@$*!& The Boys

[Anubis]

To tell you the truth, I thought they were just gay. Didn't see the One in the Stink, one in the Pink thing going down at all.

 

[The Question]

My problem with The Boys thus far is that Ennis seems to be focusing on his promise to have more over the top violent and sexual content so much that it seems like it's all the book has right now.

 

[gildea]

My problem with The Boys thus far is that Ennis seems to be focusing on his promise to have more over the top violent and sexual content so much that it seems like it's all the book has right now.

Tad unfair.

Wee hughie and butcher have had several touches of beyond that.

Thinking specifically of butcher talking about his wife and hughie meeting the girl from the seven in the park,

 

[The Leaguer]

I'd have to agree. Although the thrust of the book does seem to be towards mindless debauchery, there's been quite a bit of character exploration and development. I do feel, however, that the book is suffering because the focus isn't on the development.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Peter SnejBjoys!

 

[PhotoJones]

What's special about his artwork, again?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I like it and he's drawing The Boys.

 

[PhotoJones]

Oh...yeah. I looked at the preview pages and I don't see anything great about it. It's a decent fill-in, I guess?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I like Snejbjerg's style. Hughie's face in that last preview page is hilarious.

 

[PhotoJones]

Hughie's face is generally always hilarious. You can thank Simon Pegg's mother for that.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I guess. Snejbjerg is still cool, though.

 

[PhotoJones]

What else has he done?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The Light Brigade, which I just purchased. I haven't read it yet because I've been glued to my computer playing some games for the last week and a half, but I'm going to, and it'll probably be awesome.

 

[Darthphere]

The Light Brigade, which I just purchased. I haven't read it yet because I've been glued to my computer playing some games for the last week and a half, but I'm going to, and it'll probably be awesome.

Dude that's in trade? I've been dying to read that.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Brigade-Peter-Tomasi/dp/1401207952

 

[Obi-Ron]

I've never even heard of it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Now you have.

 

[Obi-Ron]

Yeppers

 

[Aristotle]

My problem with The Boys thus far is that Ennis seems to be focusing on his promise to have more over the top violent and sexual content so much that it seems like it's all the book has right now.

Nonsense. The problem with The Boys is that Ennis STILL can't get past his fetish for bashing the superhero archetype, and basically turning almost every good-guy character he writes into some form of Mary-Sue, whether it's about justifying homophobic slang or hating on the Modern Age of Comics.

Sad, because this book had the potential to turn the superhero on its ear in a way that really hasn't happened before. Not just a villain book like Secret Six, not just a villain-misunderstood book like Lex Luthor Man of Steel, but a book that propagandizes characters who would traditionally have been seen as Suicide-Squad-type villains, the same way that Ennis hates superhero books for doing! That's what's really goofy about his hatred of superhero books--basically all he does is reverse the lionization and vilification roles, and you get The Boys. It's that short of a walk from Justice League of America to The Boys.

And it's for that reason that, faults aside, I can't stop reading The Boys.

 

[Bubonic]

Can someone explain to me why DC really cancelled this series?
How can they really feel that Ennis's take on superheros would be somehow detrimental to the industry or something?
It's not like getting this jaded perspective would make me all a sudden hate batman and the hulk because all a sudden I'd have the idea they were nymphomaniacs or something.
I figure its a cool take on things, if people started getting superpowers in our world, chances are they might be incredible *****es.
Most people sort of are self-serving a-holes, so add powers to the equation, you'd have a dangerous situation.

I'm not familiar with much of Ennis's stuff, where else is he very anti-hero?
I was going to start getting the Preacher comics have a look if they are good.

 

[Aristotle]

Can someone explain to me why DC really cancelled this series?

Perhaps they weren't comfortable with the idea of portraying Nightwing as gay-bashing homophobe and Batman as a guy who can't keep himself from ****ing everything in sight? My guess is that a lot of the folks at DC liked the title, and continue to read it, but it just doesn't make good business sense to leave it at DC. Ennis was remarkably understanding of the decision. He thanked the people at WildStorm for being as supportive as they were, and he thanked the people at DC for expediting the process of freeing the property up so it could be used by another publisher as soon as possible. They really were not trying to quash the series. They made the effort to see that it would still see publication. It just wasn't for them.

I'm not familiar with much of Ennis's stuff, where else is he very anti-hero?

All of the Kev books. Hitman. Really the only superhero-related book of his that I've read that wasn't like that was his run on Midnighter.

I was going to start getting the Preacher comics have a look if they are good.

They are. Another good one to check out is Unknown Soldier.

 

[Aristotle]

By the by, are Ennis' Punisher issues worth checking out?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Just a Pilgrim was really good, too.

 

[JackRembrandt]

By the by, are Ennis' Punisher issues worth checking out?

Oh God, yes. His MAX Punisher book is excellent.

 

[Aristotle]

I keep debating about whether I should get into it, because on the one hand, Punisher seems like he can be done really cool, and on the other hand, he can be annoying and cliched as all ****. And of course, it's Ennis, who can also be really cool, and can be annoying and cliched as all ****.