the second spool of narrative unfurls with all the government subterfuge we would expect. Again, when everything coalesces together and finishes at the end, it feels like another unsatisfying conclusion with nothing to show for it.
Overall, I’m pretty bummed about this. I’ve been a pretty big Garth Ennis fan over the past few years and he’s yet to disappoint me until now. I’ll keep reading (being the completeist I am) but, my expectations aren’t particularly high.
August 24, 2017
S***… That was disappointing.
What’s it about?
The Boys have some new missions. One is dealing with a person who was murdered and it seems some superhero activity was connected and the other is about them dealing with some Russian crime stuff, should be awesome, right? Well…
Pros:
The Russian crime story was pretty good.
The art is pretty good.
This book stays suspenseful, it is not predictable.
This series has lots of great action.
It is (mostly) hilarious, some jokes were a bit immature (even for me) but for the most part it’s funny.
The characters are still really interesting.
There’s some really well written moments that were actually very nice and I liked them. That’s a real surprise for a Garth Ennis book but, yeah, they’re here.
Cons:
The first story could have been good but they add a really stupid subplot about a superhero who becomes addicted to f***ing random things and oh my gosh, it is so cringe worthy and stupid.
The dialogue can be so bad at times.
The sexual content in this volume is so gratuitous to the point it’s actually quite cringe worthy. I already mentioned the superhero who for no reason feels the urge to have sex with random things (sometimes even inanimate objects) but wait, there’s more! The main villain of the 2nd story is for some reason really horny, it doesn’t do anything for the character or story, it’s just there. There’s people who just all of a sudden decide to bang each other. A s***ton of sexual dialogue that’s just thrown in there. Naked women showing up for no reason. The list goes on and almost none of it has anything to do with the freaking story. It’s just there to be edgy which edginess is something Ennis usually does well (see: Preacher and Adventures in The Rifle Brigade), he doesn’t pull it off here.
Some characters are so underused. The black guy (I forget his name) just stands there and sometimes provides some good words of wisdom. The Female is used a few times but doesn’t do much except add some humor and gore (which is disappointing because she’s probably the most interesting character). Terror’s just there because… I don’t know, I (and many other people) like dogs so I guess there’s the fact he’s a dog, that’s all I can think of. The french guy does a bit more in this volume, I will give it that. Yes, I talked about how the characters are interesting but if we’re only really gonna use 3 of them there’s not really a point and then they lose some characters that could end up being pretty great and are a major part of what makes the book interesting so we can’t have that either, it’s kind of a either way it loses situation.
I mentioned how some jokes were immature even for me, that’s getting a con because seriously, if a joke is immature by my standards that’s saying something.
Overall:
I like the idea of the series and the first volume definitely kicked a**, I don’t know what the hell this was. Ennis is one of my favorite authors, one of the few that if I see his name in the writers spot, I’m at least looking into it quite a bit, this however… what happened? I’m so disappointed because I expected this to be a pretty great series, now I’m not even bothered to read volume 3 because this volume shows me that even a good author is able to not use great characters nearly as much as he should and write a cringe worthy sex filled mess that would put the biggest smile on just about any 10 year old’s face. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t terrible but I am disappointed I can no longer say that I would recommend The Boys.
2/5.
What’s it about?
The Boys have some new missions. One is dealing with a person who was murdered and it seems some superhero activity was connected and the other is about them dealing with some Russian crime stuff, should be awesome, right? Well…
Pros:
The Russian crime story was pretty good.
The art is pretty good.
This book stays suspenseful, it is not predictable.
This series has lots of great action.
It is (mostly) hilarious, some jokes were a bit immature (even for me) but for the most part it’s funny.
The characters are still really interesting.
There’s some really well written moments that were actually very nice and I liked them. That’s a real surprise for a Garth Ennis book but, yeah, they’re here.
Cons:
The first story could have been good but they add a really stupid subplot about a superhero who becomes addicted to f***ing random things and oh my gosh, it is so cringe worthy and stupid.
