The Boys, Volume 5: Herogasm

The Boys (Trade Paperbacks) #5

by Garth Ennis, John McCrea (Artist), Darick Robertson (Artist)

Garth Ennis, John McCrea, and Darick Robertson bring another tale from The Boys with The Boys, Vol. 5: Herogasm! An evil so profound it threatens all mankind! The mightiest heroes on the planet uniting to defend us all! A secret crisis of such utter finality that a countdown to civil or infinite war seems unavoidable! But have you ever wondered what really happens during Crossovers? The Seven, Payback, Teenage Kix, Fantastico, and every other superhero on Earth team up for an annual event like no other - and where the superheroes go, can a certain "five complications and a dog" be far behind? But as the fun and games begin, it seems our heroes have set their sights on bigger game than usual. Secrets and blood are spilled in equal quantities, as the Vought-American corporation prepares to make their move - and the truth behind a great American tragedy is finally revealed. For those left standing - and unscarred- the world of The Boys will never be the same again. The Boys, Vol. 5: Herogasm collects all six issues of the first-ever The Boys spin-off mini-series, Herogasm, by Garth Ennis and Hitman artist John McCrea, and features all of the covers by The Boys artist and co-creator Darick Robertson!

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2009

About the author

Ennis 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

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Marvel & DC universes there's often a big annual event in which all the superheroes, and even some of the villains unite in the face of some global or universal threat sometimes even in space or another dimension. Well Ennis says, suppose it's all pretence, and they don't go on an off-world mission, what they really do is get a week off in a hedonistic retreat packed full of booze, prostitutes, drugs and whatever else they need! Welcome to Herogasm.

The Boys infiltrate the event as part of a mission to just see how compromised the US Government is! A no-holds barred hedonistic event goes ahead, with all penises and titties waving! Can the Boys get some intel amongst all this? From concept through to production this is another Ennis' masterclass. The way the tensions are played between the primary heroes and their Vought American corporate handlers is written and drawn so well. The whole satirising the Marvel/DC annual events is also sublime. Best of all is another underlying story in this volume, about who the real heroes are and the nature of patriotism and flag waving. SUPERB. Five Star Read!

2019 and 2017 read

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This answers the burning question: What do heroes do during these world-ending crossover events?



Pretty much what a lot of fans have suspected.



There's also a bit more about Veep, and the conspiracy surrounding Vought's plans for him.
And while this is still something I'm interested in, I have to say that Ennis is kind of pushing it with the gross-out stuff. There's only so many times you can see cartoons fucking and farting without it losing its edge, you know?
Somehow, I'm thinking moderation isn't in the cards for this title.



Ok. Let's see how this shit plays out.

[mark monday · Rating 2 out of 5]

Question: What is a "Herogasm"?

a) "la petite mort" de la super-héros, évidemment! pour les super-héros, c'est UNE GRAND MORT! partout!!!

b) an annual retreat for the dastardly "super-heroes" of Ennis' pitch-black series The Boys; a place where these villainous jerks get their fuck on.

c) the title of a somewhat amusing miniseries in which Ennis trots out more mildly entertaining riffs on his various themes: Corporations Are Evil, Government Is Corrupt, and Anyone Who Wants To Be A Hero Is Probably An Asshole; a comic where the super-bastard A-Train is an actual POV character; a story that has one of our heroes suffer a rape and in which the after-effects of said rape carry some surprisingly non-jaded emotional ramifications and will no doubt come into play as this story continues - perhaps because the raped hero in question is a dude? *

d) volume 5 of an ongoing deconstruction of super-hero tropes because who believes in such childish things anyway? me :(

e) a colorful excuse to show a whole lot of degradin' fuckin' and revoltin' drug takin' and tits & ass & peen oh my. look closely and one might be able to see the faded stains of Ennis & McCrea slobber on the page. perhaps other fluids as well?


