Summary
When viewers watchThe Boysfor the first time, comic book fans might be surprised at the amount of shock factor the series has on top of its riveting storyline. After all,The Boystells the story of how revered superheroes are slowly revealed to be corrupt to the core, and what a group of individuals is doing to try and stop them. With this in mind, fans of bothDC ComicsandMarvelmight be surprised how these kinds of storylines aren’t always present in the stories of both hit publishers.
Surprisingly enough, there are a lot of more mature, much darkercomic books similar toThe Boysthat may or may not touch the subject of superheroes. Some of these stories may come fromDC ComicsandMarvelthemselves, while others come from other publishers.
Updated on July 19th, 2024, by Rhenn Taguiam:As Season 4 of The Boys shows a more dangerous world with Homelander and newcomers Sister Sage and Firecracker free to act with no one to stop them, it’s up to Billy Butcher and The Boys to stop these out-of-control Supes - if they somehow find a way to reconcile, anyway. While this season’s progression sees more desperate members across both sides, the reveal that Season 5 is the last season of the series means there’s not going to be a lot of material similar to The Boys after the series ends. Thankfully, the realm of comic books has no shortage of works which have a similar theme to what The Boys offers. Some suggestions among must-read stories include a town where its children have started to go missing, a take on World War 2 with superheroes, a post-apocalyptic story of humans fulfilling their most malicious actions, and the definitive Joker story, all of which have been added to this list in its latest update.
August 2019 to Present
Publisher
Boom! Studios
The title ofSomething Is Killing The Childrenis as unsettling as its premise: the children of Archer’s Peak go missing, with no one having any clue as to where they went or if they are even alive. It doesn’t help that these incidents coincide with sightings of shadowy creatures responsible for their abduction. For monster hunter Erica Slaughter, the children didn’t go missing - they’re being killed by these very nightmares the people of Archer’s Peak refuse to believe in.
While the mention of Erica Slaughter gives the impression thatSomething Is Killing The Childrenis yet another series with the tired trope ofthe “seasoned monster hunter,”the accompanied badassery of Erica seems a must-have against the sheer visciousness of the monsters she’s facing. Gore and brutality are mainstays in the story, and some visceral scenes involving children paint a bleak picture of the town. Erica slowly unravels the sinister threat to Archer’s Peak through pages of psychological thrills and dark drama, with the grit of the teeth drawn on Erica’s bandana face mask sometimes the only welcome sight amid the tired eyes of hopeless parents and the hungry eyes of those beings lurking in the shadows.
March 2013 to October 2018
Avatar Press
While World War 2 being a backdrop to comics isn’t new,Ubersets the bar for being perhaps the most visceral and brutal take for a comic book story set in this historical era. Set during the height of World War 2,Uberdepicts a world where the Third Reich used superhumans called Ubers to tip the scales of the global conflict in their favor. While the Allied nations eventually developed their own superhumans, the war escalated to a point where heavy casualties were expected whenever the two sides clashed.
Despite a middling reception regarding its art and story,Uberis recognizable to comic book readers for its graphic depictions of extreme violence. Dismemberment is light in the context of horrors that the Ubers can commit throughout the story’s version of World War 2. Additionally, the story’s take on moral ambiguity at war has painted a rather bleak future for its unfinished story.
September 2008 to March 2010
Among the iconic traits ofThe Boysis its satirical portrayal of superheroes out of control, with many supes using their powers for unsavory activities and no one powerful enough to stand up to them. This concept is hyper-realized inCrossed, a post-apocalyptic story of a human society ravaged by a virus that unleashes humanity’s most evil thoughts. Its main villains are the Crossed, carriers of the virus, recognizable for the cross-like rash on their faces. The story ofCrossedhappens across different arcs, both standalone and featuring recurring characters, that explore how humanity struggled to adapt to these monstrous killers.
Unlike typicalzombie-esque stories, the Crossed are characterized by the retention of all their skills pre-infection, but are now overridden by their transformation into deranged psychopaths. Much of the story’s shock factor is tied into how Crossed will go out of their way to realize these desires, to the point of even inflicting self-mutilation to achieve satisfaction. With a Crossed’s bodily fluids capable of infection, human survivors struggle not just with their interpersonal relationships, but with fighting a threat that can still think the same way humans do - only with no hesitation about killing for fun.
DC Comics
While Batman’s and the Joker’s relationship has become a popular anchor in theCaped Crusader’s best stories, no other story featuring the two has had the same intensity and divisiveness asBatman: The Killing Joke. Conceptualized as a one-shot interpretation of the Joker’s origin, creators Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, and John Higgins createdThe Killing Joketo prove that Batman and Joker are “mirror images” who interpret a tragedy in two drastically different ways. It’sThe Killing Jokewhich showed and eventually popularized a version of the Joker’s origin as a failed comedian whose misfortunes simply caused him to snap.
However, the story’s more recognizable and criticized aspect is how the Joker’s origins are juxtaposed with the present. Set to the backdrop of Batman wanting to make amends with the Joker, the discovery of Commissioner Gordon being kidnapped transforms into a race against time that will test Batman’s morals. While fans may already know how the story leads up to the tragic assault on Barbara Gordon,The Killing Jokeforces readers to make their interpretations of the deeper relationship between The Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime.
