| The Boys | |
|---|---|
Cover of The Boys #1. Art by Darick Robertson and Tony Avina Clockwise from top: The Frenchman, Mother's Milk, The Female, Wee Hughie, Billy Butcher |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Wildstorm (#1-6), Dynamite Entertainment (#7 onward), Titan Books (TPBs) |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Publication date | October 2006- |
| Number of issues | 61 (as of December 2011) |
| Main character(s) | (List of characters) |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Garth Ennis |
| Artist(s) | Darick Robertson Russ Braun Peter Snejbjerg |
| Colorist(s) | Tony Avina |
| Creator(s) | Garth Ennis Darick Robertson |
| Collected editions | |
| The Name of the Game | ISBN 9133305463 |
| Get Some | ISBN 1933305681 |
| Good for the Soul | ISBN 1933305924 |
| We Gotta Go Now | ISBN 1848562985 |
| Herogasm | ISBN 160690082X |
| The Self-Preservation Society | ISBN 1606901257 |
| The Innocents | ISBN 1606901508 |
| Highland Laddie | ISBN 1606902075 |
| The Big Ride | ISBN 1606902202 |
The Boys is an American creator-owned comic book series, written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Darick Robertson. It was originally published by Wildstorm before moving to Dynamite Entertainment.
The series is set in a contemporary world where superheroes exist. However, most of the superheroes in the series' universe are corrupted by their celebrity status and often engage in reckless behavior, compromising the safety of the world. For this reason, a superpowered CIA squad, known informally as "The Boys", is charged with monitoring the superhero community.
Ennis has said that the series will "out-Preacher Preacher",[1] presumably referring to the extreme violence and sexuality that were that series' hallmark. In an interview, published in 2010 November, Ennis stated that the series may last up to 72 issues.[2]
The first six issues of The Boys were published by Wildstorm, starting in 2006. On January 24, 2007, the series was abruptly canceled with issue 6. Ennis later explained that this was because DC Comics (of whom Wildstorm was an imprint before it was dissbanded) were uneasy with the anti-superhero tone of the work.[3] The planned collection of said issues was also canceled. Robertson said that "DC is being good about reverting our rights so we can find a new publisher and we're in the process of doing that now".[4] Ennis then released a statement some other publishers had expressed interest, and that issue 7 and a trade of the first six issues would be available. While Darick Robertson is on exclusive contract to DC, he has been given special dispensation to continue working on The Boys.[5] In February 2007 the series was picked up by Dynamite Entertainment and it resumed in May. A collected edition of the first six issues was also published by Dynamite, with a foreword by Simon Pegg.[6]
In February 2009 Dynamite announced a spin-off mini-series Herogasm, with art from John McCrea, who Ennis has worked with numerous times before,[7] and Keith Burns, a friend of McCrea's who has said "Keith's strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa."[8][9] The series is The Boys version of the big 'event' storylines but, according to Ennis "while we're having a pop at the notion of mass crossovers within a shared universe, we're not picking on 'Crisis' or 'Secret Wars' or 'Countdown' or whatever in particular."[10] The idea for the mini-series came about because the first part of the story does not involve the team and focuses on the superheroes, but will have an impact on the main series:
| “ | Our heroes' minor role in the story gradually alters its dynamic, until something happens in #4 that sends things off on a completely unexpected tangent. After that, life gets serious fast, and by the end you'll have witnessed events that will change things in the Boys' world for good. We'll start to pick up on the effects of that with #31 of the regular title.[10] | ” |
Billy Butcher learns of a directive made by The President of the United States to have the CIA monitor all superheroes and uses this to get the backing required to reform 'The Boys', a black-ops team designed to keep superheroes in their place. He brings together Mother's Milk, the Frenchman and the Female of the Species, but their fifth member, Mallory, refuses to return as his grandkids were murdered due to his involvement with the group. Requiring five in the team, Butcher recruits a Scottish conspiracy nut named Wee Hughie, whose girlfriend was accidentally killed by A-Train, a member of major superhero team the Seven.
Wee Hughie meets the team for the first time in their new headquarters in the Flatiron Building, New York. There, Butcher reveals that their first mission is to intimidate teen superhero group Teenage Kix. The Boys spy on the group, gathering dirt on each of its members. Butcher sends them surveillance images and a note telling them that he will expose all of them to the media if they do not choose their own sacrifice victim. During surveillance work on Teenage Kix, it is revealed that all superpowers come from a drug called Compound V, or "Blue", invented during the Second World War by Nazi scientists. If it is taken in its pure form, the drug gives permanent superpowers that can be passed on genetically. Judging that he is suitable to join the team, Billy injects Hughie with a specially formulated mix of Blue that gives him super-strength and durability - but Hughie doesn't take kindly to this. Meanwhile, Annie January, a.k.a Starlight, is recruited from the Young Americans to join the Seven, whom she soon discovers to be a lot less clean-cut than the press make out. Hughie encounters Starlight, although neither are aware of the others' team. The Teenage Kix are forced to boot a member, and decide that Shout Out will out himself, on the grounds that nobody will publicly criticize a black homosexual and that his loss will hurt the team the least. Homelander informs the Kix that the Boys are responsible. Blarney Cock is killed in the ensuing fight.
