The Boys # 7, Silver Surfer: Requiem # 1, Silent War # 5

The Boys # 7
Garth Ennis-Darick Robertson

The Boys are BACK! After a long hiatus, after proving to dangerous for DC to carry, the Boys are back on Dynamite. Issue seven is the start of a new arc, so it's not too late to jump in. Plus I believe the trade collecting the entire DC run of six issues is out there also to buy, so there's really no excuse not to be in on the ground floor here.

What in god's name is The Boys? It's a book about a group of good for nothing arse-kickers, who blackmail and beat up a bunch of good for nothing pervert superheroes. At least that's what we've got so far. But here we are in issue seven, and we're still really setting the cast and setting. Given that Ennis has said this is going to be a long project like the Preacher series, the setup of this series is building to something epic. But it appears patience is what is needed right now.

This issue gives us further development of Hughie, who is pretty much the focus of the book to this point. As well as shading a little bit towards bigger things with the Frenchmen and the Female. All of this is given around more spewed Ennis venom towards the superhero genre, it's fans, and it's creators. I'm not nearly smart enough to know what all the references mean, but either way, this book is chock full of them. It's a very biting and angry book to this point, and I think what a lot of people including myself are waiting for now, is the other shoe to drop, and Ennis to start putting in some of his romanticism that has won so many of our hearts over the years. I have faith that it's coming. Just looking logically at the plot threads he's laying out, it would appear almost certain it's coming. This is just taking a long time to really get there. Lots of subtle buildup in a book that is very loud on the surface.

I'm just saying, you need to be reading this now, even though I'm not giving it the most stirring recommendation, because I'm almost certain this is going to end up in a book that you are going to want to buy all the trades of, and you don't want to wait until you're like five trades behind. We're talking simple economics here. Spread out the burden of this book on your wallet. It will be worth it.

Silver Surfer: Requiem # 1
J. Michael Straczynski-Esad Ribic

Okay. So this book actually made me cry reading it. Twice. And whether I am bitter at JMS about Spider-man or not, I pretty much have to review a comic that moves me to tears. Especially since I don't actually like any of the characters involved.

No this book isn't perfect. JMS is overly wordy in a lot of it. His language overly flowery to the point of embarrassment in more than a few places. But I guess if you chuck enough pretty words over the just beautiful paintings of Esad Ribic, you're bound to knock one out of the park. And that's what happens here. There is a scene here with The Silver Surfer and Sue Storm of the Fantastic Four, that almost had me bawling it was so sad. The way JMS chose to have it related with the painting, but narration by Johnny Storm, who like a child doesn't get the weight of what he's actually describing, is just completely beautiful.

The other part that made me tear up was to do with the way JMS described the Surfer's outlook to his impending situation. Which again, succeeded because of it's child-like innocence in dealing with a very heavy subject.

This book doesn't take place in continuity, so it's not imperative to read to get some portion of a major event. But it is a beautiful reminder of the power of the medium, even when it involves silver guys on surfboards who can travel through space and shoot things with beams that come out of their hands. Or does it sound silly when I say it that way? Either way. Good read. Worth it if nothing else for Ribic's paintings.

Silent War # 5
David Hine-Frazier Irving

Yeah so I am in on this really late. Issue five of six. I sort of wish I had kept up with it. Though I'm not a huge fan of the Inhumans. But the premise is basically that the Inhumans, who are this race of people who live on the other side of the moon, are really made at the american government for stealing this sacred thing of theirs which gives them their powers. So they declare war against the US. But it's nothing as overt as Civil War really. And yada yada, fruition, explosions, fun times.

The story itself is alright. I came in so late, there wasn't a ton of hope that I'd be really engaged into that aspect of it. But Frazier Irving...WOW. I've never seen a book that looks like this. It's really amazing and remarkable. The cover doesn't do the art inside any justice. It's just some of the coolest stuff you'll see. That's the reason to pick up this book. Probably I'll even get it in trade. This is definitely an artist to keep track of and buy books of solely because he's working on them.