The Boys Vol. 1: The Name of the Game Paperback – Illustrated, April 21, 2008

The Boys, Vol. 1 is a good primer to the world that Garth Ennis has created in his multi-volume comic that features a group superhero-watchers whose job it is to keep an eye on the thousands of 'supes' that fly, vanish, run fast, burrow, or do any other of a number of seemingly miraculous feats of skill and strength as they gambol about the planet in their own respective attempts to live up to the moniker of being a 'super'. Unfortunately, not all of them are good at the job. Or even good people to begin with, instead choosing to use their amazing 'super ' gifts in less than super ways. Add in the somewhat decent minded 'supe' who simply doesn't care about the innocent victims of his or her actions, the men and women injured or killed by those shoes doing their thing .. Or the nearly incalculable amount of physical damage done to homes and businesses.So, when 'supes' get carried , and need to be reined-in a bit, seldom by way of a calm word or conversation, but more likely a physical confrontation, that's when it's time to call "The Boys".Definitely involves adult themes and language, but does not have gratuitous nudity .. Were it a film it would get a strong PG-13/R rating, but more for the language than anything else. But it remains within the proper context of the story .. Ennis doesn't just throw in curse words for lack of dialogue, like I'm sure we've all seen in other material. IAll told, a great introduction to a superb modern, gritty romp.

I had read online that the comic book was good and darker than the TV series and that definitely turned out to be true. Its very good!

Ever wonder who keeps the superheroes in check? In a real world situation most superheroes with super powers would do anything they want. In a imperfect world the superheroes control everything "The Boys" are here to keep them from doing so.Story starts off with the main character, Wee Hughie, watching his girlfriend get killed in a fight between a superhero and a supervillian. The superhero just walks away even after Hughie tries to stop him, question him on why he had killed his girlfriend. Hughie feels like his whole world is going black and there's little to live for. That's until Butcher, the leader of the "The Boys", meets Hughie and opens him up to a whole new world. Butcher has a group of mercenaries but before he can get the whole group of Boys back together he needs a fifth member. This introduces Hughie into the game of taking down superheroes and reminding them of their limits.Right off the bat I want to make it clear people understand this comic contains gore, cursing, and LOTS of sex. Most of the superheroes do whatever they want. This leads to them basically banging almost anything that walks, male or female. They run the world, so why would they just save it when they can basically own it?The story starts off slow and builds up how these boys will take down the superheroes of their world. The Seven are the main superhero team but there are plenty of smaller superhero teams. The Boys target a small time group and begin to do their work. It's not a simple find the superheroes and beat some sense into them. They plant camera, get footage and voice recordings, and embarrass them on national television. Such as superheroes being gay, takings drugs, and doing prostitutes. This angers the small team and brings them to face off against our Boys.The art is top notch and defiantly it's own style. Mature, bloody, and easy to follow. The superheroes look like stereotypical superheroes like superman and such and The Boys look like badass Neo lookalikes. I'd say for the most part The Boys are far more interesting design though that's because they look modern, where's the superheroes look like they are from the seventies and eights. The fight scenes are also easy to follow and usually very well drawn.My only negative thing about the series is the excessive amount of dialog. I believe in building a story but, this sometimes go overboard with dialog that's not needed. You also sometimes have to double take sentences seeing as the main characters are from Europe with a accent.Overall the first volume defiantly leaves you wanting more with it's cliffhanger ending. It's dark take on superheroes running the world is interesting to say the least. I hope the following volumes continue to prove dark and grimy world but with a little less unneeded dialog.Story - 8 - Interesting take though the dialog could be a little to much at times. However if you want to see superheroes shown in a new light this will defiantly do it.Art - 8 - Some weak superheroes design but The Boys are all well done and the fights are easy and fun to follow.Enjoyment - 8 - While I wasn't loving every moment the ending was worth it. It's a type of story that builds up as it goes on and this one pays off in the end, big time.Final Score - 8 - Overall a new take on superheroes is always nice and a great addition to the run of the mill superhero stories we get. Hoping the series remains as interesting as the first volume.Reviewed: Issues 1-6. The Boys: Graphic Novel Volume 1.

Garth Ennius shines in the Boys. What a refreshing look into the land of supes. The Boys is an incredible series.

I actually hate myself for loving Garth Ennis and his works. While acknowledging that he's a good writer, I must say he has a strange sort of disdain for the very format he specializes in. From Preacher (complex story about a Preacher's search for God so he can kick his ass) to Crossed (basically The Walking Dead with rape-ier zombies) to The Boys (hyperviolent special ops group who keeps incompetent superheroes in check by breaking their faces), the man just knows how to weave a story heavy on satire and light on the standard whimsy expected from comic books. The Boys is not different. Basically, in a world where superheroes exist (and also happen to be about 99% a-holes) a special ops group is formed to keep them in check through blackmail, intimidation and brutal beatings that would make Kick-Ass fans wince. Sprinkled into this hyper-violence is a sense of humor that sticks more often than not and enough compelling characters to carry it for me so far as I've managed to read so far (four volumes in and the series is still at least compelling). My recommendation: watch G-Force to kill the part of your soul that can be offended by anything and check this series out.