The Boys by Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson (2006–2012) (read in 2021)
Standard disclaimer[1]
The Boys is a story about a world with super-powered beings (“supes”). This is not unusual for comic books, or graphic novels. The distinction is that this story doesn’t make a distinction between superheroes and supervillains. It doesn’t believe that superheroes exist. Or it grudgingly concedes that some super-powered beings seem not to take advantage of their powers for personal gain. The only example of a high-level super-powered being who does so is Annie.
The story starts with Hughie, whose girlfriend is slaughtered by accident by the super-powered A-Train, one of Vought’s Seven. The Seven are the pinnacle of the supe pyramid, at the top of the media and publicity and merchandising and franchising game. It’s all about money, money and power. The supes are a decadent lot, depicting in loving detail in these books, with lots of sex and violence.
[1] Disclaimer: these are notes I took while reading this book. They include citations I found interesting or enlightening or particularly well-written. In some cases, I’ve pointed out which of these applies to which citation; in others, I have not. Any benefit you gain from reading these notes is purely incidental to the purpose they serve of reminding me of what I once read. Please see Wikipedia for a summary if I’ve failed to provide one sufficient for your purposes. If my notes serve to trigger an interest in this book, then I’m happy for you.↩
Citations
When Hughie asks whether the CIA is pulling all of the strings, Butcher answers,
“Oh, bloody hell.
“Hughie, not even in their wildest dreams could those tits run the world. An’ it’s not secret societies, it’s not the Illuminati or Department X meetin’ in a room no one even knows exists. It’s none of that.
“It’s just the plain old company.
“Fat blokes an’ geeks sit in their offices tynna think up ways to watch people. To do nothin’ more than keep the world exactly the way it is.
“Which means power in the hands of the powerful. Which mean the status quo.”