The Exterminators, Vol. 1: Bug Brothers

The Exterminators #1

by Simon Oliver, Tony Moore (Artist), John Olson (Introduction)

A smart and scary tale of roaches, rats, raccoons and the men who kill them,The Exterminators focuses on a dysfunctional group of bug killers prowling the barrios and bungalows of Los Angeles.

Henry James, the newest exterminator, sees the job as a way to cleanse the sins of his dark past, he has a hard time getting his view across to his careerist girlfriend, sociopathic partner and the general bunch of freaks he calls co-workers. Meanwhile, what Henry and the "bug brothers" of Bug-Bee-Gone Co. don't understand is that human beings may be the true pests — and bugs could be the real exterminator.

Collects issues 1-5.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fantasy

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2006

About the author

Simon Oliver was hatched in South London in 1969. Since that date he has consistently strived for mediocrity in a number of fields of employment, from cooking at the legendary Hacienda Club of Manchester in the late 1980's, scuba diving instructor in the planet's more tropical climes, to a career as a camera assistant in Hollywood. With such a spotty and heterogeneous employment record is seemed only fitting that the comic book would industry welcome him with open arms in 2005 for his writing debut in THE EXTERMINATORS.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic Novel. Promising first volume

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I ever would've read this if it hadn't been recommended to me. And it was recommended from my favorite source for comic book recommendations: The Comic Book Store Employee.

While I prefer my beloved House of Secrets, Meltdown is right down the street, and those dudes know a thing or 2 about comics as well. And they were consistently putting this book in their "employee picks" section. And when I asked, everyone said "oh, you gotta read it!" And so I did.

And I gotta say, it was pretty awesome. This collects the first 6 issues for the amazingly low introductory price of $9.99 (Vertigo & Image have both started doing this as a way of getting you hooked. Those tricky bastards think of everything!!).

It's about a group of Exterminators in Los Angeles, basically working at Western Exterminator (you know the one - big duder w/a Mallet, about to crush an unsuspecting rat - you can see him quite clearly from the 101). And so you have the great benefit of Vertigo allowing for disgusting pest imagery, and pretty ruthless violence, while the characters develop around it. All good stuff, seems like there could be lots of twists to come. Some of it comes off as a bit heavy-handed, but I think Simon Oliver does a mean job of scripting this thing, especially as it's his first comic. It's pretty inspiring stuff, definitely original, and the LA me likes that it is set in LA. But it also has some definite nods to Eisner (for the neighborhood love, and roaches), and reminded me a little bit of the first volume of Y: The Last Man. There's a lot going on here. Check it out!!

[Ill D · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the very beginning, The Exterminators (tries to) presents itself as a new beast. The very first few pages feature a meditation upon the fall of the Roman Empire which is strangely juxtaposed with a flood of insects in biblical proportions. This bizarre mix of plebeian and patrician/the sacred and the profane/Hi(gh) and Low culture, characterizes as much as sets the stage for the story that will jumble forth.

Although well illustrated, I had (unlike any other (comic) book) to struggle to read through it. No matter how much I did (or very well did not) enjoy the story, why the hell would I want to stare at icky bugs saturating each page again and again? The universal human emotion of disgust found itself wrapping across my facade again and again.

Universal sentiments of repugnance rippled across other thematic insertions to be of equally dismal quality. Foreshadowing was well done, but the references were not. Pepperings of Sun Tzu's sayings were lightly added then heavily dumped across the final issue. We get it, the author really likes Art of War but the quotations were excessive, reducing their quality and oversaturating the story.

Further errors barreled forth over this bastardized bricolage with over-the-top F-bombs drops. Firebombing the story with edginess detracted from the story at best, degenerated its quality at worst. When its not reveling in its edginess, attempts to replicate Romero's Zombie panoramas sans the titular undead but with crunchy insects are as dully repetitive as they are just disgusting to look at.

So what's the verdict?

Simon Oliver should huff some bug spray.

[J.G. Keely · Rating 3 out of 5]

After Tony Moore left 'The Walking Dead', I've been keen to see more of his work. First I tried 'Fear Agent', which was fun, but didn't blow me away (plus the inker kinda made mud of Tony's idiomatic style). Now I've come to 'The Exterminators', and I have to say: this is a pretty good start.