* as differentiated by the abusive may-as-well-be rapes suffered by so many women across this series - assaults that are certainly decried by the author but essentially mean nothing to the narrative. and that was gross to realize.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had taken a break after the last volume and am back at it, though not with great enthusiasm, after a summer of reading YA "kick-ass-girl" main characters, given the amount of gratuitous sex in this volume. Yikes. Ultimately it has some purpose, in critiquing the narcissistic superheroes who meet for a self-congratulatory "herogasm" convention and then hold a Supies award ceremony. But by now we get this critique, that they are a self-congratulatory bunch of a-holes, and maybe you could make your point here with a 1/3 of the pages.

There's some serious stuff going on, too; a suggestion of a 9/11 conspiracy theory and some continuing development of a corporate take-over of the government by the Vought group, but otherwise not much happens, really. Yes, it is ambitious, audacious and still often funny stuff, and The Boys (including the murderous girl in the group!) are a great cast of characters, but this is just moving things along a bit, with hints about future stuff. 2 1/2 stars for this volume, but rounded up because the average for the series is higher.

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

So it is safe to say I have reached my saturation point with Garth Ennis's "The Boys". I enjoyed the main run of the series. My enjoyment began to wane with all the other spin offs and cash grab titles. My enjoyment has retired to the old folks' home where this series now belongs.

"Herogasm" details the events on the Island where heroes get together for an orgy. But this time the Boys crash the party. It is a party attended by the Vice-President. Hilarity ensues. Or does it? About 200 pages in I realized I had seen/read this before. Oh yeah. A series called "The Boys". This? A spin off about shit I didn't really care about in the main series. We also call this a "cash grab" but I won't hate as I helped.

Meh. Some may like this. I'm all "The Boys" out. The main series? Yeah seriously worth your time. This? Uh. Not really.

[Rodrigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha gustado un poco menos que los anteriores, en este volumen se centra en la fiesta-orgia que tiene los supers en secreto, dentro de la cual se va a producir una reunion entre el vice y vought y los chanchullo que tienen entre manos. Creo que el dibujante es otro o por lo menos a mi me han parecido diferentes incluso peores que en los otros volúmenes.
6/10

[Pedro Ceballos · Rating 2 out of 5]

En cuanto a historia creo que este es el más flojo de los que he leído, los creadores sin duda alguna quisieron usar de un retiro vacacional de los héroes donde todos coinciden en una isla para tener sexo desenfrenado como un gancho que atrajera al público, al principio mola un poco, pero creo que dedicaron demasiadas páginas para esto y no hay una evolución significativa de la trama ni de los personajes.

[Elizabeth Sagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If all others are 5 stars, this is a 6 stars.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Herogasm" is the name of an orgy the supes attend every year when they tell the rest of the world that they're joining forces to fight off a space alien threat far away. They get together on a remote tropical island and it's "Caligula" but more graphic.

There's not much more to the story - Homelander's planning something, Vought American continue their plan for world domination, the Boys find some more backstory to their version of 9/11 that wasn't elaborated on in "Good for the Soul". But it's not enough for a full book.

I'm not a prude by any stretch but there's far too much gratuitous porn. Supes doing it with hookers, doing drugs, this goes on for pages and pages. If I wanted porn I'd have some, but when I pick up a comic book, especially one as good as this series is, I expect something more, and sadly, this book has none of the interest of the previous 4.

John McCrea's not a terrible artist but Darick Robertson is a better one and his presence is definitely missed in this book. Hopefully the hints set up in "Herogasm" will make for a much more interesting 6th book. This book is definitely missable and adds nothing to the overall story arch of this series.

[Krystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sooooooooo this is basically the creators living out all their pornographic fantasies in one very graphic novel. Tits, d*cks, balls, blow jobs, orgies, drugs, fluids ... there is almost every kind of sexual depravity you could think of. Basically, it's a teenage boy's wet dream for at least the first half. If you're easily offended, how did you even get this far in? just quit now.

Once you get beyond all that mess, however, there's a little more story finally coming through, and some interesting dynamics playing out. I still got very confused as to who was who in the political world, but I really liked seeing the different powers making their plays.

