The Boys - Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker (Vol. 10): v. 10

This is definitely not the sort of book that the casual browser is going to pick up from the shelf and buy and yet if they did they wouldn't be too disappointed. The whole book is the back story of Butcher from his childhood in the East End to the formation of The Boys. If you know nothing of The Boys you could still enjoy most of this dark story of abuse and warfare both military and domestic. If you're a fan of the series you're going to buy it and you won't be sorry.

This is Butcher's background story, part of which is background of real war but, as he usually seems to do, Ennis manages it with no glorification, rather a great deal of respect for the people who have actually done it. Butcher's grandfather's single sentence is an outstanding moment.For me Butcher has become a really well thought out character, not just a recycling of wafer thin superhero/villain clichés of righteous vengeance. It turns out it isn't just a case of him being capable & justified in his coldblooded vengeance simply because his targets did something similar, he actually seems capable of doing it because he's pretty close to a psychopath. The genetic bit of his psychopathy is from his father but it requires an environmental trigger to tip him & his brother, mother & wife gave him the environment he needed to control it. But without that environment then his genetic traits are beyond his control, so is he really responsible for his own (unjustifiably nasty) actions? It just poses some really interesting questions.I honestly think Garth Ennis has made a very important contribution to the comic book canon with The Boys, but I would recommend stating at the beginning of the series rather than jumping in here.

The Boys is an outstanding series, very explicit so keep this as far away from your kids as you can! but its high quality storytelling.

The Boys is my favourite current series and Garth Ennis is my favourite writer. This volume is a typically gritty tale of Billy Butcher's life before and leading up to The Boys. Its a great book and well above most stuff around at the moment. That said, this (and the previous two volumes) is really starting to feel a bit like filler.Brilliant, well-written, well-drawn filler; but filler nonetheless. Anyone following the series has been waiting for the big final showdown between the Seven and The Boys, and when this seemed a certainty we have suddenly had an entire volume of Hughie back in Scotland, a volume mainly comprised of Mallory's past and now this, the history of Butcher. I understand that this is a sort of spin-off miniseries (as was Highland Laddie) but it is sold as volume 10 of The Boys which implies you need it to complete the story.Still gets four stars because like I said its a great book in its own right, however the first seven volumes get 5 stars from me so the last three have been a low point in the series by those incredibly high standards.Come on Garth, lets have the conclusion to this awesome series, no more back stories please!!!!!!

as in preacher, some of garths' graphic novels, as part of a series, can be read as a stand alone story. preacher, book 7 (jesse becomes a sheriff of a small town and "puts things right") can be read as a stand alone and so can this.....along with highland laddie (but this is much better) this is essentially the story of butcher, parts of his history have been hinted at earlier on in the series but this is the one i was waiting for. this is the last story to be told of the history of each of the boys and is by far the best.....enjoy!

Each instalment of this series leaves you wanting more, looking forward to re-reading this over a long weekend in the summer sun.believable characters is the key to the story, once you suspend you disbelief to include supes in your world you really can't expect the reader to then buy into unrealistic characters as well or ridiculous plot driving events just to get to the money shot.

One of the best GN series I have read. Up there with The Preacher ! Great story and great art work.

Great series of books. But only suitable for mature readers. Item was in good condition

I have the whole series. Garth Ennis is brilliant. The art-work is brilliant. I would definitely recommend it to everyone who likes reading graphic novels

This Volume collects issues #1-6 of a Billy Butcher mini series just dedicated to Burcher which is the life and blood of the boys! Great story telling and awesome backround on the best character ever created!

As much as I love Garth Ennis' The Boys, I'll be the first to admit that the past couple volumes of the series haven't been as great as the first few of the series. All that being said, Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker is a spectacular read, and a brilliant origin story of Billy Butcher. Collecting the six-issue mini-series, this volume details the tragic early youth and soldier years of the future leader of The Boys, leading up to meeting his eventual wife Becky, and the horror to unfold in the years afterwards. Like the series has pretty much always been, Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker is a bloody, brilliant, and darkly hilarious trip. Darick Robertson's artwork is still bloody brilliant as well, but it's Ennis' trademark writing and fully fleshing out the Butcher we all know and love that really makes this a winner. Oh yeah, the final panels of this collection make it worth picking up in itself.

Wieder ein Garth Ennis Schmuckstück! Es macht aber keinen Sinn, jedes einzelne Comic zu bewerten, da es auch keinen Sinn macht nur einzelne Comics der Serie zu lesen! Es handelt sich um eine fortlaufende Geschichte die sich über die gesamten 12 Ausgaben erstreckt - also entweder alle oder keinen!Die Story - Eine superpowered CIA Squad überwacht das verhalten der Superhelden, die durch Ihre Mächte alle korrupte A-Löcher sind und sorgt dafür das diese sich benehmen.Wie für Ennis üblich - mit übertriebenen Gewaltdarstellungen, sexueller Freizügigkeit und jede Menge schwarzem Humor!

This series is getting better and better, this one is all about teh back story to Butcher, no spoilers but if you are up to date with the series you can kinda guess what happens in the end. But it does a good job of showing a gentle side to him and then why he is the way he is. Like most of the back stories though, the edition is not as long as the main story editions.Its kicking off though...