moodreader04's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
4.5
olichoreno's review
2.0
Teasing Stan Lee and Batman, the story unfolds between a strange fixation on homosexuals and a "cold war-ish" foreign policy story. Has interesting moments, but falls short of the previous comic, spending more time poking fun at other franchises.
myeshatiara's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Favorite Quote: “But we ain’t here to make things better, are we, Hughie? We’re here to stop ‘em from gettin’ worse.”~Butcher
The time around there is a lot of exposition about the past and how the Seven came about. Interesting stuff, however very informative and not as much action, which can be a little slow paced at times.
The Black superheroes section of the comic series is interesting. They speak with very stereotypical clichés that someone who has seen Black people but isn’t one would actually say. It was a bit heavy handed and threw me off a little.
The final section definitely helps with the amount of action that takes place to be more interesting.
The time around there is a lot of exposition about the past and how the Seven came about. Interesting stuff, however very informative and not as much action, which can be a little slow paced at times.
The Black superheroes section of the comic series is interesting. They speak with very stereotypical clichés that someone who has seen Black people but isn’t one would actually say. It was a bit heavy handed and threw me off a little.
The final section definitely helps with the amount of action that takes place to be more interesting.
jcschildbach's review
3.0
I like this book in spite of myself. The violence is pretty standard-issue Ennis, but he seems to get more over-the-top with the sexual content, which is essentially junior-high-level sexual humor. On some level, I guess I admire him for committing to it, but mostly I just roll my eyes at how obvious and dumb it is, and wonder who it's supposed to appeal to, given that this is a "mature" title.
I'm also a little confused at Ennis' suggestion in the first story arc that one can use demeaning language for people as long as one really doesn't demean those people through one's actions. It's more than a little odd for a writer to suggest that words lack power or influence.
Complaints aside, Ennis is creating some clever stories and working in enough character development to keep things interesting, although I imagine I won't stick with this much longer if the next volume proves to be as juvenile in the sex jokes department.
I'm also a little confused at Ennis' suggestion in the first story arc that one can use demeaning language for people as long as one really doesn't demean those people through one's actions. It's more than a little odd for a writer to suggest that words lack power or influence.
Complaints aside, Ennis is creating some clever stories and working in enough character development to keep things interesting, although I imagine I won't stick with this much longer if the next volume proves to be as juvenile in the sex jokes department.
genmegusta's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
intensej's review
5.0
More information on the history of Butcher and the Seven are slowly revealed. Compound V and smaller superhero groups are seen in this volume. The perfect anti-hero graphic novel that is funny, gritty, dark, and full of sex and violence.
rebecanunez's review
3.0
Me gusto, pero creo que porque ya había visto la serie, y sabia como era. Se sale del común de los cómics de superhéroes, la verdad es que no es para todas las sensibilidades, ya que tiene un alto contenido de violencia y sexual. Es un experimento interesante leerlo, si, pero es un cómic bastante brutal, mucho mas que la serie. Un dato importante es que las historias en el cómic, tienen puntos en común con la serie, pero no van por los mismos lugares, por lo que no, no es como leer en cómic la serie.
some_okie_dude27's review
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.
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.
alexperc_92's review
2.0
I am still trying to like it, but sometimes the dialogue is too much and there are many jerk heroes here.