the boys #6 spoiled

[ultramandingo]

hey get me , im in dublin , drinkin a guinness , postin on a ennis book! got it at sub city) big fight , wee huighie punches a hole in blarney cock ( oops) buthcher gets wee huighie to stay tells his secret origion ...and a hamster wraped in duct tape . who said this book was tastless

[Mr. Palmer]

I sure didn't say it was tasteless! :p

Unfortunately, this book (along with Jonah Hex) fell on the chopping block of my pull-list. Strangely, I don't miss it...

[Tobias March]

hey get me , im in dublin , drinkin a guinness , postin on a ennis book! got it at sub city) big fight , wee huighie punches a hole in blarney cock ( oops) buthcher gets wee huighie to stay tells his secret origion ...and a hamster wraped in duct tape . who said this book was tastless

Dude! Third Place on Crow St. not Sub City...they charge too much. And the owner guy freaks me out, he's intense.

[ultramandingo]

Dude! Third Place on Crow St. not Sub City...they charge too much. And the owner guy freaks me out, he's intense.
went there , they and forbiden planet didnt get their shipment ( man you guys have to wait till thursday / friday!!!!! thank god my ancestors got to the new world and killed the natives so i could get my funnybooks on wensday!!!!!) , but the other place on crow st ( forget the name ) was playing cool pirate sea shantys ( got some 2000 ads)

[Tobias March]

went there , they and forbiden planet didnt get their shipment ( man you guys have to wait till thursday / friday!!!!! thank god my ancestors got to the new world and killed the natives so i could get my funnybooks on wensday!!!!!) , but the other place on crow st ( forget the name ) was playing cool pirate sea shantys ( got some 2000 ads)

Yeah mate of mine used to work for him. He's a dosey fella, but pretty cool and you can find some real gems in that shop.

My flatmate's girlfriend bought him an unopened original Optimus Prime toy from that shop :D So he's good people.

[ultramandingo]

......not to turn this into "my comic buying trip to ireland " but , no shops in cork , skiperdeen or dingle ( fun to say! ) but everthing looks like a set from "lord of the rings" and lots of old guys speaking klingon or somthing . back in dublin saturday more drinkin and spandex!

[sgt pepper]

Who would've thunk that the issue that features a gerbil crawling out of a guy's ass (and has the balls to put it on the cover) would be the least outrageous of the series so far?

So now we know who watches the watchmen and why. I guess this is Ennis's response to Civil War?

But if the government has the ability to make a small task force, why don't they just use more of the blue goo and create entire police forces and armies of well trained supercops if the current heroes are such fuck ups? Why waste time policing these wasters instead of just replacing them with a government sponsored, trained task force? Super plot hole?

[Leebenhouse]

There is such a thing as bad cops, and the blue shit is hard to get ahold of, in comic book terms, a couple million+ per super dosage.

[ChthonicSpirit]

But if the government has the ability to make a small task force, why don't they just use more of the blue goo and create entire police forces and armies of well trained supercops if the current heroes are such fuck ups?

I get the impression the boys were Butcher's idea, albeit an idea the government were willing to pay for. And yeah, the blue goo is supposed to be rare, even in it's impure form.

[josh straightedge]

Another awesome issue. This is quickly becoming my favorite monthly book.

[Sparda]

This issue was awesome and I can't believe Hughie just gotten that gerbil out of that dude's ass. Now that we finally see the Boys in action and are more acquainted with thier verse, I hope in future issues they'll speed it up.

[bird]

But if the government has the ability to make a small task force, why don't they just use more of the blue goo and create entire police forces and armies of well trained supercops if the current heroes are such fuck ups? Why waste time policing these wasters instead of just replacing them with a government sponsored, trained task force? Super plot hole?

well that wouldn't make a very intersting story would it?

i really dig this series. i hear and read a lot of dislike for it, but it's a wed night read for me. it does try to have some sort of "shock" value and the hampster in the ass thing was a bit trite. but, i like the characters and the creepy superheros. it all makes me laugh.

looking forward to the next issue.

[Stellar]

I loved every issue of the boys until it turned out they were superpowered themselves. I thought about Sgt. Pepper's point, and it would indeed make the book less interesting. So would making the supposedly normal human cast supers. I was expecting stuff like what that officer pulled in Stormwatch: PHD. But apparently, Ennis thought otherwise.

It was a major downer.

[sgt pepper]

Of course it would make the book less interesting--it would negate the entire premise of the book. Obviously, that's why Ennis isn't going that route.

But that doesn't mean that Ennis's premise makes any more sense.

I like the book, but the premise has a gaping hole in it.

[Chris Thomas]

Of course it would make the book less interesting--it would negate the entire premise of the book. Obviously, that's why Ennis isn't going that route.

But that doesn't mean that Ennis's premise makes any more sense.

I like the book, but the premise has a gaping hole in it.

no gaping hole.

the superheroes in this book are sponsored--by the 'secret corporate oligarchy' that 'rules the world' --classic scifi-comic book theme. see many older wildstorm titles for good examples.

so--why doesn't the government make a bunch of superheroes as a task force officially? because the 'secret corporate oligarchy' doesn't let them.

so the government does it covertly.

in short: the government is partially ruled by the corporate oligarchy. the part that isn't controlled makes 'the boys' to secretly police the 'secret corporate oligarchy's superheroes.'

no gaping hole.