The dialogue can be so bad at times.
The sexual content in this volume is so gratuitous to the point it’s actually quite cringe worthy. I already mentioned the superhero who for no reason feels the urge to have sex with random things (sometimes even inanimate objects) but wait, there’s more! The main villain of the 2nd story is for some reason really horny, it doesn’t do anything for the character or story, it’s just there. There’s people who just all of a sudden decide to bang each other. A s***ton of sexual dialogue that’s just thrown in there. Naked women showing up for no reason. The list goes on and almost none of it has anything to do with the freaking story. It’s just there to be edgy which edginess is something Ennis usually does well (see: Preacher and Adventures in The Rifle Brigade), he doesn’t pull it off here.
Some characters are so underused. The black guy (I forget his name) just stands there and sometimes provides some good words of wisdom. The Female is used a few times but doesn’t do much except add some humor and gore (which is disappointing because she’s probably the most interesting character). Terror’s just there because… I don’t know, I (and many other people) like dogs so I guess there’s the fact he’s a dog, that’s all I can think of. The french guy does a bit more in this volume, I will give it that. Yes, I talked about how the characters are interesting but if we’re only really gonna use 3 of them there’s not really a point and then they lose some characters that could end up being pretty great and are a major part of what makes the book interesting so we can’t have that either, it’s kind of a either way it loses situation.
I mentioned how some jokes were immature even for me, that’s getting a con because seriously, if a joke is immature by my standards that’s saying something.
Overall:
I like the idea of the series and the first volume definitely kicked a**, I don’t know what the hell this was. Ennis is one of my favorite authors, one of the few that if I see his name in the writers spot, I’m at least looking into it quite a bit, this however… what happened? I’m so disappointed because I expected this to be a pretty great series, now I’m not even bothered to read volume 3 because this volume shows me that even a good author is able to not use great characters nearly as much as he should and write a cringe worthy sex filled mess that would put the biggest smile on just about any 10 year old’s face. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t terrible but I am disappointed I can no longer say that I would recommend The Boys.
2/5.
December 5, 2020
God, what a dull bore fest. I mean, for all it’s negatives, at least Volume 1 of The Boys was interesting at times, especially in its ability to generate disgust for characters and the longing for their quick deaths. Can’t say the same for this insomnia cure. The first story arc was so eventful I can’t even recall it’s main plot, and the second one in Russia was a convoluted mess with so much meaningless dialogue I kept falling asleep trying to read it.
Yeah, I’m going to read the next collection, but I can’t really say why at this point.
Yeah, I’m going to read the next collection, but I can’t really say why at this point.
July 18, 2022
Muy bueno. Un volumen muy disfrutable.
Acá nos encontramos con dos historias bastante interesantes. La primera es el asesinato de un hombre que frecuentaba un bar gay, lo cual despierta el interés de Los muchachos. Acá tratan el tema de los superhéroes homosexuales, y lo más interesante es que nos encontramos ante la parodia de Iron man y Batman. Ya que este superhéroe tiene un mayordomo, una especia de baticueva, pero, tiene armadura. Nada sutil Garth Ennis, pero sabemos que eso no es lo suyo. Muy interesante esta historia.
La segunda historia son Los muchachos viajando a Rusia, allí conocemos la historia de los supers rusos de la mano de Val. Además de que Los muchachos quieren desenmascarar un plan poco conveniente para Rusia.
Tramas interesantes, llenas de sangre, misterio y tintes políticos, además de que conocemos poco a poco nuevas características de nuestros muchachos. La verdad es que me pasó genial leyendo sus historias, ya estoy enganchado, y quiero descubrir más de este universo donde los superhéroes no usan su poder para hacer el bien.
Acá nos encontramos con dos historias bastante interesantes. La primera es el asesinato de un hombre que frecuentaba un bar gay, lo cual despierta el interés de Los muchachos. Acá tratan el tema de los superhéroes homosexuales, y lo más interesante es que nos encontramos ante la parodia de Iron man y Batman. Ya que este superhéroe tiene un mayordomo, una especia de baticueva, pero, tiene armadura. Nada sutil Garth Ennis, pero sabemos que eso no es lo suyo. Muy interesante esta historia.