Homelander's character fascinated me this issue, so I'm keen for more of that to come through. I liked the taste we got at the end here, so hopefully the next one will be less gratuitous sex/drugs etc and more actual story.

I don't mind the depravity, but at least give me a reason for it. Really was a bit much to have a logical point here so in the end was a bit of a disappointing diversion from the meat of the story.

[Britton]

Ennis got his start in the mid to late 90s, establishing a reputation as an extremist in the comics community alongside Warren Ellis, though Ennis would become the Grant Morrison to Ellis' Alan Moore, with Ennis sometimes going to extremes without letting his story threads come together in a natural way. Does that mean Ennis is a bad writer? Of course not. He wouldn't be a favorite of mine if that were the case. While The Boys doesn't entirely reach the heights of some of Ennis' finer outings like Preacher or Punisher MAX, The Boys proved itself to be another interesting series in Ennis' catalogue.

Garth Ennis is never one for the easily offended, the copious amounts of sex, violence and mayhem that inhabits this series can test even the most mentally and physically strong of people, as I said earlier Ennis is rather extreme with his content. Though luckily, Ennis does know how to pace himself and provide a good plot to keep you invested unlike some of the other artists and writers from the uber grimdark period of comics (cough cough, Rob Liefeld, cough cough, Frank Miller). Ennis, much like Alan Moore, makes a point to show that if superhumans were to exist in our world, they would bring about an apocalyptic sense of change to the world. Though unfortunately, I'm not quite as sure that Ennis is as thorough in his exploration as Moore was. He never fully goes deeper in his critique of superheroes, which is rather unfortunate. Though unlike Moore, Ennis pulls no punches when taking shots as superheroes, this is unsurprising given his well known disdain for the superhero genre, yet again, I don't find that his satire nearly goes far enough to make a grand point of it all.

While The Boys' satire is admittedly simplistic unlike something that is more nuanced like Watchmen, we see Ennis' reputation for characterization shine through, with Billy Butcher being a standout and even Ennis himself lamenting that he was his favorite character to write. Most of the characters in The Boys are strongly developed and their depth and likability is reminiscent of Preacher, but we also see how they change over time. Wee Hughie in particular changes from a mild mannered normal person into a hardened, but still well intentioned person. The satire of The Boys, while sometimes going overboard and becoming crude, usually does its job, with targets being of corporatism, crony capitalism, and the incompetence of government, in particular the Bush era.

I have often complained about how many modern comics have problems with pacing. But luckily Ennis doesn't have this issue, and I would lobby him alongside Ed Brubaker as having a mastery of pacing, as Ennis knows when he should slow things down and when to let things speed up. It is nice to find someone else to use as an example of how to pace your stories in a way to where you won't lose your audience, and Ennis definitely knows how to keep his audiences attention, for better or worse.

Few problems come through in the series, Ennis's writing teeters in quality near the end, with some unexpected twists coming in that shakes up the story at hold and not in a way that feels natural. Though luckily Ennis manages to make it work as best as he can and manages to wrap his story up in a satisfying way. While Ennis is ruthless in his mockery of the superhero genre and its conventions, some of his edgy, extreme humor doesn't really seem to go anywhere, which is a problem that pervades through much of his work. Though unlike Preacher or Punisher MAX where he manages to tamper it with volumes of excellent story, The Boys sometimes does get brought down by its over the top extremes. The art from Derrick Robertson, while very good and well drawn, I often compare to his extraordinary work on Transmetropolitan, and I found that he hasn't ever surpassed the strange and surreal visuals from that series.

Cruel and crass as The Boys may be, Ennis rarely forgets character motivation or good plotting to keep readers invested, while he may lose some of his steam by the end of the series, The Boys remains a strong and enjoyable outing from Ennis' catalogue.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was kind of let down by John McCrea's art, though it's not bad, it's just not Darrick's. Also holy shit, could there BE anymore naked supes? After a while there's no shock value, it's just overload. Ya we get it Garth, these Supes are a bunch of degenerate low-lifes that will fuck, suck, snort, shoot, smoke anything.

