Writer:
Garth Ennis
Art:
Darick Robertson
Published
by Dynamite Entertainment
Review
by Stewart Loud
War,
brutality, Infant murder, a messed up childhood and more than a
couple of supes getting horribly killed. The mysteries of Billy
Butcher's past are finally revealed in the last of the Boys origin
stories and as you'd probably expect, it's not for the faint hearted.
The
stories that explained the beginnings of all the other Boys members
were all great fun to read but this is the mini series that I, and I
suspect almost everyone else who's been keeping up with Garth Ennis'
shocking super hero universe parody, have been looking forward to the
most. Especially with all of his character developments in the main
comic as it draws to a close. Just what forged Butcher into such a
single mindedly driven soldier in the conflict against Vought
America's super powered reprobates?
I'm
not gonna go into too much detail here. Not much to say about how
good the comics are that I haven't said before either. This 6 part
series covers Butcher's childhood with an abusive father, his
involvement in the Falklands war as British Royal Marines Commando,
The loss of the love of his life who had temporarily steered him away
from the darker nature of his personality and finally how he came to
join the CIA's premier anti super hero task force, The Boys.
Grabbed
my attention immediately and held it right until the very end. Garth
Ennis' never ceases to amaze me with his ability to create fantastic
believable characters that, whether you love or hate, you can't read
enough about. After Butcher started out in the comic as a hard as
nails but honourable cockney rogue, the kind of guy we maybe all
wish we had as a mate or older brother, his character has gradually
been fleshed out to reveal a much less pleasant individual and this 6
parter goes a long way to explaining how a person would turn out like
that.
There's
a powerful passage written at the beginning of the graphic novel,
dedicating it to the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Falklands
task force and the the sections set in the Falklands are
authentically gritty and gripping. I'd have been happy to read an
entire set of comics based on that alone. Read plenty of Viet Nam and
WW2 comics but never anything written about this much more recent
war. It's mentioned earlier on that “Nowadays no one talks about it
much, The Falklands, 'cept for sorta curiosity value.” and he's
right. Shames me a bit but I know very little about it even though it
happened in my lifetime.
The
death of Butcher's wife is as shocking as the little we've learned
about it so far has led us to expect. Nightmarish stuff but, thinking
about it, that's probably what would happen to Lois Lane if she ever
tried to bare Super Man's child.
This
should answer any questions you might have about Billy Butcher's past
and just like the rest of the comics so far, it's an engrossing read.
Can't wait to read the final graphic novel to find out how Garth
wraps it all up. If you're not reading this already. Start.
SCORE 8/10
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