La segunda historia son Los muchachos viajando a Rusia, allí conocemos la historia de los supers rusos de la mano de Val. Además de que Los muchachos quieren desenmascarar un plan poco conveniente para Rusia.
Tramas interesantes, llenas de sangre, misterio y tintes políticos, además de que conocemos poco a poco nuevas características de nuestros muchachos. La verdad es que me pasó genial leyendo sus historias, ya estoy enganchado, y quiero descubrir más de este universo donde los superhéroes no usan su poder para hacer el bien.
June 7, 2022
Less shock, more story here, though the supes weren't as fun so I didn't enjoy it quite as much.
I do really enjoy the violence and general nastiness of this series, and the creative ways people get f*ked up. This one diverted a little into more detective work so the story was a little thicker and the gore and sex a little less gratuitous. I didn't mind that at all - actually rather enjoyed being drawn into smaller episodes - but the jump away from the seven dulled things a bit for me.
Really keen to get back to the big guns, and really keen for Hughie to grow a pair because he really does whine a lot.
I do really enjoy the violence and general nastiness of this series, and the creative ways people get f*ked up. This one diverted a little into more detective work so the story was a little thicker and the gore and sex a little less gratuitous. I didn't mind that at all - actually rather enjoyed being drawn into smaller episodes - but the jump away from the seven dulled things a bit for me.
Really keen to get back to the big guns, and really keen for Hughie to grow a pair because he really does whine a lot.
March 25, 2022
Bullet Review:
Another entry in the gory, foul, definitely NOT PC (expect to see the f-word for gay people a lot) indie series about superheroes gone bad. This again is one of those entries where some people are just gonna want to skip over - this volume deals with homosexuality quite a bit and yes, some really cringy language is used (though I see that more a reflection of the characters themselves than the actual thoughts of the creators). I’d dare say the whole series will be this way soooo if this kinda stuff bugs ya, leave now.
Now that we have moved away from the “let’s get the gang together” volume, this volume starts to hit its stride; I enjoy that both plots are given enough issues to fully explore and they are rather complicated stories and plots that give us more depth into the characters and these awful superheroes that populate this world. Some of the plot threads from Volume 1 disappear here (such as Starlight) so I wonder if the teaser at the end of this volume means we'll get back to that soon.
Another entry in the gory, foul, definitely NOT PC (expect to see the f-word for gay people a lot) indie series about superheroes gone bad. This again is one of those entries where some people are just gonna want to skip over - this volume deals with homosexuality quite a bit and yes, some really cringy language is used (though I see that more a reflection of the characters themselves than the actual thoughts of the creators). I’d dare say the whole series will be this way soooo if this kinda stuff bugs ya, leave now.
Now that we have moved away from the “let’s get the gang together” volume, this volume starts to hit its stride; I enjoy that both plots are given enough issues to fully explore and they are rather complicated stories and plots that give us more depth into the characters and these awful superheroes that populate this world. Some of the plot threads from Volume 1 disappear here (such as Starlight) so I wonder if the teaser at the end of this volume means we'll get back to that soon.
January 1, 2017
Damn it! WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE MY FIRST BOOK OF 2017!!!!
So I guess we end 2016 with a 5 star review (Deadly Class Volume 4) and get to start with this (mostly) pile of shit book.
The first half of this volume isn't terrible. It's actually kind of funny. Got a superhero who basically fucks everything. Something is wrong with him and anything around him will be fucked from hamsters, to coffee cups, to anyone's ass. It's very scary. The story is really revolving around why this poor gay person was murdered. The ending is dumb, yet I laughed...I felt disugsted. But whatever, this it The Boys afterall.
