The Boys

[Jables]

IT DOESN'T COUNT! IT'S STRICTLY FOR SOLICITATION PURPOSES!!!

[Lycaon]

That's right, it doesn't count. I'm certainly not going to judge you over this...

[Jables]

So-lis-i-TAY-shun. If I'm moved enough I may even but the trades. Inna meantime Hitman at least isn't even collected in trade, so I'd otherwise have read it by now.

[Ganny McVagflaps]

It's not as great as it's made out to be...

 

:runs:

 

:runs back:

 

X-Factor owns your ass

 

:runs:

[Jables]

I'll give you that point T. I got the 1st 6 issues and it read pretty fucking sweet.

[Ganny McVagflaps]

THE BOYS ENDS AT WILDSTORM

Newsarama has learned that Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s Wildstorm series, The Boys has been cancelled by DC, effective with issue #6 of the series, which is currently on shelves. Issues #7-#10, as well as the trade collection – all of which have been solicited – will not ship.

 

DC declined to comment on the series or even confirm that the series has indeed, been canceled.

 

The series sales appear to have been healthy enough, with issue #6 seeing an estimated 27,000 copies shipping to stores in December, placing it at #81 on Diamond’s Top 300 list. For that month, only two other Wildstorm titles sold more copies, Gen13 and Midnighter. August’s issue #1 saw an estimated 31,000 copies sold.

 

The series was announced with much hoopla at last spring’s WizardWorld LA, and was heralded by Ennis here on Newsarama as the book that would “out-Preacher Preacher.” The phrase was later picked up and used on promotional posters for the series from DC, who saw it as part of the Wildstorm revitalization.

 

Robertson had perhaps the most succinct description of the series, saying: “The Boys are a team of five super-powered operatives who work for a secret department within the U.S. government. It's their job to monitor and investigate superhero behavior, they gather intelligence- i.e. dirt- on them, and occasionally to use it against them. Just as the C.I.A. has had a use for the Mafia, Sadaam Hussein, and Columbia's FARC terrorists (to name a few), so they also need superheroes. Sometimes they need them on a leash. Sometimes they have to put them down. The Boys are the people who do the job.”

 

When the series launched, readers found that little of what Ennis and Robertson was saying was hyperbole. The series was violent, rude, crude, and…essentially, what you’d expect if you put Ennis and Robertson together in a room with superheroes.

 

The series was clearly in crescendo mode in regards to content, and this was clearly seen in issue #6 when, after a super-powered individual was accidentally killed by Hughie, a hamster crawled out of…his backside.

 

While DC has published graphic violence, sexual situations, and individuals who prefer the ruder and cruder side of life (much of it with Ennis’ name attached) in the past, it has also, on a handful of occasions, pulled material from a comic it felt crossed the line. Again, DC declined to comment on the reasons behind the series cancellation. If the series was cancelled because the publisher felt it was too over the top, The Boys would be in rare company, joining Marvel/Epic’s Void Indigo by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik, which only saw one issue published before it was ended, due to content issues.

 

On a purely speculative note, The Boys is a creator-owned property, jointly owned by Ennis and Robertson. After his series, Fallen Angel was cancelled by DC, co-creator of the property Peter David was able to regain the property and move it to IDW, where it has been published since.

 

When contacted by Newsarama about the situation with the series, Robertson replied:

 

"The Boys has been canceled effectively with issue #6.

 

"It became obvious that DC was not the right home for The Boys. DC is being good about reverting our rights so we can find a new publisher and we're in the process of doing that now. I'm continuing to work exclusively for DC in the meantime. I want to thank Scott Dunbier and Ben Abernathy at Wildstorm for all their hard work."

 

Motherfuckers. Just as the ball got rolling. I wonder what exactly happened in those solicited issues. I guess this is another case of "Sex Detective" censorship. Let's hope they get this baby over to Avatar fast (or even MAX..that'd be ideal, although Avatar can have more extreme content) so we can see where this series was going.

 

Any bets that Superman is gonna take it up the ass for the next 3 arcs....?

[Jables]

fucking cuntrag pieces of shit.

 

I had early doubts, I'll admit, but this really did come into it's own, & I messaged Nick when I read #6, saying it's the most touching Ennis stuff I've read since Preacher.

 

This is bullshit. FuckaJimLee.

[The NZA]

Agreed, what bullshit. Pussies.

 

This book was just taking off, and yeah, skeet was right about six getting sentimental - again, fucka2T, this was reminding me of Hitman in that its extremen and all yeah, but its touching moments were (potentially, in this case) great.

 

No real reason for the pull, just that it was too much for them? What were they expecting? Fuck, i hope Avatar or someone gets this, 303 was great and didnt care who was watching.

[Newtype]

Okay, you waited all weekend like good children. So what did happen with "The Boys" then?

 

This relatively-new creator-owned mature readers series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson published by Wildstorm told the stories of a group of people whose lives had been destroyed by superheroes and were taken government-sanctioned acts of revenge. It also portrayed said superheroes, filling the roles of familiar DC icons, as sexual and moral deviants. Quite right too.

