Tag: wee hughie

Posted on

The Boys: Get Some

This is a review of The Boys: Get Some by Garth Ennis (writer) and Darick Robertson (artist). You can read my review of the first volume, here. Please be aware that this volume contains challenging material that may trigger readers. I would provide a detailed content warning, but this review is only around 500 words. The point of The Boys is to push boundaries, or to say that there are no boundaries. If you do not agree, my advice is to not engage. Also: SPOILER ALERT.

The Boys are CIA sponsored team led by the Butcher that consists of Wee Hughie, Mother’s Milk, The Woman, and The Frenchman. They exist to combat the growing superhuman problem. What’s the problem with superhumans? Well, they are written as real people with superhuman powers. Anyone older than ten can figure out why that would be a problem.

The first storyline, Get Some, opens with Butcher and Wee Hughie investigating the death of a young gay man who fell off a roof. They visit a gay bar, where the bartender tells them that the person in question had a crush on SwingWing, a superhero who embraces social justice issues and whom everyone assumes is gay.

Three-and-a-half issues later, SwingWing – who is not gay and who despises gay people – confesses, and Butcher tells him that he will let him go if SwingWing becomes his snitch. Except Butcher is lying. He removes a screw from SwingWing’s jetpack, which malfunctions a few days later, causing him to plummet to his death in a scene that is not even shown. Nobody knows what happened but Butcher and the reader, and readers not paying attention might miss it.

The second storyline, Glorious Five Year Plan, is set in Russia and introduces Love Sausage. The plot involves 150 rogue superhumans, exploding heads, and a coup backed by the Russian mob and an American corporation. Except it’s not a coup, it’s more like an elaborate sales pitch that fails when Butcher finds the remote (read: kill switch) and blows 150 superhuman heads off.

The most interesting thing about The Boys is trying to figure out what makes Butcher tick. Why does he kill SwingWing the way he does, instead of sending him to jail or just outright killing him? I don’t know. Butcher is hard to read. On the surface, Garth Ennis might not seem like a very subtle writer, but appearances can be deceiving. I had to read most of these issues twice to see what was really happening.

Do I enjoy reading The Boys? Yes, I do. I’ve been reading comics for a long time and I get the comic insider jokes, which there are lots of. I don’t endorse Ennis’ use of racist/sexist/homophobic language, although his message that a person’s actions should count more than their words comes through loud and clear. People who read this after seeing the Amazon Prime series might be in for a shock, but if you like Garth Ennis without an editor, this is the series for you.

Posted on

The Boys: The Name of the Game

This is a review of The Boys: The Name of the Game, a near-future satire of superhero comics by Garth Ennis (writer) and Darrick Robertson (artist). Before diving in, know that there is a lot of gratuitous sex and violence in this series, much of it scatological. I am not going to bother listing all the trigger warnings, but here’s an example: after a pitched battle, a hamster crawls out of a fallen superhuman’s butt, and Wee Hughie (more on him later!) takes it home as a pet because he feels sorry for the little guy.

Is this graphic novel any good? Yes, it is, and I am not alone in thinking that. The Boys is a breakout hit on Amazon Prime. Just know what you are getting into, as this series is designed to offend a certain type of reader. If you are that reader, stay away.

The Boys takes place in a world where superhumans run amok. Does that sound familiar? Well, it’s the same premise as Kingdom Come, reviewed here. That’s where the similarities to Kingdom Come end, however. The superhumans themselves are like rock stars with superpowered libidos high on cocaine and ultra-powered Viagra. Think drugs, orgies, and mass destruction. And those are the sanctioned ones.

Wee Hughie is our baseline normal. We meet the Wee One when he tells his girlfriend that the grey aliens are actually pink, and are trying to turn everyone gay. He and his gal clasp hands as they confess their everlasting love. Of course, anyone who’s ever read a comic book in their life knows what happens next. Spoiler alert: she dies horribly at the hands of a superhuman.

Wee Hughie is recruited into The Boys by The Butcher, a big man who despises superhumans. The Butcher’s stated reason for hating superhumans may or may not be true, because the Butcher is a manipulative son of a bitch. He draws Hughie into the fold, bit by bit. You might even call it a seduction. The rest of the group consists of a dude named Mother’s Milk and two psychopaths, The Frenchman and The Female, who are the same character in that they seem mild but turn into killing machines when provoked. They all have super powers.

The Boys are unofficially sanctioned by the CIA to – well, that depends on who you ask. The CIA would have you believe their mission is to keep the superhuman community in check. The Butcher’s views on the topic are more of the scorched earth variety. Their ultimate foes are sanctioned superhuman team The Seven. Think the Justice League, except they have corporate sponsorships and the male members are perverts who sexually harass their new female recruit.

This is the graphic novel that sets it all up, but there’s still plenty of action. Wee Hughie kills someone with his newfound superhuman powers – granted to him when The Butcher jabs an unwanted needle into his neck – and also buys a habitat for his brand-new hamster! Recommended for fans of Garth Ennis, lovers of mayhem, and purveyors of potty humor. If you like the TV series, I am sure you will enjoy the source material, also.