"Proper Preparation and Planning" is the turning point story arc of the series it appears with this finale living up to the title as both sides begin to work behind the scenes for the inevitable conflict between the Boys and the Seven. Other superheroes may come and go, but it's all about the Seven for Butcher " and for Vought-American. That Ennis has V-A executives begin to admit that there is a time coming when they'll be willing to take the Seven off the board is a big shift, one that changes the rules of the conflict. If V-A decides to simply end the conflict by having both sides exterminate one another, what happens then? I can't wait to find out. Read Full Review

The last few months of this title have been pretty unrelentingly bleak, and for The Boys, that's saying something. But with Hughie's solo tale over, and Butcher admitting that he's not the bastard that he seems to be, this issue feels like a return to form. Of course, I don't suspect that this is ever going to be a nice title, but at least I'm able to deal with my protagonist again as a bastard of acceptible magnitude. Jess is the real variable in the story for me, and the fact that I don't know exactly what her hidden agenda is yet makes the whole thing intriguing. Ennis has long had a winner on his hands with this series, but this issue manages to cover a lot of territory in a short period of time. My only complaint is that this issue consists almost entirely of talking heads sequences, going from the party scene to Rayner's office with only the violation of Monkey (and, by the way, raise your hand if 'EWW?') to pad it out, giving me the unpleasant 'middle-of-the-trade-paperback-work Read Full Review

There's enough happening here that it's not an issue you want to miss but overall this issue ultimately comes off as yet more setting up of people, places, and events. For an arc called "Proper Preparation and Planning' that's about all we got. I suppose we haven't been lied to. Read Full Review