Thanks to Dynamite Entertainment's newly announced oversized omnibuses, The Boys are back in town. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's landmark series has been collected in multiple formats before, but the new release will put the 90-issue run in three giant books. The news comes as the successful Amazon adaptation prepares to release its third season this summer.
The Boys is the story of Hugh "Wee Hughie" Campbell, who joins a clandestine CIA team tasked with monitoring the community of superpowered humans or "supes." Initially published under DC's Wildstorm imprint, the series was moved to Dynamite after DC canceled the series over its anti-superhero themes. Aside from its frank commentary on the comics industry, The Boys was also notable for its graphic violence, sexual content and stark nihilism. Amazon premiered an adaptation in 2019 to critical acclaim, and it seems like Dynamite is taking the new love of the franchise into account.
As revealed by ICv2, Dynamite is releasing a new line of deluxe collected editions for the The Boys. Not only will the release of the new omnibuses lead up to the upcoming season of the Amazon series, but the new collection arrives just in time to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic. The books will come in a 7.4 by 11 inch format and include a dust jacket. Aside from collecting the first 30 issues of The Boys over 800 pages, the first collection will also come with extra features such as script excerpts and a variant cover gallery. The book will sell for $99.99 but premium editions signed by Ennis and Robertson will also be available.
While far from the largest omnibus ever published, the new line is the densest collection for the series so far. Aside from the twelve trade paperbacks collecting the initial run, The Boys received a "Definitive Edition" of six omnibuses published from 2008 to 2014. The new release demonstrates the confidence Dynamite has in the series now that the adaptation has brought in numbers that rival Netflix's best shows.
Despite the more nuanced and less extreme take of Amazon's live-action version, it's a smart move for Dynamite to capitalize on the overall popularity of the franchise. Dynamite also brought Ennis back to create the epilogue miniseries The Boys: Dear Becky in anticipation for the series' second season. While the new collections don't add anything new to the world of The Boys, they provide an opportunity for fans of the adaptation to check out the source material in one giant, convenient location. The first oversized volume of The Boys will be available in stores April 27 from Dynamite Entertainment.
Source: ICv2