The Boys #64

[ultraaman]

Here is the original review:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...review&id=4526

The Boys #64 - 4 of 5 Stars

Thu, March 8th, 2012 at 10:14AM (PST)

My first review for CBR was of "The Boys" #24 back when the book was mostly concerned with making fun of superheroes. It spent so much time running the theme into the ground that most people wrote the series off as nothing more than juvenile mockery of superheroes. Three years and four months later, "The Boys" is a very different book, one with origins in earlier mockery and has grown into a disturbing meditation on power and corruption. Superheroes in "The Boys" aren't a joke anymore; they're deadly serious.

The Homelander has finally put his plan into play for superheroes to run amok and possibly take over the United States government. In response, Butcher has released all of the dirt he and the Boys have collected on the supes over the years. Some of that material is of the Homelander slaughtering people, exposing him and creating a situation where there's no turning back. Yet, despite these obvious conditions for extreme violence, "The Boys" #64 is a quiet issue of building tension. No one is entirely sure what's going on and no one wants to act prematurely.

Garth Ennis and Russ Braun deliver one of the series' best scenes when the Homelander and James Stillwell come face to face, both knowing exactly what's happening. It plays out in a surprising fashion with Stillwell tearing down the Homelander mentally, unafraid and welcoming death because of the part he's played, all the while insulting the "hero" for his complete lack of imagination. In revealing his true self, the Homelander has only revealed the most base of thoughts and impulses, using his powers in bland, predictable ways. It's a scene where the complete lack of importance of the Homelander is emphasized and driven home.

It's hard not to miss the critique of superhero comics as well as Ennis's self-awareness in this scene. The Homelander and the Seven have always walked the line between interesting and completely dull, usually favoring the latter when they explore the debaucheries they engage in. Of course they're not the real "bad guys" of the series. The supes are just cover, a misdirection, for Butcher and the readers. Ennis has made it clear the title has more to it after the current arc and this scene drives it home in a spectacular fashion.

The subtext of Ennis' writing in is brought out by Braun's art. Stillwell's constant look of boredom and the Homelander's barely contained frustration sells the scene like nothing else. It screams, "Look, I'm an adult superhero! Pay attention!" while the audience yawns and wonders what else they can do with their time.

The wonderful character work continues with Butcher and Hughie. Butcher is completely in his element, ready to march into his final confrontation with the Homelander, while Hughie looks on in horror, unsure of what he can do. He struggles to support Butcher, not knowing if there's any viable alternative, which is apparent in every panel. Braun captures those conflicting desires of loyalty and horror perfectly, contrasting them with the look of calm and peace on Butcher's face.

Where exactly "The Boys" will go after the current story ends next issue is anyone's guess, but it's doubtful superheroes and mockery of them will play a large role. The series has been moving towards a larger exploration of power, the morality of a group like the Boys and brilliant character work. It's been one hell of a ride and if the remaining issues are as good as this one, it will be a shame to see it end.

[ultraaman]

I never bought into the whole 'deconstruction of the super-hero' premise of this book when it first debuted but after seeing this and the last review for The Boys at 4 stars, I thought I'd take a look and see what's up.

Suffice to say, we read two different books. Before I begin let me preface this by saying after reading #64 I was left wanting for details so I looked up the previous issues of this particular story line in order to make sure I wasn't somehow missing some characterization or plot point. Turns out I was.

That's the first downfall of this book. If they are going to waste the first page telling me about the people that make up the story, then it would make some sense to tell us what the hell is going on. I've read Ennis before, I know he does not write for the casual reader so I didn't really expect the story to fully clue me in. Since he doesn't, it behooves the editor to make sure this first page conveys useful information. Since every issue had the same intro page, it was useless to me.

Now onto the story - what a muddy mess. There are simply too many overlaying plots to figure out what is going on. I know that there's some sort of conspiracy by a hero turned emo (or is it a villain posing as a hero, can't tell) to take over the government. Why seems to be a non-issue - a bad guy doing bad things, nuff said. Some big guy is upset about something, some people with non-descript powers on the team got injured. A bunch of secrets a'la Watchmen get dumped onto the Internet. In this universe apparently no one has cameras on their cell phones or manages paparazzi blogs.

I admit the scene with The Homelander and Stillwell was a standout and without knowing anything else about the book I could easily understand that this was some kind of take on the Superman/Lex Luthor dynamic. If the rest of the book had delivered this much punch I would have agreed with the review. As it is I felt like I had dropped in halfway through an episode of As The Cape Turns. I don't view half-evident motivations of hand-wringing as tension. Why exactly is Hughie in such a state? Not really sure, even after reading the lead-in issues. There is an amazing amount of talking going on and not a lot actually being said. Ennis seems much more concerned with conveying how everyone feels about the story instead of telling a story.

And I am not on the same page regarding the art. The drawing and colors are fine enough but with but a few exceptions I felt like I was looking at a comic from 1993 - again perhaps intentional but if so I question how it contributes to the story. I found the overall thickness and lack of depths of the inks distracting.

Ennis' penchant for violence and sex are part of his appeal. In some contexts, I enjoy it though I admit I last read his work about a decade ago. I get that he is trying to convey an ennui, which he does to the detriment of the story. I didn't feel anything for/against The Butcher and I should have considering he was right there on the page driving the story. If you've been reading this book and continue to enjoy it, by all means please do. But I will not be spending my money on another issue.

2 out of 5 stars

[Milkshake Dave]

I couldn't read the entire thing. From the looks of it, this is a story about a couple of guys sitting around talking. Is this like the comic version of The View?

I tried to pick this up in the beginning... But by issue 12 I just gave up. This book is a snoozefest. I'm picking this up now because I imagine we're finally close to the end here...

[dupersuper]

I admit the scene with The Homelander and Stillwell was a standout and without knowing anything else about the book I could easily understand that this was some kind of take on the Superman/Lex Luthor dynamic.

I got a major father/son vibe in that scene.

[jackdaw53]

I've read (and stuck with) the series right from the start. For me... its not vintage Ennis.... among other things the mix-up of so many different elements and tones (e.g. bringing in so many parodies of DC and Marvel characters into a story where original premise was a "serious" look at how super heroes would fare in a more realistic world setting) just hasn't worked well. But I've still found it more enjoyable than 95% of mainstream super hero comics.

For me, one of its main attractions is that its a really lengthy super hero yarn. One that's well long enough to tell the story the creators want to tell, but one that's going to have a definite end, without the constant re-setting of the status quo that you find in the Marvel and DC super hero soaps. That is... the main character deaths, retirements, etc will stick... we won't see a tearful Butcher/ Terror re-union in next few issues, for example.

Given the nature of the "project" (i.e Garth E and Darick R wanted to tell a long complex story over 70ish issues), I'd argue that one of main thrusts of Ultraaman's critique of issue 64 (that it wasn't a good stand alone read) is more than a mite unfair. (Yes... I do like good one issue stories, and wish more comics were still written that way... but issues that only read well as part of a long sequence also have their place.)