Christmas 1944 sees Captain Greg Mallory safely in reserve, far from the front line with Nazi Germany. A good time to rest and refit, to recover from the horrors of war. Not such a good time for a unit of very special soldiers- backed by the Vought-American-Consolidated corp- to show up looking for combat experience. Hughie gets a war story he'll never forget, as the Battle Of The Bulge begins with a bang... The Boys #53, part two of Barbary Coast.
If you're avoiding the Boys title because you think that it's all about shock and mockery of super-heroes, you're missing a pretty wild ride. Highland Laddie was a combination of Vonnegut-style existentialism, boys adventure and romance, and the series as a whole is much more than the sum of its parts. The world-building has been subtle since the very beginning, but this dose of alternate history shows us how truly bankrupt and rotten Vought-American is and has been, and the use of Mallory as Greek Chorus (much as the Legend served in previous issues) is quite effective. I wondered a couple of issues ago why they couldn't just do the Highland Laddie series within the main comic itself, and the answer becomes clear here, with no sign of Butcher, Frenchie or the Female or the overarching plots. This is a strong issue (albeit one that might require you to have a strong stomach) and Ennis & McCrea drag you into the story within the story, without letting you forget that Mallory's actual in Read Full Review
Mallory himself has a memento left over from that time period, part of one of the superheros costume that says: VOUGHT AMERICAN CONSOLIDATED. Pulling it out of his pocket, he remarks to Hughie, And I though then, like I think now: how dare they put that word in the middle of something so disgusting but I guess thats an old trick, right? The tragedy here being that when multi-national corporations get involved in the business of warfare, they can put the men and women in uniform at risk. Its a familiar theme for Garth Ennis and The Boys and is handled well here. Read Full Review
"The Boys" should have more one-shot tales on the side like this rather than have Hughie talk about these events with the Legend. Seeing Mallory in action in WWII is something special and you get to better understand the history of supers in this universe. This issue is like a kick to the gut; it hurts, but it might just also make you slightly better than you were before. Or it will just make your eyes water. Read Full Review
One of the strengths of this series has been the characters that Ennis created. However, this issue shows that it's also just simply Ennis' ability to tell a great story. You really don't need to know anything about the overall series to enjoy this issue. It's a great glimpse of what Ennis thinks may have happened had the likes of Captain America actually been in World War II. The book is very entertaining and contains a couple of eye-opening surprises. This is one I definitely recommend. Read Full Review
The art on this arc isn't spectacular. John McCrea's art is far more rough and loose than regular artist Russ Braun, and Keith Burns' fill-in art is no better. Still, things pick up during the more chaotic and violent panels, so the artists are able to get the job done in the end. All in all, this is shaping up to be one of the better arcs in the series' history. Read Full Review
© 2024
Prev