I'm continually impressed by Oliver, who definitely feels like a UK writer. He creates interesting, unusual characters, has a great sense of pacing and tension, uses historical allusions to lend depth to his book, and has a wickedly dark sense of adventure.

The book dabbles with horror and gross-out elements, but Oliver doesn't have Ennis' childish need to point it all out just to prove what a rebel he is. He also doesn't let his allusions run away with the story, like Morrison tends to do.

All in all, he's writing a story where the author's identity and intentions are not the central focus. Authorial transparency is very difficult to achieve, and it's always the sign of a knowledgeable, deliberate, self-aware writer.

Unfortunately, despite the promise of the early issues, the series becomes more erratic and less clever as it goes on. I'd love to see what a more consistent arc from Oliver looked like.

My Suggested Reading In Comics

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your standard Vertigo fare, but just as extreme

The strength of Vertigo tales is that they are unique, and take one direction no matter what.

This is unique and certainly takes a direction, but it is different than most Vertigo tales.

There are bugs, and more bugs. There aren't really good guys or bad guys, there are just more bugs.

If bugs are not your thing, avoid this at all costs.

But if you can manage it, give this tale a shot - it is quite unique !

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grafisch top umgesetzte Geschichte von Tony Moore, dem "Vater" von "The Walking Dead". Ab und an ein wenig zu derbe Ausdrucksweise, aber das soll wohl zum Flair dieser Geschichte beitragen. Absolute Empfehlung von meiner Seite aus.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5.

This shit was WEIRD. I can appreciate that bc it makes it interesting to read, but I didn’t expect it to get so strange.

The art was cool; Tony Moore’s stuff is always pretty good. I think the story just wasn’t up to par. Still a decently good read overall though.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting example of Vertigo publishing and Tony Moore art; wonder if I can find volume 2?

[Helmut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eklig!

Tony Moore, schon durch "Walking Dead: Days gone bye" einer meiner absoluten Lieblingszeichner, setzt hier nochmal einen drauf. Unterstützt durch die herausragende Kolorierung - alles ist schmierig, fettig, ranzig - wird hier ein Ekelfeuerwerk erster Klasse abgebrannt. Die Story ist relativ planlos (oder werden die ganzen losen Enden im 2. Band wieder zusammengeführt?), aber immer unterhaltsam und man merkt, welchen Spass die Autoren und Zeichner an diesem Kakerlakendrama hatten.

Super Unterhaltung mit einer Andeutung von Anspruch. Spitzenklasse! Ich kann Band 2 kaum abwarten!

[Sam McCanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

comics,horror

[Devon Munn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 or 4.1 stars

This was one hella weird read (but it was good at the same time). Its also great to see more of Tony Moore's artwork, i want to see it more often

[Claire Benham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ew

[RSC_Collecting · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was phenomenal! It's a book about exterminators. Killing bugs. That's the truth. But it's so much more than that. A corporate scheme to be brought down. Family issues that will break them apart. A potential love affair. And a conspiracy that spans millennia. This book is insane. The story is wild and this is just the beginning. The art is stellar. Be prepared for lots of bugs and lots of full on gore. So if that isn't your thing, this might not be for you. But if you can stomach it, this book is a riveting adventure into something special. I need to find more volumes of this. Incredible stuff for sure! Highly highly recommend!

[Mhorg · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK. I love vertigo. Up until a few days ago I thought I'd read nearly every title. Then I found this. I will issue a warning. If one is suffering... from entomophobia in the slightest-STAY AWAY. STAY FAAAAR AWAY from this hysterical, demented, insane comic about insect exterminators. I don't know what else Simon Oliver has written, but I'm gonna have to look. Tony Moore drew the walking dead. Let me say-the critters in this book are way more frightening than any zombie. Some of the characters, too. You've been warned. I got to go read volume 2...

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this start to the series and wasn't crazy about where it ended up, but this set is good. The first time I read it I found it pretty disgusting but for some reason when I came back to it it seemed closer to normal. It's good about showing how someone out of luck and has screwed up can try to work their way back up even in disgusting circumstances.