 

In the past, DC Comics have not taken kindly to their DC icons being abused in such a way, especially publicly. There is still a major grudge at the company towards Joe Quesada over sexually derogatory comments he made about Superman and Batman in a newspaper. The series "The Authority" from Wildstorm was repeatedly neutered after it gained mainstream publicity over Mark Millar's use of the Superman and Batman archetypes, and gay couple, Apollo and Midnighter. But "The Boys" hadn't yet received such publicity - so what was the issue?

 

Well, it wasn't sales. Ex-Wildstorm and Authority editor John Layman wrote as much on Millarworld "I guarantee you it had nothing to do with sales and everything to do with content." Indeed, sales have been good, the book has been outperforming most other Wildstorm titles and issues 4 and 5 has seen the usual decline of sales reverse and start heading up. This looked like a book with a strong future ahead of it. And indeed, it still does. Just not at DC.

 

Last year, LITG reported that #3 of "The Boys" was slightly delayed from Wildstorm's end due to content worries - and whether or not Paul Levitz would allow the book to be published. It seems clear that there had been some issues regarding the title, promoted as "out-preachering Preacher", a book from Ennis that Levitz had previously described as not to his taste. Of course, Preacher was DC-superhero-archetype free. After internal pressure at DC, the book was passed. But this event put the title more onto Levitz's radar.

 

At the beginning on January, the decision came down to cancel the book due to content issues in material that had been printed, combined with the likelihood of those issues getting worse and worse. Specifically, presenting DC superhero archetypes in a severely immoral fashion. As a result, a move to Vertigo wasn't on the cards either.

 

I learnt about the decision shortly afterwards, but was asked to keep quiet, so as to smooth over the transition from DC to another publisher. Although the book is creator owned, such contracts at DC make it almost impossible for a book to leave DC without the publisher's agreement. "Fallen Angel" and "2020 Visions" did, "Skreemer" and "Epicurus The Sage" didn't. And it was feared that comics press publicity of the situation could affect the ease of transition. And hey, I liked "The Boys" a lot. However with the expected date for #7 creeping nearer and nearer (indeed, Diamond's shipping status still has it listed for this week, at time of print) and with a number of people coming to me with the news, the situation was becoming untenable. Newsarama broke the news on Wednesday.

 

So which home for "The Boys"? What about Marvel? Garth Ennis has a good history with their MAX line (though Darick's has been quite unfortunate). And the Icon line might also suit a creator owned property and has similarly few issues with extreme content.However, part of DC's agreeing to readily release the creator-owned book, is that it not move to Marvel. DC also wouldn't be happy with Darick Robertson, under an exclusive DC agreement, working for Marvel either.

 

Currently the two favourite options are Dyamite and Avatar, but there are quite a few other names ratcheting up. This is a publishing property quite a lot of people are going to fight over. But with so much paperwork at DC still to go through, it's going to take some time to come out the other side.

 

Darick Robertson has been working in advance on this title - which initially allowed the book to publish fortnightly, and the current four week schedule - and is currently inking #9 and #10. Which should also give Darick a little breathing space to fit in his DC commitments wherever the book lands.

 

The whole situation does seem rather rough on Wildstorm. After the "Authority" conflicts died down, they turned a corner with DC, behaved like good little soldiers, did DC's bidding, but seemingly with little in return. With constant pressure to create a hit, when they do, they find it chopped down to protect a brand that no one else even saw being threatened.

 

Expect a big meeting between DC and Wildstorm personnel very shortly to try and resolve the issues - or put them out of their misery.

 

 

Fucking DC

[The NZA]

who makes a contract so that when they get sensitive, they can can you and say who you cant go work for? jesus.

 

waitin for an update here, this property cant sit without a home too long.

[Ganny McVagflaps]

Y'd think Garth woulda learnt his lesson after the Sex Detectives was killed. He shoulda went to Icon with it. They let Fury open say cunt and fuck blondes...no asians! in an orgerific manor.

 

I guess Darrick was the reason behind the WS move. If Joey Q bought off his contract...

[The NZA]

its true tho, darick gets little love at Marvel. Poor Deathlok.

[Ganny McVagflaps]

Yeah I was psyched about that too.

[Ganny McVagflaps]

It's back on!

 

Newsarama has learned that Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's The Boys will return to print shortly, this time, under the Dynamite Entertainment banner.

 

According to sources, Ennis and Robertson were contacted by many publishers when the news broke that their creator-owned series would no longer be published by Wildstorm, and at the end of the day, the best deal was struck with Dynamite. DC Comics, of which Wildstorm is an imprint, has apparently released the property to the creators, which will allow them to take it to the new home. Finally, Robertson, while exclusive to DC Comics, has already said that his contract allows him to pursue creator-owned work, which will include The Boys at its new home.