This is described as a side-story/mini-series, so I'm confused if this is supposed to be stand-alone or not.

The good parts are near the end, and some of the revelations about Vought, the mystery man in charge, Vic the Veep and what happened on 9/11 for real with him, Dakota Bob and everything.

If Ennis hadn't convinced us to hate the Supes by now, the naked Caligula/Dionysus festival 'Herogasm' should do it. That being said, I can see this as sort of a step-back, because he's written it well enough already, this feels like adding a Neon Sign flashing "HATE US!"

I'll be happy for the next volume, this wasn't a bad book, it's still entertaining and good, but there's just this feeling of a mis-step where things could have moved forward even better.

[Deepu Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lol what the actual f*CK haha

[CS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

On one hand, I thought that the plot developments in this volume were 5-star worthy - it got my mind swirling in all these wonderful ways, wondering what would happen next.

And then there were things such as the endless string of massive boobs (only a couple of dongs grace these pages, despite many of the supes being either outright gay or just joining in on the fun), the outrageous (a dog humping a woman) and the "What the hell did I see" (in a series of 6 panels, a character is raped, and it was so unclear and so unsettling I was confused if it actually happened at all). This series has NEVER been anything but foul and obscene, but somehow this volume managed to top itself - to the point, you don't even notice the boobs anymore.

As a sidenote, it got extremely challenging telling some of the characters apart. Was that Gary Godfrey? The VP? Or Stormfront? What was up with Shauna changing from a red-head to black-haired in the same series of panels? Did I miss something or will this be explained later?

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vile and puerile - not my usual experience of Ennis (it's usually one *or* the other) but a nice little miniseries in the middle of a successful run. There's some interesting subplots around the VP and just how corrupt the White house is - but mostly it's a "meditation" on how sick these heroes really are - how corrupted by their unchecked powers they really get.

It's not like I don't enjoy this kind of fun stuff - but there's still something missing from the story. It doesn't quite have the full punch for me. Partly it's because this was meant as a standalone story, not tied to a specific part of the overall series story timeline - so the events are intentionally ambiguous, though they do deepen the story.

Not sure about McCrea's art - I would've preferred Robertson's, but this is a good pinch hitter.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with most good stories, what really makes them enjoyable is the characters.

And this series has that in spades. While they're all painted in broad strokes, they are relate-able and interesting. They come into conflict with each other, argue, and show genuine fondness for each other. Genuinely touching moments abound, making a nice counterpoint to the grim, perverse world the story is set in.

(Continued in book six.)

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Score: 3.25 out of 5
Grade: 65% (C) | Diddy Party

The infamous Herogasm - what heroes do when they just need a break. It's raunchy, crude, and often funny, but it also feels like it's crossing the line just to be edgy.

The art doesn't shy away from showing the goods - I'd imagine this is what a Diddy party looked like. There's some fun ideas in here, but it's weighed down by all the less interesting, political crap it focuses on.

[Jim Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, back from away for a few days so let me get my thoughts in place in this volume of The Boys series. This one was a bit over the top in regards to the behavior of superheroes when they are away from the public view. it also gives you more of a backstory of what is going on between the President and Vic the Veep, who is controled by Vought. Big bit of warning, this one is way adult! You can probably tell that from the title. keep your kids away from it! While there has been sex and nudity in previous ones, this one takes it a step further.

So, this starts off with all the superheroes and some villains taking off to battle a menace from space. But after they leave they arrive on a private tropical island stocked with all the hookers and booze and drugs they want for a few day orgy. That will be followed up by an awards event for their version of the Oscars and all. The Boys sneak onto the island to get some information on what is going on between the supes, the government and Vought. As you can guess these worlds will collide in some way with a big mess. But first we must see these supes just going wild in an old Rome style orgy all over the place. The writer and artist really went to town with their imagination there. It totally reminded me of stories you would hear about rock bands back in the day with all the sex and drugs. No responsibility and to hell with the "normals".