[MadBastard]

no gaping hole.

Unless you count the one you could drive a truck through. The oligarchy theory might hold up if had been delivered better, but the narrative hasn't been strong enough to really deliver that in anyway as to suspend disbelief. In a world as dark and cynical as the one created by The Boys then it would only make sense that a powerful government would seek to destroy any oligarchy rivalling its own power. It seems to make more sense that the governments are doing it covertly because the general population loves the super-heroes and the facades that have been created for them.

The book doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. On one hand it wants to be a representation of what 'real world' super-heroes would be like. On the other hand it wants to be outrageous and funny. It succeeds in the second, but fails in the first. Due in no small part that the two are largely incompatible in the way they are told.

[Chris Thomas]

Unless you count the one you could drive a truck through. The oligarchy theory might hold up if had been delivered better, but the narrative hasn't been strong enough to really deliver that in anyway as to suspend disbelief. In a world as dark and cynical as the one created by The Boys then it would only make sense that a powerful government would seek to destroy any oligarchy rivalling its own power. It seems to make more sense that the governments are doing it covertly because the general population loves the super-heroes and the facades that have been created for them.

The book doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. On one hand it wants to be a representation of what 'real world' super-heroes would be like. On the other hand it wants to be outrageous and funny. It succeeds in the second, but fails in the first. Due in no small part that the two are largely incompatible in the way they are told.

your making a hole where there isn't one. in the book, he clearly shows a shadowy (both figuratively and actually in one scene on the 'seven's ship') a corporation (or group of multinational trillionaires) that 'back' the seven.


you are also don't accept that the government is not a single block and is certainly not all-powerful. clearly in the world of 'the boys' there is a block that is controlled/hampered by the shadow trillionaires and there is a faction (perhaps alex hague/olie north type patriots) that wants some separation from these shadows and hence created the boys behind the scene.


shadowly trillionaires control 'the seven' and heavily influence the governments of the world

the governments of the world however have 'patriots' that created 'the boys' to balance the power.

the whole point is that the governments ARE NOT all-powerful.

I think the comic has made this clear--check out the panel where 'a-train' does his mocking of the new member in front of the representatives of these trillionaires. and homelander's subsequence response.

[MadBastard]

the whole point is that the governments ARE NOT all-powerful.

But the corporations are? For this plot to work the reader would need to buy into a Bill Hicksian level of paranoia about "Corporate Rule". While this could make for an entertaining story The Boys doesn't do a good enough job of selling it in order to suspend disbelief. Which is where all of the questions and speculation on holes throughout this thread come from.

[Chris Thomas]

But the corporations are? For this plot to work the reader would need to buy into a Bill Hicksian level of paranoia about "Corporate Rule". While this could make for an entertaining story The Boys doesn't do a good enough job of selling it in order to suspend disbelief. Which is where all of the questions and speculation on holes throughout this thread come from.

1. he sold it to me

2. corporate rule is a common theme --see any number of sci-fi and comic stories. a good wildstorm example is just about any authority run---transfer of power comes to mind. remember the scene where swift cuts off the head of those who enslaved her--mulibillionaire media and tech moguls?

I think Corporate Rule paranoia is an easy sell. I mean in america--corporations are basically like 'super-people' anyway. who do you think funds congressional campaigns? who tells us what to think with advertising? who is behind 'brad pitt' and 'brittney spears'?

[MadBastard]

1. he sold it to me

I figured that out, I did.


2. corporate rule is a common theme.

As I said, it often makes for an entertaining story.


who do you think funds congressional campaigns? who tells us what to think with advertising? who is behind 'brad pitt' and 'brittney spears'?

Holy shmoley, you've opened my eyes! I never realized that!

You may want to take a moment and consider that you may be underestimating the intelligence of your fellow readers. Just put it in the back of your mind.

Like I said, the story could be entertaining. However, you can defend the story as you like, but I'm talking about the delivery of the story. It's simply not gelling for many readers, which is why you get what we have here.

[guyjo]

Whatever the plot holes and flaws may be, I am really enjoying this book. The hamster bit this issue (6) made me groan and shake my head, but I did laugh. The scene where Butcher discusses his wife with Hughie did a great job of giving him more dimension to his character. Incidently, I am anxious to see what he does to the super who assaulted his wife.

.

[Chris Thomas]

I figured that out, I did.



As I said, it often makes for an entertaining story.



Holy shmoley, you've opened my eyes! I never realized that!

You may want to take a moment and consider that you may be underestimating the intelligence of your fellow readers. Just put it in the back of your mind.

Like I said, the story could be entertaining. However, you can defend the story as you like, but I'm talking about the delivery of the story. It's simply not gelling for many readers, which is why you get what we have here.

I'm not trying to 'underestimate the intelligence of (my) fellow readers'

you seem to have understood his point--and one reader says he doesn't. so... what do we have here? a gaping hole? or one reader who didn't catch the point? I miss the point all the time in comics and when someone points out to me the panel or page or dialogue I didn't read and says 'here--this is why this is true'---I say 'ahh. I missed that! so that's why blah blah blah!" not--'there's a gaping hole!'

I think the delivery has been right on.