 

When reached for comment, Dynamite's Nick Barrucci told Newsarama:

 

"The Boys are at Dynamite. We are putting together our plans, and will give more information as soon as possible. In addition to Garth and Darick, I would like to thank DC Comics and everyone at Wildstorm Comics who helped to make the transition a smooth one for Garth and Darick. I also want to thank the fans who so vocally made their support known over the last few weeks and I ask them to stay tuned for news on the continuation. I promise it will be worth the wait, as Garth and Darick continue to deliver their vision of The Boys."

 

Judging from the latest sales numbers, after the move and if its DC numbers hold relatively steady, The Boys will be one of Dynamite's best-selling titles, as December's issue #6, Wildstorm's final issue, sold an estimated 27,000 copies, which is in the same ballpark as Dynamite's Red Sonja. Ennis and Robertsoin have said that they plan for the series to run roughly 60 issues - approximately five years.

 

No word was given on when Dynamite expects to resume publication of the series, or release the first trade paperback, which had already been solicited by Wildstorm. Dynamite did confirm for Newsarama that it will keep the cover price of The Boys at $2.99.

 

Hopefully it'll resume quickly.

[Jables]

YEEEEEESSSSS!!!! Does anyone know anything about Dynamite? Whether they'll mess with the formula Darrick & Garth have? By the previous articles posted & based on the short sharp shock of things, it sounds like the next few issues are in the can & ready to roll, so I guess this'll answer the editing question.

[Newtype]

[The NZA]

God bless em.

 

I looked up Dynamite - their info's here - they seem alright, they do the Army of Darkness stuff and crossover with Marvel and Image both, havent been around much but clearly lookin to make a name for themselves and dont seem to shy away, so i dont see why they'd fight for this title just to edit it, forcing the team to again jump ship - and they would.

 

Great news all around, just waiting on a release date - i guess i oguhta be greatful wildstorm let them finish the first arc before this mess started.

[Ganny McVagflaps]

When Garth Ennis speaks we listen - cleek for his first post-cancellation interview.

[The NZA]

Great link, 2T, thanks man.

This right here, this is what should be on the next poster/hype segment:

 

ENNIS: That’s in issue 6. I think once they had a chance to read the whole thing, the damage was done long before issue 6. If I could just guess at a couple of things, there’s an orgy sequence in issue 4, there’s a sequence in issue 3 where a girl has to effectively blow her way onto a superteam. Things like that did the real damage long before any hamsters appeared

 

PS i listen to Ennis so hard, im thinkin bout readin the books he referenced, Ellroy's American Tabloid and The cold six thousand.

[The NZA]

OH MY GOD ENNIS CAME TO HONDO'S mebbe

 

I found the response to the announcement that The Boys was being cancelled quite interesting. Going online and looking at message boards, which is something I never do. It was interesting. It wouldn’t necessarily encourage me to do it again, because we’re talking about thoroughly exceptional circumstances here. But it helped to see that the book was working, that there was a definite base of support for it. You see sales figures but that’s just a number.

fine, he prolly just stopped at newsarama but i can dream.

 

im gonna end up quoting the whole fucking thing at this rate. Anyway, this bit really interested me, having read a lot of Ennis' interviews:

 

ENNIS: You’ll learn more about them as you go. You won’t learn everything right away. We’ll peel back the layers a little bit at a time while involving the characters in ongoing adventures. I have to say that with The Boys it was the first time I consciously sat down deliberately determined to write a 60 chapter graphic novel. I decided from the word go—a little arrogant, but I did it—[that] this is going to last five years. Ironic in the light of what happened, but I thought, this is going to last five years, 60 issues, it’s going to be 8 to 10 books, it’s going to last, and I have to think about each episode of it, not as a stand alone issue, but as a chapter of a story. With Preacher and Hitman I couldn’t really do that because, frankly, I had no idea they were going to last. This is the first time I’ve really been able to do that. In the case of the other two, I had a rough idea of where things were going. With this I have a definite sense of the book developing as it goes, sort of at its own damn pace really.

 

so, about as long as Hitman and Preacher, that's really cool to hear.

oh, fuck! he talks about an upcoming western min and even addresses City of Lights and the Preacher TV thing...fuck it, just read the link.

[Iambaytor]

waitin for an update here, this property cant sit without a home too long.

 

I don't know, didn't Rifleman's Brigade suffer a similar fate? Or did he just get tired of doing it? I can't remember.

[The NZA]

Nah, he just knocked out 2 minis and was done with it, he does that a lot, between Just a Pilgrim, Bloody Mary etc, i mean there's only so much story to tell on books like that.

 

Biggest Ennis letdown to this day, City of Lights delays aside ("One day...") is DC's continuing lack of Hitman TPBs, tehy barely made it halfway through the series. Eventually, some company's gonna offer affordable comic binding or some shit before they do, cause this is such bullshit, i know its not a popular series but it one an Eisner, yet Blue Beetle and Plastic Man can get trades. I stopped writing/requesting DC years back when they never responded.

[Newtype]

It's about fucking time this damn book came out and I finally got my hands on the trade as well.

[Jables]

There a date for this yet?

[Ganny McVagflaps]

The new issue is out, and sadly so am I for saturday.

 

I'm guessing the trade is out too.