This fact is really hammered home by Homelander, the head of the Seven, and the one Billy is most anxious to kill. After he informs a member of a junior team that he failed his "test" ie sex, that he can't move up to the Seven, he flys naked into the sky above the clouds. At this point he pops up in front of a passenger jet. Since it would not due to be spotted this way he just decides to destroy the jet, killing the few hundred on board. At this point Homelander realizes that he, that supes, can do whatever they want and no one can stop him. This leads to an interesting thought later.

Meanwhile Vic the Veep shows up. He is naturally with his Secret Service detail. Vic goes off to start sleeping with anything he can. From how he talks and all, you can tell he probably is a barely functional mentally disabled adult. But somehow he became the VP of the US. We get details on that from a meeting of the head of Vought and the handler for the VP. They discuss how they can control him, and the plans on how they will gill the president so Vic can move up and then run him and rig things so he will be president for a total of 10 years. And because they tell him what to do, in all essence Vought will run the country.

Now the Boys are watching all the stuff going on, and are working on a kidnapping. They are able to do that and get their target. Who is it? What superhero? Nope, it is one of Vic's guards. They interrogate him to find out what is going on. Turns out this guy is a true to the president/secret service guard, who is sick of how Vought is taking over. He tells them how he was in the situation room on 9/11 and saw Vic knock out the president to tell the Air Force to leave the last jet alone, the one that took out the Brooklyn Bridge. The Boys realize they have an ally in him and they release him to help cover their being there. He tells them he has been trying to find someone who can help stop Vought, and they are the ones that can. Both sides realize that the play for Vought is to rule the White House and the supes and all.

So the next section is the awards ceremony the supes have. Best new hero, best new team, etc. The representative from Vought is being delayed at the hotel bar by a prostitute that Homelander tasked with doing that. During the presentation of hero of the year, which he pretty much wins every time, he was going to announce his plans. Homelander was thinking of taking over the world, but needed to pitch it with no Vought in the room. Unlucky for him she can't keep the rep there long enough and Homelander can't make his announcement.

Ok there were some interesting side stories and all. But I don't want to go through every detail of the book. I am still really loving these novels, and I will read every one for sure. You can see how the supes were not that good and clean earlier. And you have always known Vought is a corrupt company. In this issue you really see how deep and dark both those groups are. While I felt like Hughie at times, not wanting to take such violent steps, I can see that maybe Billy is right on how he treats them.

[Simon Mee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Volume 5: The superheroes on all sides unite, publicly to fight an off-world existential threat, privately to go to a retreat loaded with drugs and prostitutes to let off some steam. The Vice President (who is mentally incapable of full sentences or full words) comes along because, apparently, that is the only place you can get drugs and sex. The titular "The Boys" (I assume the "The" is important) are along to surveil the Vice President's secret service. All said members of the secret service die viciously in this Volume so mission... ...accomplished?

As I was looking to get a brief background to the Amazon Prime series, I jumped in at 5 as that Volume happened to available as a library ebook. There will be important aspects of backstory and character development I will have theoretically missed but, if this Volume is representative of the series, those elements only exist theoretically.

I've seen plenty of scenes in books and movies that can fairly be described as gratuitous. But here the word fails me. It's not even enough to say the Volume is gratuitous. Panel after panel is devoted to narratively pointless excess. Now, I could describe it in Caligua like tones, gripping the hems of my dress as I wail at the licentiousness of it all, which I suspect is the aim. But you know what?

It's fucking boring. It's fucking sterile. I'm fucking over it.

There's a number of attempted escalations, but all they do is draw attention to how embarrassingly bad the portrayal is. I realise this is meant to be the fantasies of demigods with no limits but this is the kind of stuff you would expect to see on a 4chan message board, while unironically discussing the neo colonial implications of a "brown shower."

The plot is pretty much described as above. Yes, there are subplots and various manoeuvrings, but it is all pretty basic stuff. One minor character on a cobbled together redemption arc lets us know he has a wife with a child on the way before he "does the right thing" of blowing the Vice President's minder away at close range as the character dies. It’s assumed that we should know why it was necessary for him to bother.