Butcher takes Wee Hughie to meet a man called "The Legend" - comic book magnate and a source for Butcher. The Legend has the Boys investigate the mysterious murder of a young gay man which was apparently at the hands of a superhero. The trail leads to Tek Knight, a man of machinery, who is suffering from an unusual problem that has left him without a butler, sidekick, superhero team and several inanimate objects. Hughie and Butcher's murder investigation delves deep into the Tek-Knight's background, as well as that of his former sidekick Swingwing. Hughie is the one who cracks the case, as well as being manipulated by Butcher into getting over his fear of killing another person in battle when he's forced to take down Swingwing. While the crime is solved and Swingwing dies in a jetpack accident (Butcher removed a screw from it and thus may have caused it, even though he was blackmailing the super into working for him at the time), Hughie is depressed that there is no real justice for the dead man. He is, however, able to bring a gay couple back together.
The Boys travel to Moscow, where the local supes are mysteriously exploding. Working with Vas and being targeted by Russian organised crime head Little Nina, they discover that Vought-American is working with Little Nina to engineer a coup - an army of 150 East European/Russian supers, organised by Nina, will ravage the country before she remotely detonates them all via their altered metabolisms and rises to power based on "saving" Russia (Vought are just using her as a pawn and have another figure they want in charge). The Boys stop this plot and Butcher detonates the supers, while Hughie bonds with Vas and is disgusted by the group's willingness to torture. However, when Butcher gives the information to the CIA, he finds Director Rayner isn't going to do anything about it - she's worried Vought-American will sic their superheroes on the CIA, and possibly even the US itself.
Hughie visits The Legend, determined to find out more about the Boys - their history, their personalities, and their mysterious hidden agenda. Annie January (alias Starlight) has her own doubts about membership of the Seven. Hughie must also deal with the return of Blarney Cock as a brain damaged zombie and his new romance with Annie January, as the Boys get closer to finding out about their relationship.
Hughie learns the true origins of the Supers while the rest of the Boys meet with members of the Seven for a discussion. The Legend goes on to reveal the history of Vought-American, concerning their contributions to both WW2 and Vietnam. He then tells Hughie about their first major success regarding the Supes, the creation of the Homelander, the Seven, and his own past experiences working for Victory Comics, Vought-American's publishing company, specialising in fabricating VA's superheroes deeds. The Legend then reveals the Seven's part in the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge on 9/11 and how it led to the creation of the Boys. Afterwards, The Legend elaborates on the death of Mallory's grandchildren and Lamplighter's death/resurrection as a brain-damaged zombie. Meanwhile, as the rest of the Boys meet with the Seven, A-Train attempts to rape Starlight, only to end up being blinded in one eye.
Following the very public suicide of an original G-Men team member, Silver Kincaid, The Boys are sent in to investigate the G-Men, Vought-American's most bankable team of outcasts. After a brief history of the team is given, the Boys send in Hughie undercover to G-Wiz, one of the junior teams in the franchise, with the Female and the Frenchman as back up in case anything goes wrong. Mother's Milk discovers that Silver Kincaid was abducted as a child from outside a store where her uncle had taken her for ice cream. It is later revealed that most, if not all of the G-Men were abducted as children, and not, as the G-Men claim, "orphans and outcasts". Meanwhile, the members of G-Wiz are instructed to kill Hughie, after Hughie is revealed to be a spy. Hughie's life is saved when the Frenchman and the Female intercede and murder most of the group. Through interrogation of a surviving member of G-Wiz it is revealed that the founder of the G-Men, Godolkin, abducts young children and injects them with Compound V in order to manifest powers within them. It is also revealed that Godolkin and other members of the G-Men sexually abuse the young recruits. This revelation spurs Hughie and the rest of the team to attempt to attack the entire G-Men forces at once. Before they can launch this potentially suicidal attack, Vought-American forces arrive and slaughter all of the G-Men before confronting Butcher, telling him that they are capable of clearing up their own mess. The team deals with this in many ways, while Vought-American gears up to try to destroy the Boys.
This miniseries chronicles the Boys as they sneak into Vought's secret, exclusive annual superhero bacchanalia "Herogasm". Funded by the company on the premise of being a giant superhero battle to the public (a crossover parody), the "heroes" spend a weekend at an island resort running wild, having sex and taking drugs. Meanwhile, the Vought-owned Vice President joins the festivities, and the Boys learn more about the corporation's plans.
The Boys are battling the world's second most powerful team, Payback, in an all out brawl, The Female is beaten badly. She recovers at the end of the battle.
Mother's Milk tells Hughie his life story.