Saying that, the second half is fucking boring. SO BORING. There's no moments of funness in it, the shitty "villain" hero is boring, and so much needless dialog. This second half dragged on and I felt like I was about to fall asleep at any moment.
So yeah, The Boys isn't very good, but I'll continue...cause I'm foolish.
So I guess we end 2016 with a 5 star review (Deadly Class Volume 4) and get to start with this (mostly) pile of shit book.
The first half of this volume isn't terrible. It's actually kind of funny. Got a superhero who basically fucks everything. Something is wrong with him and anything around him will be fucked from hamsters, to coffee cups, to anyone's ass. It's very scary. The story is really revolving around why this poor gay person was murdered. The ending is dumb, yet I laughed...I felt disugsted. But whatever, this it The Boys afterall.
Saying that, the second half is fucking boring. SO BORING. There's no moments of funness in it, the shitty "villain" hero is boring, and so much needless dialog. This second half dragged on and I felt like I was about to fall asleep at any moment.
So yeah, The Boys isn't very good, but I'll continue...cause I'm foolish.
May 19, 2018
Some good comedic moments but I found the story just pretty slow and boirng. The dialogue was just overly wordy. Two different stories. The first was pretty solid, dealing with a supe who has a crazy sexdrive, and the boys investigate a death. The second takes them to Russia dealing with a Supe. Not sure why but I found this completely different to Vol 1.
August 5, 2019
This was actually more of a three-star read for me as the OTT-level of depravity of the graphic novels is still a wee bit outside of my wheelhouse. However, I bumped it up a star just because of the running gag of the "vodka" Hughie was drinking in Russia with Vasilii Vorishikin (aka retired Soviet hero, Love Sausage) evidently was adapted from brake fluid and could negate the effects of poison. I laughed way too much at that.
June 25, 2010
4.0 stars. This series is NOT for the faint of heart or those easily offended. Dark, brutal, violent and at times disturbing. However, it is also original, well written and superbly plotted. Highly Recommended (with the above caveat).
December 22, 2012
Why did I like this series?
First and foremost, it's witty, clever and irreverent. These are things Ennis does well in pretty much all of his work. But in my opinion, those talents shine out particularly brightly here.
(Continued in book three.)
January 4, 2023
3.5 Ennis and Robertson are finding their footing here. It’s actually dialed back a little bit, not quite as mean-spirited and the art not quite as grotesque. It’s still a pretty grungey comic, but one getting in the groove of longer storytelling. Basically this is two stories, neither of which are in the tv series at all. Homelander and Starlight don’t appear. The dialogue has a nice flow. I wish I could bring it up to a 4 for improvement, but it’s kind of a lateral move.
The first story about Tek Knight and Swingwing I liked a bit more. Some very dark comedy and a half decent procedural. I got the impression Ennis was walking the homophobic jokes back with this one, which is commendable. The result is maybe the most backhanded pro-gay story ever but it gets a message of tolerance across without compromising its characters. The punchline with the asteroid made me laugh out loud. The second story with Nina and her weaponized supes is uneven and leans a little too heavily on dildo jokes, but this is edgelord-light at this point. Overall, loses a little bit of the punch of the first collection but the storytelling is strong and features plots specific to the comics. Fast read too, lots of humor, buckets of blood, and one or two notable explosions.
The first story about Tek Knight and Swingwing I liked a bit more. Some very dark comedy and a half decent procedural. I got the impression Ennis was walking the homophobic jokes back with this one, which is commendable. The result is maybe the most backhanded pro-gay story ever but it gets a message of tolerance across without compromising its characters. The punchline with the asteroid made me laugh out loud. The second story with Nina and her weaponized supes is uneven and leans a little too heavily on dildo jokes, but this is edgelord-light at this point. Overall, loses a little bit of the punch of the first collection but the storytelling is strong and features plots specific to the comics. Fast read too, lots of humor, buckets of blood, and one or two notable explosions.
December 28, 2020
Good , I'm liking these comics
May 16, 2020
This is a good example of a comic that puts me off Garth Ennis. Too crude for anyone’s good.
