Garth Ennis hooked me on comics. The first hit I took was a 2000ad comic and it was a Judge Dredd story written by Ennis, that caused my addiction. Spaceships blew up, Dredd creatively kicked the crap out of the perps, he was the law and I found myself waiting in a newsagent for the next fix of 2000ad.
I have loved, and collected, a lot of things Ennis has done over the years: Preacher, Hitman, Punisher and now The Boys. There is one problem I have with the guy though: Its not the gratuitous language, or the graphic violence, or even the lack of taste: nor is it the trademark heroes in trenchcoats. No, it's because I think that while Ennis publicly dislikes writing superhero stuff, he seems awfully good at it. So much so, I would really like to see a long Garth Ennis' Batman run.
Take Legends of the Dark Knight #91-93, probably the only Ennis take on the Dark Knight (except as to what happens in Hitman...), and the pure awesomeness of it all. The Ennis checklist is thoroughly ticked off here (gun carrying badasses- check, trenchcoats- check, Vietnam veterans- check), and the tale he tells is definitely top quality Gotham-in-drug-induced-peril stuff. The villain of the piece, the psychedelic Doctor Freak, is so dangerously twisted that I'm honestly surprised that he hasn't made a mainstream return (or maybe he has, and I've not picked up the book) in the Bat universe. In short, I adore these three issues.
Also, lets not forget the art of William Simpson, who lays out the expertly. You can really tell that the artist is having some fun here, especially during the various LSD vision scenes.
If you see 'Freakout' on Ebay or in a comic shop, pick 'em up. I don't think they've ever been collected in TPB, which is a shame. Because everyone needs to know about Alfred Pennyworth's magic mushroom experience.
I have loved, and collected, a lot of things Ennis has done over the years: Preacher, Hitman, Punisher and now The Boys. There is one problem I have with the guy though: Its not the gratuitous language, or the graphic violence, or even the lack of taste: nor is it the trademark heroes in trenchcoats. No, it's because I think that while Ennis publicly dislikes writing superhero stuff, he seems awfully good at it. So much so, I would really like to see a long Garth Ennis' Batman run.
Take Legends of the Dark Knight #91-93, probably the only Ennis take on the Dark Knight (except as to what happens in Hitman...), and the pure awesomeness of it all. The Ennis checklist is thoroughly ticked off here (gun carrying badasses- check, trenchcoats- check, Vietnam veterans- check), and the tale he tells is definitely top quality Gotham-in-drug-induced-peril stuff. The villain of the piece, the psychedelic Doctor Freak, is so dangerously twisted that I'm honestly surprised that he hasn't made a mainstream return (or maybe he has, and I've not picked up the book) in the Bat universe. In short, I adore these three issues.
Also, lets not forget the art of William Simpson, who lays out the expertly. You can really tell that the artist is having some fun here, especially during the various LSD vision scenes.
If you see 'Freakout' on Ebay or in a comic shop, pick 'em up. I don't think they've ever been collected in TPB, which is a shame. Because everyone needs to know about Alfred Pennyworth's magic mushroom experience.