[Jeff Lorentz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic start and an audacious concept. The secret life of a pest exterminator, blue collar workplace and relationship drama, and a chemical conspiracy. Gritty humor, outrageous action, and fleshed-out, if fucked-up characters. I can't wait to read more!

[Robert Noll · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting concept: life at a pest control company. Main character Henry is an ex-con who (among several other subplots) discovers a mysterious box. What could it hold (besides a can of Raid)?

[Fn808 · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters were literally racist and sexist for no reason. The concepts interesting enough and the art is nice but regret buying

[Youssef · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.6

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a far cry from my usual comics reading, which tends toward the traditional (Superman, Batman, other super-heroes, Westerns, war comics, etc.). THE EXTERMINATORS: BUG BROTHERS reprints the first five issues of a relatively new series from Vertigo/DC and centers around the largely dysfunctional lives of the men and women who work for a pest control company in Los Angeles. The narrator is Henry, a recently paroled ex-con whose stepfather owns the company. Unless I missed it, I don’t think the story ever mentions why Henry went to prison, but in this first volume, at least, it doesn’t really matter. He’s an intelligent, flawed, but ultimately likable protagonist. As the story begins, he’s partnered with an exterminator named A.J., who’s just as despicable and repulsive as the vermin they go after. Along the way Henry is also teamed at various times with Stretch, a black Buddhist cowboy, and Kevin, a fundamentalist Christian. There’s also Henry’s girlfriend Laura, who works for the company that makes the poison the exterminators use on roaches.

This is more than just a bizarre soap opera, though. It’s also a bizarre scientific/conspiracy thriller, because the vermin encountered by the exterminators are getting steadily larger, more aggressive, and even intelligent, especially the cockroaches. Could the new poison they’re using have some connection? Well, of course it does. Does the evil corporation have some hidden agenda, possibly connected with the government? You know the answer to that as well as I do. But despite those areas of predictability, the script by Simon Oliver (a newcomer to comics; I think this series was his first published work) is funny and well-paced, and he’s created some interesting characters. I like the art by Tony Moore, too, which is easy to follow and suitably grotesque when it needs to be. Overall, I enjoyed THE EXTERMINATORS quite a bit, and I’d certainly read more in the series.

[Justinthunderliger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love stories, usually ones done by Vertigo, where they take something seemingly normal, twist it on its head and give it an edge. Fables takes nursery rhymes and fairy tales and darkens them perfectly. The Exterminators takes the world of pest-control that no one outside of Dale Gribble and Rusty Shackleford gives a second thought. Then it twists it and adds corporate and evolutionary conspiracy theories, ancient prophecies, sex, drugs, and the creepiest of creepy crawleys. If this book doesn't make you itch, you're not paying attention. The art is perfect, like a less caricature-ish Greg Capullo. Oh, and because it's Vertigo, plenty of tits and ass and gross-out stuff for you pervs. I need to grab the rest of these ASAP as this book moved quickly and left a sweet cliffhanger. I tried to find just one page to sum up the flavor of this book. Wizard used one that was good, but probably the tamest, because they had to censor. Not me. Read it and barf. Or Read it and "get jazzed" about it as my younger bro would say.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collecting the first five issues of writer Simon Oliver and artist Tony Moore's fantastically weird Vertigo series The Exterminators, this volume offers the reader an insight into the everyday business exterminators in L.A. - at least if their everyday experiences include the utterly strange and certainly supernatural, all married with the realm of rodents, raccoons and cockroaches (not the least).

The volume deals with Henry James, new man on the job and our perfect character to lead us into this strange world. He works at Bug-Bee-Gone Co., which is the company of his mother's new husband, as he is just out of prison. There is a definitive past back story to the character, but also to the supporting company and the world, and as such, it feels as the series thus far has merely scratched the surface.