Frenchie tells his life story to Hughie. This story gathers a collection of exaggerated clichès about the French culture. He finishes the story and jumps out of the window, leaving Hughie to question the tale's validity (such as the title itself, quoted often as "a notorious example of one such misleading statement that probably confused the student more than teaching them anything functional about the language",[11] which may be a hint about the story). This is the first stand alone issue in the series.
Frenchie gives an account of the Female's origin to Hughie, speaking from her point of view, which is required, as she literally never speaks. He explains that her mother left her unattended in a lab, and she ended up in a pail of Compound V waste, brutally attacked the doctors there, and was eventually captured. She grows up in captivity and learns, until she escapes. Eventually the original team of the Boys capture her and Frenchman teaches her. This issue is also a stand alone issue.
Butcher learns of Wee Hughie's relationship with Starlight. On the other side, Jess Bradley, an executive of Vought American, shows the unnamed Vought Executive her eagerness to work for his department during the celebration on the new CEO of Vought American.
Not wanting to believe that Hughie is a double-agent, Butcher consults The Legend and assigns Hughie to watch a C-list team called "Superduper", which has got a new leader (Malchemical). The dangerous and extreme character of Malchemical should provoke a conflict where Wee Hughie would be severely endangered, unless Vought America warns Malchemical not to damage him. This would serve as a test for Butcher on the loyalty of Wee Hughie. As a result, Malchemical almost kills Wee Hughie, which provokes the first severe discussion between Mother Milk and Butcher.
By other side, the unnamed Vought American Executive brings Jess Bradley up to speed on The Homelander's profile, including a unique incident occurring twenty years ago. The photos on this incident are the main weapon "The Boys" have against The Homelander.
The Homelander uses a Christian convention of superheroes and fans in New York, to gather all superheroes who are able to fight for Vought America in the case of an open conflict against the Government or the military of the USA. The content of this meeting remains unknown, but The Boys watch over the events.
Meanwhile, Wee Hughie learns about the superhero identity of his girlfriend's and finally dumps her.
After the events in Believe, Wee Hughie takes a vacation back to his family's house in Scotland to think about his life and whether he should leave The Boys or not.
The full story of Butcher's vendetta is revealed, and Vought American's part in the events of 9/11.
Greg Mallory tells Hughie about Vought-American's involvement during the Battle of the Bulge, and how he put together The Boys. This is the full story that The Legend offered to tell Hughie in "I Tell You no Lie, G.I.", but didn't.
Hughie comes back to the fold as he and Butcher are trying to solve a case to find out if Jack from Jupiter of The Seven is responsible for the murder of a transsexual prostitute.[12]
Butcher returns to London, to view the body of his deceased father, and begins to reminisce on what lead him on the path of vengeance against superheroes. It's revealed during the series that The Homelander was responsible for the rape, pregnancy and death of Billy's wife.[13]
Dynamite releases both hardcover and trade paperback collections on an ongoing basis (including those comics previously published by Wildstorm). In addition, Dynamite also releases "Definitive" slipcased hardcovers, which contain two trade/hardcover collections to an "omnibus".
| # | Title | TPB ISBN | TPB Release date | TPB page number | Collected material |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Name of the Game | ISBN 9133305463 | June, 2007 | 152 | The Boys #1-6 |
| 2 | Get Some | ISBN 1933305681 | March, 2008 | 192 | The Boys #7–14 |
| 3 | Good for the Soul | ISBN 1933305924 | October, 2008 | 192 | The Boys #15-22 |
| 4 | We Gotta Go Now | ISBN 1848562985 | July, 2009 | 192 | The Boys #23-30 |
| 5 | Herogasm | ISBN 160690082X | November, 2009 | 144 | Herogasm #1–6 |
| 6 | The Self-Preservation Society | ISBN 1606901257 | March, 2010 | 192 | The Boys #31–38 |
| 7 | The Innocents | ISBN 1606901508 | December, 2010 | 216 | The Boys #39-47 |
| 8 | Highland Laddie | ISBN 1606902075 | April, 2011 | 144 | Highland Laddie #1-6 |
| 9 | The Big Ride | ISBN 1606902202 | November 9, 2011 | 276 | The Boys #48-59 |
| 10 | Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker | ISBN 1606902644 | March 6, 2012 | 144 | Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker #1-6 |
| I | The Boys: Definitive Edition I | ISBN 1933305800 | December, 2008 | 344 | The Boys #1-14 |
| II | The Boys: Definitive Edition II | ISBN 1606900730 | December 23, 2009 | 384 | The Boys #15-30 |
| III | The Boys: Definitive Edition III | ISBN 1606901656 | April 5, 2011 | 552 | The Boys #31-38 + Herogasm |
Variety reported in February 2008 that Columbia Pictures had optioned the comic for a film adaptation, to be produced by Neal H. Moritz.[17] Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay will be writing the screenplay.[18] In August 2010, Adam McKay said that he had been signed on to direct the film. McKay added, "They already have a script and we're doing a rewrite on it so hopefully getting the whole thing into shape in the Fall with maybe a shoot happening in January."[19]