The story of Billy Butcher, the Boys mysterious leader, is told at last! From the backstreets of London's East End to the carnage of the Falklands War, from the heights of love to the depths of tragedy, the most violent man in comics reveals the terrible nature of the forces that drive him. And when he''s done, he'll be ready - to finish things once and for all!
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About the Author
Garth Ennis is the award-winning writer of The Boys, Preacher, Hellblazer, Hitman and Judge Dredd, much in demand for his hard-edged, wickedly humorous style.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Dr D
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is Butcher's background story, part of which is background of real war but, as he usually seems to do, Ennis manages it with no glorification, rather a great deal of respect for the people who have actually done it. Butcher's grandfather's single sentence is an outstanding moment.
For me Butcher has become a really well thought out character, not just a recycling of wafer thin superhero/villain clichés of righteous vengeance. It turns out it isn't just a case of him being capable & justified in his coldblooded vengeance simply because his targets did something similar, he actually seems capable of doing it because he's pretty close to a psychopath. The genetic bit of his psychopathy is from his father but it requires an environmental trigger to tip him & his brother, mother & wife gave him the environment he needed to control it. But without that environment then his genetic traits are beyond his control, so is he really responsible for his own (unjustifiably nasty) actions? It just poses some really interesting questions.
I honestly think Garth Ennis has made a very important contribution to the comic book canon with The Boys, but I would recommend stating at the beginning of the series rather than jumping in here.
For me Butcher has become a really well thought out character, not just a recycling of wafer thin superhero/villain clichés of righteous vengeance. It turns out it isn't just a case of him being capable & justified in his coldblooded vengeance simply because his targets did something similar, he actually seems capable of doing it because he's pretty close to a psychopath. The genetic bit of his psychopathy is from his father but it requires an environmental trigger to tip him & his brother, mother & wife gave him the environment he needed to control it. But without that environment then his genetic traits are beyond his control, so is he really responsible for his own (unjustifiably nasty) actions? It just poses some really interesting questions.
I honestly think Garth Ennis has made a very important contribution to the comic book canon with The Boys, but I would recommend stating at the beginning of the series rather than jumping in here.
By ivanmcswerve
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
as in preacher, some of garths' graphic novels, as part of a series, can be read as a stand alone story. preacher, book 7 (jesse becomes a sheriff of a small town and "puts things right") can be read as a stand alone and so can this.....along with highland laddie (but this is much better) this is essentially the story of butcher, parts of his history have been hinted at earlier on in the series but this is the one i was waiting for. this is the last story to be told of the history of each of the boys and is by far the best.....enjoy!
By Noel
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This book is Butcher's origin story, starting with his childhood and his violent upbringing leading to joining the Royal Marines and fighting in the Falklands, to falling in love and then losing his wife. He meets Mallory who explains who's responsible and the two start what will become The Boys.
Before reading this I wasn't sure that Butcher's origin story needed to be an entire book (after all the others were contained within Vol 6: The Self-Preservation Society and Hughie's was a brief few pages in Vol 1), but having read it I can see why Garth Ennis took the time to go deep into Butcher's background.
Butcher's life is riddled with tragedy and it turns out that despite his disgusting father being at the root of some of them, the supes also played a big part. At the end of the book I felt a real sense of anticipation for a showdown between Butcher and the Seven, something the last book "The Big Ride" failed to do at nearly twice the length of this book.
Well written with some excellent set pieces and an overriding sense of darkness throughout, this is the kind of book that made "The Boys" such a fiery series to begin with. Great to see Darick Robertson return and see Ennis find the tone of the books again as it draws to a close. Definitely worth a read.
Before reading this I wasn't sure that Butcher's origin story needed to be an entire book (after all the others were contained within Vol 6: The Self-Preservation Society and Hughie's was a brief few pages in Vol 1), but having read it I can see why Garth Ennis took the time to go deep into Butcher's background.
Butcher's life is riddled with tragedy and it turns out that despite his disgusting father being at the root of some of them, the supes also played a big part. At the end of the book I felt a real sense of anticipation for a showdown between Butcher and the Seven, something the last book "The Big Ride" failed to do at nearly twice the length of this book.
Well written with some excellent set pieces and an overriding sense of darkness throughout, this is the kind of book that made "The Boys" such a fiery series to begin with. Great to see Darick Robertson return and see Ennis find the tone of the books again as it draws to a close. Definitely worth a read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
cliché background
Ever since I first picked up the first copy of the Boys to be introduced to a man who glances up at the Seven and says "I'm gonna get you, you ****" I found myself loving Billy... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Simon Wells
4.0 out of 5 stars
GET ON WITH IT!
The Boys is my favourite current series and Garth Ennis is my favourite writer. This volume is a typically gritty tale of Billy Butcher's life before and leading up to The Boys. Read more
Published 12 months ago by J Witts
3.0 out of 5 stars
I had high hopes..
More of the same. The main plot doesnt move on, but we do get a little background on Butcher, though not much. Read more
Published 12 months ago by The Tempest
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magic
Been waiting for this patiently, having gobbled up the previous nine volumes. What is it about the Ennis TB's? I waited ages for the last Wormwood. Read more
Published 13 months ago by omniblob
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent return
I must say this volume is the best since the dreadful Highland Laddie, and the 'little bit better' The Big Ride. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Oop North
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bloody, brutal and brilliant
This is definitely not the sort of book that the casual browser is going to pick up from the shelf and buy and yet if they did they wouldn't be too disappointed. Read more
Published 14 months ago by PJ Rankine
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sympathy for the Devil
As has happened a few times with this series, it says in Amazon's blurb that it hasn't been released yet but my copy arrived yesterday. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Sam Woodward
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
These are a great set of books. If just starting you do need to read from the first book though otherwise will be difficult to keep up. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Stephen Rapson
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