The idea of amoral corporatized superheroes is worth running with but any suggestion of subtlety rams into the brick wall of the Vice President’s dialogue of “mahhhh dicky”. Yeah, we get it, he’s dumb. And the writing is very average, best expressed in a phone text from the Volume 2 bastardising a line from Full Metal Jacket:

“Hands off cocks and
On with socks”

Did they even bother saying it out loud and hearing how weak that sounds? Similarly lame examples abound in this Volume – brevity doesn’t make it a laconicism if it totally lacks rhythm or wit. Naughty words don’t make it cleverer.

I'm not overly experienced with art of any kind, but I'm not sure you're successfully showing changes in background lighting by having a character become unrecognisable every second panel. I'm also no expert on biology, but I'm also reasonably sure the base of the average penis doesn't start north of the navel. The drawing isn't so much as a comic book uncanny valley as a canyon, with semi-appealing depictions way way… waaaaayyyyyy over on the other side. It’s a harsh take but, considering how little artistic merit there is in the rest of the work, there needed to be a bit more than basic level pool scene nudity for 50 odd panels.

It’s all very uninspiring.

[Arminzerella · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the superheroes of the world are off to Herogasm - a week-long vacation/orgy in an undisclosed location. Almost everyone else believes they are keeping the earth safe from an alien threat - but not the Boys. They're on site making careful observations, and they've noted an interesting connection between Vought and the Vice-President of the United States. The VP isn't a particularly bright man, and Vought intends to use him to carry out their strategic plan - the adoption of superhuman power by the US Department of Defense. The Boys mean to intervene. Meanwhile, the Homelander has something important he wants to share with his fellow superheroes - something he's done, something that he believes will have consequences for them all. Unfortunately, he gets cut off just before he says anything really interesting or revelatory.

Depraved hero antics! Basically, this seemed like a "swimsuit" issue, except that it was all crazy wild sex acts with superheroes and well-compensated (and endowed) escorts. More Boys, less supes, please. Not sure what was up with Hughie and the ass-raping, either. Plus, did the artist/artwork change? This looked different from the other trades up until this point. Didn't care for this one.

[Erik · Rating 1 out of 5]

As impressed as I have been with Ennis’s The Boys, this spin-off mini-series started out riotously enough – with the worlds’ greatest superheroes bidding the world goodbye as they fly off into space to counter a meta-threat, only turn tail and head to a remote island for a week-long orgy with their arch-nemeses. A proper spoof on those annoying multi-title crossovers that the Big Two still churn out on a yearly basis, if I’ve ever read one.

However, the gratuitous sex becomes more of an irritant and distraction away a very weakly plotted narrative. Combined with McCrea’s lackluster art – if only Robertson was at the helm here – this story-arc is the weakest Ennis has penned yet. Here’s hoping Ennis doesn’t produce a second off-shoot mini-series with an artist other than Robertson. Give me the real deal, thank you very much.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps a bit of a letdown after volume 4, but pretty much anything would be, really. This was still fun, but, storywise, it's really more about planting seeds for future plots than it is about Herogasm.

"And what is Herogasm?" you may ask. So you know how universe-changing, multi-title crossover events are pretty much standard fare for superheroes these days? In the world of the Boys, that's what the supes SAY they're doing, but what they're really doing is each other. And plenty of high end prostitutes. And drugs, the more outrageous, the better. This all happens on a remote Pacific island, far from the prying eyes of the media, of course. As I said, it's fun, and there are some outrageous gags, but, setups for future plotlines aside, this really feels like marking time after the highs of We Gotta Go Now. Still loving this series, though!

[Ross Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 5th volume of The Boys sees the world's superheroes take time out, while pretending to be fighting an intergalactic war (similar to the secret invasion), and head off to a remote island for days of extreme sex, drugs and an awards ceremony. Herogasm being the name for this mini-festival of debauchery.

There are some smirks here, mainly aimed at the Fantastic 4, and what they might get up to in private, but the joke is a little laboured over the 6 issues.