April 14, 2017
Still enjoying this series a great deal. Two complete stories in this volume. In the first, Tek-Knight, sort of a cross between Iron Man and Batman has a ... unique problem with his sex drive. And there's a possible murder involved as well. It's up to Butcher and Hughie to sort things out. As much fun as the story is, it pales in comparison to the second, in which the team goes to Russia. Part of what makes it sing for me is their Russian contact, Vasilii, a great big joyous bear of a man. Yes, he's a bit of a stock character to some extent, but written with more than enough zest and panache to overcome any reservations on my part. Looking forward to volume 3 and beyond!
November 4, 2020
I liked the first volume well enough, but it took me forever to get through this one. I think the problem is that the show is just so much more clever than the comic.
In the show, the boys have to attack the supes in other ways than just brute force. They have to attack their public image, for example. I'm the comic, though, they just take some compound V and punch the crap out of them, which just isn't as intriguing.
In the show, the boys have to attack the supes in other ways than just brute force. They have to attack their public image, for example. I'm the comic, though, they just take some compound V and punch the crap out of them, which just isn't as intriguing.
July 1, 2022
E d g y
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September 7, 2018
Oookay. So, this is the first time I read something that was triggering to me. The first time I was actually stopping to close my eyes, breath, and contemplating on just dnf'ing.
Listen I've read weird shit, I've read shit that has made me feel uncomfortable and sick to my stomach, but I've ended up loving them at the end. The first arc of this volume? Nah, all the homophobic remarks and shitty storyline made me physically uncomfortable. I hated it with a burning passion.
I don't care if after all the slurs, homophobic remarks, PoS storyline we actually get to an ending that goes "hey, look, is actually lowkey subversive so ignore the previous 100 pages" I just can't. Awful writing, shitty plot. I haaaaated reading it, to the point I actually considered dnfing the whole series.
Then you go to the second story, that takes place on Russia. And? I don't know, it was boring, the shtick is getting so so boring so fast.
Nudity! Sex! Over the top Violence! With 3 of the 5 main characters just standing around, doing and saying nothing at all! Why should I care?
I liked volume 1, because under all the same shit I just talked about that is used to shock the reader, there was actually an emotional component (with the characters) and I liked the crude parody of the superhero genre, the take of "what if those superheroes you love to read about exist in the real world? They wouldn't be so honorable after all" But this? This whole volume was a waste of time.
It's trying way too hard to be shocking, and at the end of the day, I just found it useless. Useless to the overall story and to any develop of the characters.
Meh. First I got mad, then I just rolled my eyes. The efforts of trying waaay too hard to be extremely edgy were just cringey.
Listen I've read weird shit, I've read shit that has made me feel uncomfortable and sick to my stomach, but I've ended up loving them at the end. The first arc of this volume? Nah, all the homophobic remarks and shitty storyline made me physically uncomfortable. I hated it with a burning passion.
I don't care if after all the slurs, homophobic remarks, PoS storyline we actually get to an ending that goes "hey, look, is actually lowkey subversive so ignore the previous 100 pages" I just can't. Awful writing, shitty plot. I haaaaated reading it, to the point I actually considered dnfing the whole series.
Then you go to the second story, that takes place on Russia. And? I don't know, it was boring, the shtick is getting so so boring so fast.
Nudity! Sex! Over the top Violence! With 3 of the 5 main characters just standing around, doing and saying nothing at all! Why should I care?
I liked volume 1, because under all the same shit I just talked about that is used to shock the reader, there was actually an emotional component (with the characters) and I liked the crude parody of the superhero genre, the take of "what if those superheroes you love to read about exist in the real world? They wouldn't be so honorable after all" But this? This whole volume was a waste of time.
It's trying way too hard to be shocking, and at the end of the day, I just found it useless. Useless to the overall story and to any develop of the characters.
Meh. First I got mad, then I just rolled my eyes. The efforts of trying waaay too hard to be extremely edgy were just cringey.
