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Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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The Boys #7
Reviewer: Chris Nuttall "Highly entertaining… ’specially if you have the inside scoop." The Boys are back! Take that, Wildstorm! Ok, I’ll be serious now. The first thing that comes to mind, reading this issue, is that it’s much neater than the Wildstorm issues. I don’t know if that it’s because Dynamite has a more relaxed approach to such matters – the back cover, promising the details of the next issue, is something I have never seen at DC – or because of the high interest in the series after its unfortunate cancellation by Wildstorm. DE can afford to spend much more time on each issue than DC ever could; it definitely shows in the little additions to the comic. But enough of that; a decent cover and format rarely sold more than a first issue. The second thing that comes to mind about the issue, reading it through, is that it’s a lot quieter than the last Boys story arc, even though it definitely shares some of the same format. Slightly more than half of the book is dedicated to the new character Tek Knight – who has developed a fairly unusual problem – while the remainder follows Butcher and Wee Hughie as Butcher introduces him to one of the genuine Legends of the shadowy world of the ‘supes’ – The Legend. (Groan; the pain, the pun pain!) Let’s look at the Tek Knight first. Unlike the other Supes were have encountered so far in the pages of the Boys, he appears to be dependent upon his armour, rather than any intrinsic powers of his own. (Iron Man parody, anyone?) His problem – which is not quite as bad as the rumours suggested – makes him more human than the Homelander; his own internal struggle makes him a much more sympathetic character than all, but one of the other Supes we have encountered. Ennis did very well to write him that way, rather than his more normal degregration of the superhero… Speaking of that, Ennis tackles another theme with the part of the story following Wee Hughie, when Butcher takes him into a…comic shop! You would think, naturally, that a world that had real live superheroes wouldn’t have room for comics following their adventures, but Ennis is clever. The comics, as Butcher himself points out, are the official version of the superhero adventures; one glance at a Blarney Cock Memorial Issue (killed by Wee Hughie in #6) proves that the superheroes have managed to present themselves as heroes to the world. Ennis himself, in an interview, compared superheroes to celebrities and politicians; like them, the superheroes put out press releases carefully tuned to reflect them in the best possible light. Butcher informs Hughie – and us – that one guy believed to have died saving the universe in fact died of something a bit more mundane and…icky. The Legend himself – a Stan Lee parody? – is a hilariously funny character…and it makes sense within the series. Anyone who wants to be anyone within the superhero world would need publicity…and naturally the guy in charge of that would know everything about them. Not unlike the guy who handles public relations for movie stars, the Legend is disgusted with those he used to push forward into the public eye. The artwork in the book is very, very detailed, starting with the cover itself, with a picture of the Legend examining a comic, with the Homelander on the front. The comic book store has thousands of comics, and even if there are a few jokes in the pack – "Lard Lad," anyone? – they provide a fascinating glimpse into an alternate world. The characters continue to be impressive – the Legend and Tek Knight are drawn very well – with the possible exception of Laddio. He just reminds me too much of the original Robin. He also gives me the urge to give him a swift kick up the bum. It’s good to see that this comic, at least, has returned to our shelves. The storyline may be quieter than the last, but who cares? Sex, suspense, celebrities…what more do you want? Four out of five.
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