1990 to 1991
King Hell Press
Fans ofThe Boysinterested in reading a more gruesome take on superhero satire may want to giveBrat Packa shot. However, whereasThe Boysuses a lot of shock value and goreto cement its appeal,Brat Packemphasizes exploring various issues tied to the superhero genre, including violence, commercialism, fascist tendencies, and even sexuality. Part and parcel to the creation ofBrat Packwas the poll sent toBatmanfans that led to the death of Jason Todd, which is what the introduction ofBrat Packalluded to.
The plot begins when the villain Dr. Blasphemy calls a vote from the public for the public execution of the sidekicks of the Black October, a quartet of superheroes defending Slumburg, Pennsylvania. When the sidekicks are inevitably killed off, four (4) children take their place, with their respective mentors systematically breaking down each sidekick to completely do their bidding. Perhaps more interesting is that the five-issue miniseries has a different ending exclusive both to the trade paperback andBrat Pack 5, making both worth the read for interested fans.
1988 to 2013, 2019 to 2020
DC Comics, Vertigo, Titan Books, DC Black Label
While John Constantine first appeared as a supernatural investigator inSwamp Thing, fanfare allowed him to gain his own series in 1988. Aptly namedHellblazer, John Constantine was introduced as a supernatural detective who did morally-questionable things for the greater good, often leaving a blaze of hell in his wake. While he did take measures to protect his friends and family from being targeted by his enemies, anyone who knows Constantine is almost inevitably put in harm’s way.
Fans of DC Universeworks who want to remain grounded in the setting while exploring a darker setting may appreciateHellblazer. While still set in the same universe, barely any superheroes appear except for fringe characters dealing with the supernatural. In turn, John Constantine frequently encountered magician Zatanna, the supernatural Phantom Stranger,Dream of the Endless, and even Swamp Thing.
1995 to 2000
Vertigo
It’s often known that Vertigo is the DC Comics imprint where the darker stories lie, and such is the case ofPreacher. This 1995 story narrates the life of the preacher Jesse Custer, based in the small town of Annville in Texas. After an incident that forces him to be possessed by the supernatural creature Genesis, his church is flattened and his entire congregation is killed in the process. However, it’s soon discovered that Genesis is an offspring of an angel and a demon, potentially making it - and Jesse - perhaps the most powerful entity in the universe.
After learning that God abandoned Heaven after the birth of Genesis, Jesse left Annville to search for the entity literally. In turn, Jesse eventually encounters various organizations and entities with a vested interest in his capabilities, including the Grail which aims to protect the bloodline of Jesus, and even theliteral Angel of Death.
1997 to 2002
Helix, Vertigo
Not all gritty comics involve superheroes or extremely powerful beings in all-out battles, asTransmetropolitangives people a taste of how Vertigo mayhandle a cyberpunk story.In it, retired gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem is forced to once more descend into the City to write his two overdue books and do coverages on various subjects, elaborating on the impact of two presidencies in the region, the so-called preceding “the Beast” and the current leader “the Smiler.”
What’s perhaps interesting aboutTransmetropolitanis how it tackles commentary on various subjects from the perspective of an equally-questionable protagonist. Spider himself is as sarcastic and broken as he is brilliant, and his wild approach to his subjects makes him unpredictably entertaining for readers.
2013 to 2016
Perhaps the most known example of a “dark” take on superheroics,Injustice: Gods Among Usis definitely a worthy read for superhero fans interested in a different take on the most popular heroes of DC Comics. WithGods Among Uscreated specifically to tie into the NetherRealm game series, the comics begin with the Joker devising a plan to drive Superman to madness. He does so using fear toxin and stolen Kryptonite, tricking Superman into thinking he’s fighting Doomsday when in fact he was fighting an unconscious Lois. With Lois’s death triggering a bomb that destroyed Metropolis, the Joker succeeded in his mission. However, Superman retaliates by killing the Clown Prince of Crime.
In his grief, Superman demands “all violence” worldwide to stop or he will personally do so. This resulted in a more draconian Justice League, eventually leading to a world government practically controlled by the League. This encounter resulted in Batman and Superman growing increasingly at odds, eventually leading to Batman creating the Insurgency composed ofsome powerful DC heroesto stop the Man of Steel.
1986 to 1987
Perhaps the reward for the most iconic comic to ever start the “subversive, gritty, and real” trend in comic book stories would be given to Alan Moore’sWatchmen.Home to memorable symbols such as the iconic smiley pin and thebluer-than-blue Doctor Manhattan,Watchmenis an alternate take to superheroics when principles go completely off the rails.
In the alternate history ofWatchmen, the creation of Doctor Manhattan in the Manhattan Project created a divergence point in 1938, when the United States won the Vietnam War and President Nixon is still the President. However, things go awry when vigilantism outlawed the popular superheroes at the time, and the murder of the popular superhero The Comedian plunged the remainder of his retired comrades into a deep conspiracy that may change the world.
