The Pull List – The Boys Omnibus Volume Three
When superheroes take a summer vacation, that doesn’t mean the Boys get a break. In fact, it might bring out the worst in everyone. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson violent take on superheroes return in The Boys Omnibus Volume Three. This third volume collects the complete mini-series of Herogasm and the regular issues #31-#38. This set of stories picks up right after the Boys have taken on the G-Men and Vought-American calls for an emergency cover-up. Now all the world’s greatest heroes will team up for a private party! There will be sex, drugs and plenty of dirty secrets being shared, and the Boys are on a tropical stakeout. However, the caped heroes can party for so much before they catch on to the Boys’ plans, and there will be hell to pay.
Herogasm is a side story that was released alongside the original comic series. This story delved more into the behind the scenes antics of superheroes. After Vought-American wants to give the superheroes an extended vacation, they fake a crisis to bring the heroes together. The heroes throw an annual party even where the super-powered live it up and go nuts. It’s quite an eye full when heroes show their true colors when no one is looking. Just when the festivities are on the way, the Boys are waiting for their chance to make a move to bag a target among the party goers.
The Self-Preservation Society picks up after the Boys have reappeared on the superhero radar as a potential threat. Many heroes try to avoid the Boys, but one group decides to take matters into their own hands. The superhero team Payback lures the Boys into a trap and wants some revenge for their fellow heroes. Payback isn’t made of third-rate champions, each one of them is a veteran hero and are second to only the Seven. It’ll be an all-out fight between the Boys and Payback, and only one group will walk away.
Nothing like it in the World follows the origin story of Mother’s Milk and how he was given his strange codename. Born and raised in New York, Mother’s Milk grow up with a loving family. However, he and his brother had complications from Compound V. Unlike the rest of the Boys that need injections of Compound V, Mother’s Milk has Compound V in his blood. The Boys were able to recruit Mother’s Milk once his powers awaken, but not without a devasting cost.
La Plume De Ma Tante Este Sur La Table has the Frenchman narrate his past life as a legionary returning home. When the Frenchman was younger, combat in deadly warzones had given him a new outlook on life. After the war, the Frenchman would become a pacifist and try to live a life without violence. But when his sweetheart Marie falls for another man, his pacifist views will be challenged and the Frenchman will once again take up arms.
The Instant White-Hot Wild reveals the tormented past of the Female. The Female had a family history of having misfortunes and how the Female join the Boys was no better. She was just a baby when she stumbled into a mysterious chemical that would turn her into a living weapon. Years of isolation and a savage rage within herself had turned an innocent girl into a beast. The Boys did not fully tame her rage but gave it many targets to vent her blood lust.
The stories get darker and dangerous as the creative team of Garth Ennis, Darick Roberston, John McCrea and Carlos Ezquerra shock and awe comic readers. Garth Ennis continues his ultra-gritty narrative, revealing important details about the members of the Boys. The narrative has great pacing that lets the reader get involved with moment then Ennis throws in a few unexpected twists to get the readers on their toes.
The artwork pops as the stories explore the unhinged lifestyles of the superheroes. Downtime for the heroes means lots of scandalous sights, which the artists have no problem to show off. As the Boys step up their enforcement on the superheroes, clashes between the caped heroes escalate and idle threats become a reality. The action sequences are intense and gruesome, sparing no detail to get the high gore factor.
The Boys satisfies the itch for some high impact storytelling that plays up it’s mature rating. Comic fans that missed out on this collection should not miss a second time on checking on this amazing saga of superheroes being taken down a peg.