Broken Frontier

Hughie teams up with a Russian former superhero in order to stop a corrupt plan to unleash a supervillain army on Russia.

Writer Garth Ennis continues his no-holds-barred run on this series, wrapping up a story arc with a political bent and more than a few possible future repercussions for the Boys.

With the rest of the group still recovering from being poisoned, only Hughie and The Boys’ Russian contact Vas are in any shape to stop the widening plot to unleash supervillains on Russia and change the political climate. With Vas back in his superhero costume he and Hughie hit the Russian mafia and set off after the mob boss Little Nina. Little do they realize that Butcher has already set a contingency plan in motion… Once Butcher recovers he’s immensely pleased, seeing as they now have the American corporation that runs many of the supers over a barrel. Or have they?

What, really, can be said about The Boys? The title continues on its well laid out path of violence, sex, and political corruption. There are more than a few funny bits here – such as Vas’s superhero name and the way Ennis uses the character to turn the comic book staple of sexualizing female characters on its head – but Ennis’s tale is still violent, gritty and cynical. One redeeming factor is that readers once again get to see Hughie as probably the most balanced member of the team. He is not violent for its own sake and takes no pleasure in being a figure of terror. With the political complexity of this entire story arc, however, unless you have been reading this from the start then you will likely find yourself completely lost.

The art by Darick Robertson is also of the comic book realism style, which renders some of the more violent scenes… well… violent. He obviously, however, has a ball depicting all of the different characters with their vast range of faces, body types, and characteristics.

The humor here ranges from dark to sophomoric, the tone is bitterly cynical, and "justice" depends on your point of view and level of violence. While The Boys has its place and its voice in the comic medium it is an acquired taste. For those who like their heroes on the anti-heroic side and for those who enjoy humor that has a bit of a knife thrust to it then there will be something here for them.