September 2, 2011
Good job on Ennis, not repeating the plotline from book one (which would've been so easy to do and still fun - but not this much). This gets deeper, more serious and takes us behind the facade to get to know Butcher and his connections.
There's a sense of disappointment I can't quite shake tho - after the first book blew my mind, this feels a bit of a letdown. Like as if not every page from here on out will make me pee my pants with how much Ennis hates supes - which I guess he doesn't - but man did he take the piss out of them in the last one.
I have to take a step back tho - even average Ennis still is better writing than half the jokers out there, and thesis far above average. And when he makes me laugh, it's out-loud embarrassing laughing.
But what's the big deal with how obsessed Ennis is with whether people like or hate poofs? It never seems to go away from any of his stories.
There's a sense of disappointment I can't quite shake tho - after the first book blew my mind, this feels a bit of a letdown. Like as if not every page from here on out will make me pee my pants with how much Ennis hates supes - which I guess he doesn't - but man did he take the piss out of them in the last one.
I have to take a step back tho - even average Ennis still is better writing than half the jokers out there, and thesis far above average. And when he makes me laugh, it's out-loud embarrassing laughing.
But what's the big deal with how obsessed Ennis is with whether people like or hate poofs? It never seems to go away from any of his stories.
March 14, 2015
Wow. The extreme homophobia, racism, and sexism in this book is making me reconsider reading this series.
And the art actually got WORSE half way through this book, somehow...
And the art actually got WORSE half way through this book, somehow...
July 16, 2019
This is the second volume in The Boys graphic novel series. My first review of Volume 1 is pretty decent so I won’t repeat a lot of the things I said there. This volume has the same sex and violence and all those fun things the first one did. You get more of the interaction between Billy Butcher, the leader, and Wee Hughie, the newest member he recruited. Hughie is still learning his role in the group. And he is still dealing with his first kill from the previous volume. In this one, one of the first tasks that they take on is investigating the death of a gay man, which might be tied to a superhero.
The story here deals not only with a superhero sidekick who went on his own and supports the gay community. But it also deals with his mentor, and his big problem now. Tek-Knight has a major problem that got him kicked out of his super hero group, he can’t stop impulsively fucking things, anything. Living or inanimate, he just gets these urges and goes to town. He is deeply ashamed of this, and is trying to stop, but his life is falling apart. He even sends his current sidekick away to try to protect him. He wonders if his previous sidekick, the aforementioned supporter of the gay community, Swingwing by name, turned him gay.
Well Billy and Hughie investigate and through many steps find out that it was actually Swingwing who killed the guy when he came onto him. I guess Swingwing was putting on an act for the PR. Billy and Hughie let him go after he confesses to them. But Hughie sees that Billy unscrewed Swingwing’s rocket pack while consoling him, but says nothing. Later Swingwing dies while his rocket pack malfunctions, but Hughie knows the truth but does nothing because justice was served.
The next mission take the team to Russia to investigate something going on with super villains showing up and then just exploding. The team goes and meets up with an old Russian superhero named Love Sausage who now runs a bar. Through some investigation and some run ins with the Russian mob, they find out that the US was backing a mobstress named Nina who is running a program collecting all the supervillains to give this extra boost of power. Then she would move in and “save” Russia when they went wild, and then get elected to run the country. Lots of plot twists in there. Vas, Love Sausage, bonds with Hughie about missing the old Communist days when they all worked together for the glory of the Motherland. The days before the corrupt cockroaches took over. Well eventually the team wins. The bad guys die, some in very funny ways. And we find out why he is called Love Sausage.
It was another good graphic novel. But it is definitely not for the kids in any way, shape or form. Some very adult themes here, and some really graphic violence. But I am enjoying seeing how the US government is working with some super heroes to take out The Boys. It is all going to lead up to something big down the road. I am also enjoying the development of the relationship between Billy and Hughie. I do feel sad that Hughie is losing his innocence. But at times he realizes that he does have to take care of things in a rather violent manner. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2018
I am still trying to like it, but sometimes the dialogue is too much and there are many jerk heroes here.
