The Boys is understood for its over-the-top humor, however for followers of the Amazon streaming sequence, the unique comics could also be a bit too excessive. However there’s a comic-book choice for followers in search of an excellent higher Garth Ennis various: his DC Comics sequence Hitman.
Launched in 2006 below the DC imprint WildStorm, The Boys was created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Telling the story of a gaggle of presidency operatives educated to maintain useless and out-of-control superheroes in line, the sequence positioned itself to be the last word taboo-breaking darkish superhero parody — a lot in order that DC Comics ultimately canceled the sequence after solely a handful of points. Dynamite Leisure then acquired the sequence, the place it went on to run for 72 points. Whereas the TV present retains comedian’s irreverent tone, there are some parts of the unique that haven’t aged as properly and will show too excessive for followers solely accustomed to the Amazon adaptation.
For these followers of The Boys trying to get into comics, a greater various could be DC Comics’ Hitman, a 60-issue sequence created by Garth Ennis and John McCrea. The story stars Tommy Monaghan, a low-level hitman in Gotham Metropolis who will get super-powers after being attacked by an alien parasite. Now possessing X-ray imaginative and prescient and telepathy, Monaghan decides to focus on taking contracts on super-humans and different supernatural threats, gaining the ire of heroes like Batman alongside the best way. The sequence is laced with the identical biting superhero satire that made The Boys a hit, but it surely’s nonetheless not fairly as excessive as that boundary-pushing sequence.
This isn’t to say that Hitman is any much less violent or profane. True to Garth Ennis type, the adventures of Tommy Monaghan vary from the grim to the hilarious (and one memorable encounter with a zombie plague within the Gotham Aquarium). Whereas Tommy Monaghan routinely makes enjoyable of superheroes and their inherent jingoistic attitudes, the character later confesses to having a deep respect for Superman, even going as far as cheering Superman up after he failed saving somebody from a burning constructing. Except for all that, Hitman is simply plain humorous, with a number of hilarious take-downs just like the Daredevil-inspired “Blind Bastard” or the longer term model of the ridiculous hero Gunfire by chance turning his bottom right into a hand grenade.
Whereas Monaghan’s adventures come to a fairly definitive finish after the conclusion of his solo sequence, Garth Ennis and John McCrea would later return to a lot of his supporting forged in works like All-Star Part Eight and Six-Pack and Dogwelder: Onerous Travellin’ Heroez. After all, The Boys has grown past its juvenile origins to be the kind of carefully-considered character examine that Garth Ennis excels at. However for these followers in search of one thing much less excessive, they couldn’t do any worse than DC Comics’ Hitman.