Mildly disturbing, and highly entertaining, I definitely hope I will be able to get my hands on further volumes.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Exterminators is another solid Vertigo title. This book takes place in modern day California and fallows the life of the newly paroled Henry and his experiences working at Bug-Bee-Gone. An exterminating job that his new father in law Nils, the workaholic owner, provided for him. Underneath the surface at the core of The Exterminators is a story of humanities struggle with nature. That the deadliest enemy to a nation or civilization isn't always who is trying to blow us up first. That a civilization can be brought to its knees by an unseen threat, by something simple and over looked in nature. This book is wonderful and will definitely make your skin crawl at moments. The story is dense and the art is gorgeous and you will easily be pulled into this book. This is just the start.

[Chinch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strangely addictive series. I put off reading this comic for ages now. The idea of trying to read a book while looking at drawings of thousands of roaches was truly revolting. However since I recently ran out of interesting books to read and wanted to take on something light, easy and addictive, a comic series seemed to be the answer. And Exterminators had been waiting for a long time. So here I am devouring this series about a bunch of guys who kill bugs. Not any bugs but some that have been evolving thanks to mankind's contribution into organised swarms of killing machines. The characters are also as strange as the plot which is also refreshing. I'm glad I've gotten my hands on something that is so far off the grid and still interesting. To hell with super heroes and their capers! Hope that many more comics like Exterminators surface and succeed big time.

[Carolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gnarly. I think that's the best word to describe this book. I'm a big fan of Tony Moore, and of bugs, and no doubt the art in The Exterminators is really superb, but it is g-r-o-s-s. I read this on a leisurely day on the beach and was groaning out load and visibly shuddering.

And I must say that while I do like bugs, I do not like roaches, which are the main focus of the book. It was a decent story, although it lost me a little at the end, but the highlight is definitely Tony Moore's talent at drawing bugs, guts, and a wide variety of body types, something not a lot of comic artists do well.

This book was so creepy-crawly that I still haven't decided whether I'm going to get the next TP or not...

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of this series before I picked up a very cheap used copy of this at the bookstore, but it's one I'm going to want to catch up on. The book reminds me a lot of Alex Cox's "Repo Man" but with bugs. You have the central character in a new, bizarre job surrounded by a group of oddballs who spout bizarre philosophical tidbits, and instead of encountering an alien force in a trunk, he has to face mutating cockroaches. This volume is mostly to set up the characters and situations for the larger story, so there are a lot of little things dropped here that don't make much sense...yet. But I liked the oddball characters, the sharp humor, the grim atmosphere, and great artwork, all enought to want to read more.

[Baal Of · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this series to be a mix of interesting ideas with muddle-headed thinking and ham-fisted social commentary. The idea of having exterminators as the heros was great, and the gory, messy artwork fit wonderfully with the situations presented. However, the simplistic, cliched use of evil corporations and mad scientists as the pawns of evil forces was obvious and unimaginitave. The writer is clearly coming from the Garth Ennis school of writing, with liberal use of profanity, but the dialog isn't handle with the same convincing tone as in the Preacher series. Overall, an entertaining, but flawed work.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henry James is released from prison and goes to work for his step-father, an exterminator. To learn the trade, he follows first AJ, the most disgusting human being and the best rat catcher in the country, and then Stretch, a cowboy-hat-wearing, vengeance-doling Buddhist. What he sees out on the job will haunt readers forever.

Exterminators is the tale of the thin line between controlling a pest problem and being overrun. The concept, and the art that goes with it, is so, so freaky. The only part that didn't work for me was Henry's girlfriend's connection to a big evil corporation that manufatures roach poison. It is too generic a subplot for a comic as idiosyncratic as this.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended to me by Mitch and as usual, he is on the money. Who knew that the age old battle between man and insect could make for such a rollicking good read? Apparently Simon Oliver, that's who.

Fresh out of prison our protagonist joins up with his stepfather's extermination company and steps straight into a brewing war with a new breed of cockroaches. There are nasty bugs, nastier exterminators, an evil corporation, love interests, did I mention the nasty bugs?

Really dug this one.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool intro to this universe. As usual Tony Moore's art is awesome. This volume mostly sets up the universe and the challenges that will be facing the characters, but I'll look forward to the second volume.

----

I re-read this because I realised I had the second volume but couldn't remember a thing that happened.

I totally forgot about the weird thread that's set up involving scarabs and mysterious locked boxes.