The Big Ride Explained

The Big Ride
Publisher:Dynamite Entertainment
Issues:12 (3 parts)
Origpublication:The Boys
Origisbn:978-1-6069-0220-2
Writers:Garth Ennis[1]
Artists:Russ Braun
John McCrea [2]
Colourists:Tony Aviña[3]
Letterers:Simon Bowland
Previssue:The Innocents
Highland Laddie
Nextissue:Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker
Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men

The Big Ride is a three-part graphic novel written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Russ Braun that was published by Dynamite Entertainment as the ninth volume of the American comic book series The Boys, consisting of the four-part story arcs Proper Preparation and Planning, released from November 3, 2010 to February 16, 2011, Barbary Coast (illustrated by John McCrea), released from March 2 to June 1, 2011, and The Big Ride, released from July 6 to October 5, 2011, the latter from which the novel takes its title.[4]

In Proper Preparation and Planning, Billy Butcher and the Homelander think back on the Boys' first encounter with the Seven in the aftermath of 9/11, in Barbary Coast, Wee Hughie meets Mallory, who recounts his life story from meeting the first Soldier Boy during the Second World War to eventually joining the CIA and recruiting Butcher, while in The Big Ride, the Boys' investigation into Jack from Jupiter leads them and the Seven towards a bloody conclusion to their long-standing conflict. Preceded by the story arc The Innocents and the prequel miniseries Highland Laddie, it is followed by the prequel miniseries Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker and the sequel story arc Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men.

On the production of a television adaptation of The Boys, the events of Proper Preparation and Planning were loosely adapted as the first season episode "The Female of the Species" and the second season episode "The Bloody Doors Off", with Shawn Ashmore playing Lamplighter, while the events of Barbary Coast were loosely adapted as the third season episode of the same name, with Jensen Ackles playing Soldier Boy and Laila Robins and Sarah Swire playing Grace Mallory.

The series has received a positive critical reception.

Premise

Proper Preparation and Planning

In the present, simultaneously with Highland Laddie, Billy Butcher re-examines the Boys' first encounter with the Seven as the Homelander thinks back on their first mission and its consequences (the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge on 9/11 instead of the World Trade Center), and the death of their former leader Greg Mallory's grandchildren at the hands of Lamplighter and his subsequent handover to the Boys as a truce, trying to figure out what went wrong, while dealing with disquiet in the ranks and the return of an old enemy. Meanwhile, on the Seven's floating headquarters, a flying lesson goes badly awry…[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Barbary Coast

On his return to America, Wee Hughie travels out west to meet The Boys founder Lieutenant-Colonel Greg Mallory, who recounts the history of the organisation, beginning with the terrible story of the first Supes to see action during the Second World War under the original Soldier Boy, to Mallory joining the CIA and recruiting each of the Boys to its ranks.[11] [12] [13] [14]

The Big Ride

As Hughie returns to the Boys with surprisingly little fanfare, the Seven's and the Boys' conflict reaches a boiling point, as Jack from Jupiter and the Boys meet the mysterious Doctor Peculiar.[15] [16] [17] [18]

Reception

Issue #Publication dateCritic ratingCritic reviewsRef.Issue #Publication dateCritic ratingCritic reviewsRef.Issue #Publication dateCritic ratingCritic reviewsRef.
Proper Preparation and PlanningBarbary CoastThe Big Ride
1November 20107.5/102[19] 1March 20116.4/105[20] 1July 20117.1/104[21]
2December 20107.5/104[22] 2April 20117.9/105[23] 2August 20117.0/102[24]
3January 20117.0/106[25] 3May 20116.0/103[26] 3September 20117.5/103[27]
4February 20116.9/104[28] 4June 20116.0/103[29] 4October 20118.3/103[30]
Overall7.1/1074[31]

Collected editions

TitleMaterial collectedPublished dateISBN
The Boys: The Big RideThe Boys (vol. 9) #48–59November 9, 2011[32]
The Boys: Definitive Edition 5The Boys #48–59 + Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker[33] July 9, 2013