I think a key learn for me is that if Darick Robertson didn't ink it, you can probably skip it (he seems to avoid the issues that are heavier on the sex). While there is a little about the corporate corruption and the 9/11 conspiracy, and a naughty attack by Black Noir, this story is somewhat throwaway.

[Henri ❃ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll probably regret writing this, but Soldier Boy is kinda cute, you know for a supe.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was... something. Still violent, still dark, still very compelling! Can't wait to read the next volume.

[Ryan Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess if you’ve made it this far in The Boys, you probably have some idea of how filthy it is. Still, though, this takes the cake so far. Still funny, smart and moving the story right along at an addictive pace.

[Bill Coffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Boys is an unflinchingly graphic, 12-volume descent into sexual violence, exploding bodies, depravity, broken taboos and bodily fluids that purports to deconstruct the superhero genre with a chaser of black humor. All it really accomplishes, however, is a whole lot of sophomoric commentary on power and politics, stretches of exposition that last for entire issues at a time, unpleasant and inconsistent artwork, and a certain hypocrisy from a creative team which seems to revel in depicting all of the terrible violations it decries.

The story involves a CIA black ops group tasked with monitoring, terrorizing and murdering rogue superheroes in a world where pretty much *all* superheroes are nothing more than fraudulent predators and degenerates. Into this mess enters Wee Hughie, a fellow who loses his girlfriend early on as collateral damage in a super-brawl. Hughie, recruited by the Boys’ leader, Butcher, sees just how sick and dirty the world of supes - and those who oppose them - really is. And pretty soon, what begins as a covert containment program turns into all-out war.

Put together, what could have been a brilliant criticism of a genre that we take for granted instead feels like a three-day lecture by 15-year-old edgelords who really want you to know why their hormonally supercharged worldview ought to be taken seriously by grown-ups. No, we don’t want to hear why you think sexual violence is okay when it is committed by a bulldog. No, we don’t want to see how often you can fit an act of public excretion into your story. No, we don’t want to see how cool your characters in trench coats are. No, we don’t need to actually see somebody eating a dead infant.

One imagines that this entire series is an extended middle finger to the notion of “With great power comes great responsibility.” It often feels like the creators here are angry that superhero comics even exists, and that their fans continue to buy them. We get it - the superhero genre has definitely gotten big enough and overstuffed enough for somebody to take the air out of it. But The Boys ain’t it. This isn’t insightful enough to work as criticism, clever enough to work as parody, funny enough to work as black comedy, or focused enough to work on any of the three previous fronts even if the skill was there for this to succeed.

The Boys is just a chronicle of cynicism, vicious and vile, slapdash and self-indulgent, excessive and egocentric. For those looking to read a different kind of take on the superhero concept, there are plenty better to choose from - Brian Michael Bendis’ POWERS instantly comes to mind - that won’t make you want to disinfect your hands when you’re done.

[Jennifer Juffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt a little lost.
The story continues with great writing, terrific graphics. However, I felt the story unraveled a little. Yet as it unraveled, the plot continues to expand.
I dearly hope that book six will put the story back on track, at least, for me.
I get a little lost at times.
(I am from IOWA) lol

All I can say, reader, who may be looking to see if this is actually worth the read... it is.
Most protracted comics have their lulls.
This just happened to be the issue I felt was the low in the series. You may feel completely differently, as there was a lot of humorous and standout writing and artistic talent found in most of Garth Ennis' work.

[Ed Dinnermonkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better. I enjoy this series more when it’s looking at how and why people abuse power, rather than being mucky for muckiness’ sake. And yes, a superhero shagathon is a pretty clear attempt to be as mucky as possible, but the revelations about Ennis’ version of 9/11 and the mundanity of political intrigue are the real meat here.

[Chelsee Damas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is basically a straight porno with every possible kink you can think of explored. There is nothing sexy about it! Ennis really pushes the comfort levels on this one, IMO. But that’s The Boys for ya. You don’t pick this series up and expect sugar coated nuance. No. It’s disgusting, raw, brutal, and every other adjective you can think of for dark and disturbing.