Who could have guessed in 2006 that The Boys would become a franchise on television? Not DC Comics, which cancelled the title after 6 issues. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic found a second home at Dynamite Entertainment, where the creative team could pursue their vision for this violent and darkly humorous series that was concluded in 2012, after 72 issues and three six-issue limited series.
But who are the Boys? You may know them from Amazon Prime Video’s television adaptation. They are a team of vigilantes led by Billy Butcher who work for the CIA to keep an eye on the superhero community. Like the superheroes they worked so hard to stop, they are messed-up people. The story begins when Wee Hughie (based on Simon Pegg) watches his girlfriend get killed by a superhero who doesn’t care about collateral damage. Butcher invites Hughie to join his team in the US and teaches him everything he needs to know about the origin of superheroes and how they are propaganda for a failed military consortium.
The Boys is a satirical comic filled with violence, dark humor, Marvel and DC references, and even an Animal House storyline. At its heart, it’s about the evolution of Hughie and Butcher. Like a classic Garth Ennis comic, it’s full of rage, violence, and dark, twisted humor, interesting characters and pure emotion.
With The Boys celebrating its 20th anniversary and the series returning for its final season, now is the perfect time to revisit the comic book. Explore the various editions available with our The Boys Reading Guide and read the story between episodes of the adaptation (or one of its spin-offs!).
The Boys Comics Collection
Reading digitally? You can buy all the issues of The Boys on Dynamite Digital or on Amazon.
The Boys Oversized Omnibus Collection: 15th Anniversary
To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of The Boys (5 years ago!), Dynamite Entertainment reprinted The Boys in an oversized, three-volume, dust-jacketed hardcover edition. Only missing from this collection is Dear Becky. The limited series was released at some point in hardcover, but at a standard size.
- The Boys Oversized Omnibus Vol. 1
Collects The Name of the Game, Get Some, Cheery, Glorious Five Year Plan, Good for the Soul, I Tell you No lie, GI and We Gotta Go Now, covers and bonus material - The Boys Oversized Omnibus Vol. 2
Collects The Boys (2006) #31-47, The Boys: Herogasm #1-6, The Boys: Highland Laddie #1-6, along with a complete cover gallery. - The Boys Oversized Omnibus Vol. 3
Collects The Boys #48-72, plus the mini-series The Boys: Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker.
The Boys Omnibus Edition
The Boys Omnibuses are a smaller, standard-sized paperback books, collecting two paperbacks into one volume. Like the oversized edition, Dear Becky is not part of the collection
- The Boys Omnibus Vol. 1
Collects The Name of the Game (#1–6) & Get Some (#7–10). - The Boys Omnibus Vol. 2
Collects Good for the Soul (#15–22) & We Wanna Go Now. - The Boys Omnibus Vol. 3
Collects Herogasm & The Self-Preservation Society. - The Boys Omnibus Vol. 4
Collects The Innocents & Highland Laddie. - The Boys Omnibus Vol. 5
Collects The Big Ride & Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker. - The Boys Omnibus Vol. 6
Collects Over the Hill with the Sword of a Thousand Men & The Bloody Doors Off.
To accompany the launch of the adaptation series, the collection was also reprinted with a photo cover from the series.
The Boys: Standard trade paperback collections
- The Name of the Game
Collects The Boys #1–6 - Get Some
Collects The Boys #7–14 (“Get Some” and “Glorious Five Year Plan” story-arcs). - Good for the Soul
Collects The Boys #15–22 (Good For The Soul” and “I Tell You No Lie G.I.” story arcs). - We Gotta Go Now
Collects The Boys #23–30 (“We Gotta Go Now” story-arc).- Cassidy from Preacher makes a cameo appearance in issue #27.
Originally presented as the first spin-off miniseries of the Boys, Herogasm is set between issues #30 and #31 and focuses on the Boys as they infiltrate the famous annual party for superheroes that is simply a drunken, drug fuelled Orgy.
- Herogasm
Collects Herogasm #1–6 - The Self-Preservation Society
Collects The Boys #31–38 (“The Self-Preservation Society”, “Nothing Like It in the World”, “La Plume De Ma Tante Est Sur La Table” and “The Female of the Species Is More Deadly Than the Male”).- Nothing Like It in the World is Mother’s Milk origin story.
- La Plume De Ma Tante Est Sur La Table is Frenchman’s origin story
- The Female of the Species Is More Deadly Than the Male is the secret origin of the Boys’ most mysterious member.
- The Innocents
Collects The Boys #39–47 (“What I Know”, and “The Innocents” and “Believe” story-arcs).
Highland Laddie is The Boys’ second spin-off and takes place between issues #47 and #48. After discovering who Annie really is, Hughie takes a break from the Boys to return to his hometown on the Scottish coast. Stories from this series were continued in “Dear Becky.”
- Highland Laddie
Collects Highland Laddie #1–6.- Issue #4 is Starlight’s origin story.
- The Big Ride
Collects The Boys #48–59 (“Proper Preparation and Planning”, “Barbary Coast” and “The Big Ride” story-arcs).
With The Boys coming to an end soon, it was time to reveal Billy Butcher’s origin story. Set between issues #59 and #60, Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker focuses on the Boys’ leader as he reflects on his past and the events that shaped him.
- Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker
Collects Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker #1–6 (miniseries). - Over the Hill with the Sword of a Thousand Men
Collects The Boys #60–65 (“Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men” story-arc). - The Bloody Doors Off
Collects The Boys #66–72 (“The Bloody Doors Off” story-arc and “You Found Me”).
The Boys concluded in 2012. Eight years later, alongside the second season of its television adaptation, Dear Becky was released. It was presented as an extended epilogue. The story reconnects with Hughie twelve years later as he struggles with the trauma of his time with the Boys and learns more about Butcher’s past.
- Dear Becky
Collects Dear Becky #1-8