Adaptation

On the production of a television adaptation of The Boys from Amazon Prime Video, the events of Proper Preparation and Planning were loosely adapted as the first season episode "The Female of the Species", with Homelander (played by Antony Starr) and Queen Maeve (played by Dominique McElligott) alone being unable to prevent a plane from crashing, and the second season episode "The Bloody Doors Off", with Lamplighter (played by Shawn Ashmore) instead depicted as having accidentally killed Mallory's grandchildren,[34] while the events of Barbary Coast were loosely adapted as the third season episode of the same name, taking place during the Vietnam War in place of the Second World War, with Jensen Ackles playing Soldier Boy and Laila Robins and Sarah Swire playing Grace Mallory (based on the comic-book Greg Mallory).[35] [36]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Phegley. Kiel. Saying Goodbye To "The Boys" with Garth Ennis, Part 1. Comic Book Resources. September 25, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120926195248/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=41185. September 26, 2012. September 26, 2012. dead.
  2. Web site: May 9, 2011. The Boys #54. May 9, 2011. Comic Book Resources. Nevett. Chad.
  3. BTS w/ the Colorist of The Boys (Tony Avina). August 12, 2022 . Dmitri . Chad . Josh . Marcus. August 12, 2022. YouTube. The Square Round Table.
  4. Web site: Rich Johnston. Johnston. Rich. The Top 500 Most-Ordered Comics and Graphic Novels in July 2018. Bleeding Cool. August 13, 2018. August 13, 2018.
  5. Web site: November 5, 2010. The Boys #48. November 7, 2010. Comic Book Resources. Lindsay. Ryan K.. https://web.archive.org/web/20101107190225/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=2840. November 7, 2010. dead.
  6. Web site: December 6, 2010. Review: The Boys Forty-Nine. December 6, 2010. Major Spoilers. Peterson. Matthew.
  7. Web site: November 30, 2010. Early Review: The Boys #49. December 1, 2010. Comic Vine. Freeman. Zack. https://web.archive.org/web/20101201160025/http://www.comicvine.com//news/early-review-the-boys-49/142606/. December 1, 2010. dead.
  8. Web site: December 2, 2010. The Boys #49. December 3, 2010. Comic Book Resources. Lindsay. Ryan K.. https://web.archive.org/web/20101203003344/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=2928. December 3, 2010. dead.
  9. Web site: January 22, 2011. Review: The Boys Fifty. January 22, 2011. Major Spoilers. Peterson. Matthew.
  10. Web site: February 16, 2011. The Boys #51 Review. February 22, 2011. IGN. Schedeen. Jesse. https://web.archive.org/web/20110222003751/http://comics.ign.com/articles/115/1150612p1.html. February 22, 2011. dead.
  11. Web site: March 6, 2011. Review: The Boys Fifty-Two. March 6, 2011. Major Spoilers. Peterson. Matthew.
  12. Web site: April 6, 2011. The Boys #53. June 4, 2011. Comic Book Resources. Lindsay. Ryan K.. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604213801/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=3375. June 4, 2011. dead.
  13. Web site: May 7, 2011. Review: The Boys Fifty-Four. May 7, 2011. Major Spoilers. Peterson. Matthew.
  14. Web site: June 22, 2011. The Boys #55 Review. October 11, 2011. A Comic Book Blog. Kutsenok. Victor. https://web.archive.org/web/20111011125722/http://acomicbookblog.com/2011/06/the-boys-55-review/. October 11, 2011. dead.
  15. Web site: July 6, 2011. The Boys #56. July 9, 2011. Comic Book Resources. Lindsay. Ryan K.. https://web.archive.org/web/20110709022334/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=3672. July 9, 2011. dead.
  16. Web site: August 4, 2011. The Boys #57 Review. October 11, 2011. A Comic Book Blog. Kutsenok. Victor. https://web.archive.org/web/20111011131416/http://acomicbookblog.com/2011/08/the-boys-57-review/. October 11, 2011. dead.
  17. Web site: September 10, 2011. The Boys #58. October 3, 2011. Comic Book Resources. Nevett. Chad. https://web.archive.org/web/20111003000611/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=3892. October 3, 2011. dead.
  18. Web site: October 5, 2011. The Boys #59 Review. October 11, 2011. A Comic Book Blog. Kutsenok. Victor. https://web.archive.org/web/20111011125452/http://acomicbookblog.com/2011/10/the-boys-59-review/. October 11, 2011. dead.
  19. Web site: The Boys #48 Reviews. November 3, 2010. November 3, 2010. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  20. Web site: The Boys #52 Reviews. March 2, 2011. March 2, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  21. Web site: The Boys #56 Reviews. July 6, 2011. July 6, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  22. Web site: The Boys #49 Reviews. December 1, 2010. December 1, 2010. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  23. Web site: The Boys #53 Reviews. April 6, 2011. April 6, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  24. Web site: The Boys #57 Reviews. August 3, 2011. August 3, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  25. Web site: The Boys #50 Reviews. January 19, 2011. January 19, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  26. Web site: The Boys #54 Reviews. May 4, 2011. May 4, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  27. Web site: The Boys #58 Reviews. September 7, 2011. September 7, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  28. Web site: The Boys #51 Reviews. February 16, 2011. February 16, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  29. Web site: The Boys #55 Reviews. June 1, 2011. June 1, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  30. Web site: The Boys #59 Reviews. October 5, 2011. October 5, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  31. Web site: The Boys: The Big Ride Reviews. November 9, 2011. November 9, 2011. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
  32. Web site: Ennis. Garth. Garth Ennis. Braun. Russ. McCrea. John. John McCrea (comics). The Boys Volume 9: The Big Ride. Previews World. December 19, 2018. December 19, 2018.
  33. Web site: Rich Johnston. Johnston. Rich. The Boys Omnibus Selling Out – How Many Copies Are Left?. Bleeding Cool. July 8, 2022. July 8, 2022.
  34. Web site: The Boys Season 2: Shawn Ashmore to Play Lamplighter — See First Photo. TVline. Matt Webb. Mitovich. August 10, 2020. August 10, 2020. August 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200810162816/https://tvline.com/2020/08/10/the-boys-season-2-shawn-ashmore-as-lamplighter-photo/. live.
  35. Web site: June 5, 2022. The Boys: Soldier Boy's History, MM Feud & Mallory Connections Explained. June 5, 2022. Screen Rant. Elvy. Craig.
  36. Web site: June 7, 2022. Jensen Ackles talks playing 'messed up' new character in The Boys. June 7, 2022. Good Morning America. Osborne. Mark.