The Boys (comics)

The Boys is an adult superhero comic book series, co-created, and written by Garth Ennis and co-created, designed, and illustrated by Darick Robertson. The first volume was published by WildStorm, which canceled it after six issues; the series was picked up by Dynamite Entertainment, which published the following eight volumes: Get Some, Good for the Soul, We Gotta Go Now, The Self-Preservation Society, The Innocents, The Big Ride, Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men, and The Bloody Doors Off. Debuting in October 2006, the series concluded in November 2012 after 72 issues were published. In the fourth volume, the series is revealed to be set in the same fictional universe as Ennis' previous 1995–2000 DC Vertigo series, Preacher, with former vampire Proinsias Cassidy cameoing as a bartender. Three 6-issue spin-off limited series were also produced during the series' original run: Herogasm, Highland Laddie, and Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker, with an 8-issue epilogue series, Dear Becky, published from June–December 2020.
The book was adapted by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television into a five-season television series that premiered July 26, 2019 on Amazon Prime Video, from which a franchise was launched comprising the web series Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman, which premiered July 7, 2021, the spin-off animated anthology series, Diabolical, which premiered March 4, 2022, and the live-action spin-off series Gen V, which premiered September 29, 2023.

Publication history

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 were uneasy with the anti-superhero tone of the work. The planned collection of said issues was also canceled. Co-creator Darick 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". Ennis then released a statement that some other publishers had expressed interest, and that issue 7 and a trade paperback of the first six issues would be available. While Robertson was on exclusive contract to DC, he was given special dispensation to continue working on The Boys. In February 2007 the series was picked up by Dynamite Entertainment and it resumed in May, Dynamite also publishing a collected edition of the first six issues, The Name of the Game, with a foreword by Simon Pegg, the model on whom the character Wee Hughie was based in how he was drawn by Robertson.
In February 2009, Dynamite announced a spin-off miniseries, Herogasm, with art from John McCrea and Keith Burns; subsequent miniseries include Highland Laddie and Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker, with the three series each later being compiled as volumes of The Boys.
After The Boys was completed, Ennis told CBR.com that the comic had benefitted from Wildstorm cancelling it, in that Dynamite gave him far more freedom than DC ever would have, saying, "We'd have died on the vine . The book would have been chipped and chipped away at until writing it was pure frustration." He also admitted to "a sigh of relief" as Wildstorm had been dissolved as an imprint not long after the move.
An eight-issue epilogue series, Dear Becky, was published from June to November 2020.

Plot

The series is set between 2006 and 2008 in a world where superheroes exist, and 9/11 had marked the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge instead of the Twin Towers. 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. The story follows a small clandestine CIA squad, informally known as "The Boys", led by Billy Butcher and comprising Mother's Milk, the Frenchman, the Female, and new addition "Wee Hughie" Campbell, who are charged with monitoring the superhero community, often leading to gruesome confrontations and dreadful results; in parallel, a key subplot follows Annie "Starlight" January, a young and naive superhero who joins the Vought-American-sanctioned superhero team called The Seven, the most prestigious—and corrupt—superhero group in the world and The Boys' most powerful enemies.

Collected editions

Dynamite releases both hardcover and trade paperback collections on an ongoing basis. 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		June 2007	152	The Boys #1–6
2	Get Some		March 2008	192	The Boys #7–14
3	Good for the Soul		October 2008	192	The Boys #15–22
4	We Gotta Go Now		July 2009	192	The Boys #23–30
5	Herogasm		November 2009	144	Herogasm #1–6
6	The Self-Preservation Society		March 2010	192	The Boys #31–38
7	The Innocents		December 2010	216	The Boys #39–47
8	Highland Laddie		April 2011	144	Highland Laddie #1–6
9	The Big Ride		November 9, 2011	276	The Boys #48–59
10	Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker		March 6, 2012	144	Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker #1–6
11	Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men		June/July 2012	152	The Boys #60–65
12	The Bloody Doors Off		December 2012	170	The Boys #66–72
13	Dear Becky		February 23, 2021	176	Dear Becky #1–8

Awards

2008: Nominated, "Best Continuing Series", Eisner Award.
2009: Nominated, "Comic Book of the Year Under $3.00", Diamond Comic Distributor Gem Awards.
2010: Nominated, "Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel", Scream Awards.

Adaptations

Scrapped film

Variety reported in February 2008 that Columbia Pictures had optioned the comic for a film adaptation, to be produced by Neal H. Moritz. and Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi writing the screenplay. 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." Columbia Pictures reported in February 2012 that it had dropped its option regarding a film adaptation of The Boys. However, Adam McKay said in a Twitter response that Paramount Pictures had picked it up, and that it was still in the works. On April 30, 2013, Manfredi and Hay were hired by Paramount to write the film, though the project never came to fruition.

Television series

In October 2015, it was reported that Cinemax greenlit a television series adaptation of The Boys, and that Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Eric Kripke were producing the series. In September 2017, Variety reported that Amazon Studios had picked up the series. The series premiered its first season on July 26, 2019. The second season premiered on September 4, 2020, while the third season premiered on June 3, 2022, and the fourth season premiered on June 13, 2024. In May 2024, the series was renewed for a fifth and final season.

Audiobook series

All 98 issues of the comic series have been adapted into 7 audiobooks produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music by GraphicAudio. Volume 1 was released on May 4, 2020. Volume 7 adapts the Dear Becky epilogue series and concluded the audiobook production on May 20, 2022. The entire series lasts 31 hours, retains the 2006–2008 setting and the dialogue is a very close match to Garth Ennis' original scripts. The content rating is Ages 18+.

Animated series

An animated spin-off series of The Boys, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, was released on March 4, 2022.

"We Gotta Go Now" adaptation

A live-action spin-off series of The Boys, Gen V, serving as a stand-alone adaptation of the "We Gotta Go Now" arc from the comic series, focused on Marie and the G-Men and inspired by The Hunger Games, was announced on September 20, 2020, and premiered on Amazon Prime Video on September 29, 2023.