May 20, 2019
NO GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!
I just feel like the world is basically one big GoT spoiler right now. But it's hard for me to tell because I've NEVER SEEN IT.
I have a rule: No dragons.
It might be a bit restrictive, but hey, it's worked for me so far.
I saw the one where dragons took over the world or whatever. Dragonworld? Dragontown? Whatever that one was, and it sucked.
I also saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. I was there with a child who suggested we trade 3D glasses. Which I did before I realized he'd smeared peanut butter cup grease all over them, which ruined them. Comprehensively.
But it's not just about a couple bad times. I just think dragons are sort of...stupid. A big flying lizard that can shoot fire? Hello!? It's called a dinosaur, assholes!
Oh, you're saying dinosaurs are more like birds and don't shoot fire? Yes, more great information from scientists. And scientists wonder why nobody likes them. Maybe because you take away all our cool dinosaurs, 10% of our planets, and what do you give us back? Usually a new substance that causes cancer. Thanks a shitload.
I just feel like the world is basically one big GoT spoiler right now. But it's hard for me to tell because I've NEVER SEEN IT.
I have a rule: No dragons.
It might be a bit restrictive, but hey, it's worked for me so far.
I saw the one where dragons took over the world or whatever. Dragonworld? Dragontown? Whatever that one was, and it sucked.
I also saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. I was there with a child who suggested we trade 3D glasses. Which I did before I realized he'd smeared peanut butter cup grease all over them, which ruined them. Comprehensively.
But it's not just about a couple bad times. I just think dragons are sort of...stupid. A big flying lizard that can shoot fire? Hello!? It's called a dinosaur, assholes!
Oh, you're saying dinosaurs are more like birds and don't shoot fire? Yes, more great information from scientists. And scientists wonder why nobody likes them. Maybe because you take away all our cool dinosaurs, 10% of our planets, and what do you give us back? Usually a new substance that causes cancer. Thanks a shitload.
January 26, 2022
I knew it was going to be impossible not to compare the books to the tv show, so I’m not even going to try. Wherein book one was a pretty close match, book two is something of a digression. It’s two Boys (own) adventures in one book with two self-contained arcs.
The first one takes on homosexual themes (some supers lean that way, some get murderous with it) with such a well-meant but strange and dated and brash aggressively-Boys style that it probably wouldn’t quite work for a modern snowflake audience and their PC sensibilities.
The second is pure message-free fun as the Boys roll behind the Iron Curtain into a snowy Moscow for some fun under the winter sun, featuring Vas, a retired local super who looks like a giant, obscenely well-hung demented Santa.
It’s all in your face, loud and foul-languaged sort of shenanigans you’ve come to expect from Boys, but overall on a much smaller scale than traditional Boys universe, which is to say these tales are more like offshoots from the story tree. Still fun, but looking forward to getting back to the main.
Also, the art changes in like the very last comic/last art of the second story so weirdly and abruptly and not as an improvement, and makes Wee lad look completely different among other things. Get Some, but then go back to the origins.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
The first one takes on homosexual themes (some supers lean that way, some get murderous with it) with such a well-meant but strange and dated and brash aggressively-Boys style that it probably wouldn’t quite work for a modern snowflake audience and their PC sensibilities.
The second is pure message-free fun as the Boys roll behind the Iron Curtain into a snowy Moscow for some fun under the winter sun, featuring Vas, a retired local super who looks like a giant, obscenely well-hung demented Santa.
It’s all in your face, loud and foul-languaged sort of shenanigans you’ve come to expect from Boys, but overall on a much smaller scale than traditional Boys universe, which is to say these tales are more like offshoots from the story tree. Still fun, but looking forward to getting back to the main.
Also, the art changes in like the very last comic/last art of the second story so weirdly and abruptly and not as an improvement, and makes Wee lad look completely different among other things. Get Some, but then go back to the origins.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
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