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The Boys Omnibus Volume 1
Audiobook
Published August 3, 2020
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,657 books3,227 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
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 9, 2025
Loved the tv show so I tho it hit I’d give the graphic novels a read. So far so good! Hits all of the “dark side of superhero’s” genre or theme that I love. Strays pretty far from the show so I feel like I’m reading something fresh but still knowing the underlying plot is nice. Don’t read this in public lol it’s very graphic
December 30, 2021
The Boys Omnibus: WOW!
The Boys Omnibus Volume One: WOW!
This is not the comic books we read as kids. But then modern comic book readers would know that. I do not usually indulge in this artform – yes, a good comic book can be an art form. I also told myself that I would take a break from blogging at year end. That break may come but I will have to wait a little longer.
The reality is that The Boys breaks rules, is clever, is not politically correct, and generally is a ton of fun. If you saw the show on Amazon’s Prime, you will not be disappointed with the original version. The development of the characters is a little different from the Amazon version – but frankly both versions work.
Supes are getting out of line, and someone must curtail them. Just like real life, there are good, bad, and ugly among the supes. The world spins around marketing and money. Ratings matter. Who you gonna call when the crap hits the fan? Why The Boys.
Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother's Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are The Boys. They are CIA-backed team, enhanced and a group of very dangerous people. They loathe the supes and want to put them in their places. Dystopian? You betcha!
Contains: The Boys Vol. 1: The Name of the Game & The Boys Volume 2: Get Some, Cherry, and Glorious Five Year Plan.
Warning @DYNAMITECOMICS does a fun job, but this is not for kids. Have nothing to do this New Year’s Eve? Well, you can always catch up on your reading or streaming with The Boys
Happy reading (watching) and have a safe and prosperous 2022!
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2021...
The Boys Omnibus Volume One: WOW!
This is not the comic books we read as kids. But then modern comic book readers would know that. I do not usually indulge in this artform – yes, a good comic book can be an art form. I also told myself that I would take a break from blogging at year end. That break may come but I will have to wait a little longer.
The reality is that The Boys breaks rules, is clever, is not politically correct, and generally is a ton of fun. If you saw the show on Amazon’s Prime, you will not be disappointed with the original version. The development of the characters is a little different from the Amazon version – but frankly both versions work.
Supes are getting out of line, and someone must curtail them. Just like real life, there are good, bad, and ugly among the supes. The world spins around marketing and money. Ratings matter. Who you gonna call when the crap hits the fan? Why The Boys.
Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother's Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are The Boys. They are CIA-backed team, enhanced and a group of very dangerous people. They loathe the supes and want to put them in their places. Dystopian? You betcha!
Contains: The Boys Vol. 1: The Name of the Game & The Boys Volume 2: Get Some, Cherry, and Glorious Five Year Plan.
Warning @DYNAMITECOMICS does a fun job, but this is not for kids. Have nothing to do this New Year’s Eve? Well, you can always catch up on your reading or streaming with The Boys
Happy reading (watching) and have a safe and prosperous 2022!
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2021...
March 20, 2022
Garth Ennis won me as a fan with his Preacher VOL 01: Gone to Texas back in the middle 1990s. Creative violence, taboo-breaking, transgressive humor, and good, old-fashioned shock value. It gave me a special kind of joy that comes from reading something that I feel like I probably shouldn't be reading. Even I disapprove of myself for enjoying this.
I didn't read The Boys when it first came out, though I heard about it, and always intended to get around to it. Somewhere along the way, I saw an issue or two. Then, I started watching the TV show and that inspired me to seek out the source material.
This series isn't for everyone. It really is shockingly violent and full of humor so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face when you're peeking through your fingers at the pages. But I love it all the same, even if I can't "binge" it. If you love superhero stories and you also sometimes get fed up with them, and the bit what-ifs that mostly go unexplored in the genre, then this one might be for you, too.
I didn't read The Boys when it first came out, though I heard about it, and always intended to get around to it. Somewhere along the way, I saw an issue or two. Then, I started watching the TV show and that inspired me to seek out the source material.
This series isn't for everyone. It really is shockingly violent and full of humor so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face when you're peeking through your fingers at the pages. But I love it all the same, even if I can't "binge" it. If you love superhero stories and you also sometimes get fed up with them, and the bit what-ifs that mostly go unexplored in the genre, then this one might be for you, too.
August 24, 2022
Over the top comic book satire with noir tinges and a teenage boys sensibility about sums up the books style. This specific one is the first 14 books in the series.
I read this to see the source material that was being used for the Amazon show and while the TV changes quite a bit, it definitely rhymes.
Just as crude and over the top as the show so you if you like it you will like this. The show diverges significantly from these comics so don't expect a direct translation but the show steals themes and storylines piecemeal throughout so you will get a glimpse of possible futures.
I have no reason to read any further with this series but I will still watch the show.
I read this to see the source material that was being used for the Amazon show and while the TV changes quite a bit, it definitely rhymes.
Just as crude and over the top as the show so you if you like it you will like this. The show diverges significantly from these comics so don't expect a direct translation but the show steals themes and storylines piecemeal throughout so you will get a glimpse of possible futures.
I have no reason to read any further with this series but I will still watch the show.
October 26, 2023
This shouldn't exist. Garth Ennis, please stop writing and go get some help. You clearly need therapy.
August 10, 2025
Great production and performances. I appreciated the pace and character work compared to the Amazon series. Definitely over the top but still has some heart.
January 28, 2026
Fantastic graphic audio.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews