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Good for the Soul (comic book)

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For the episode named after this comic, see Good for the Soul (The Boys episode).
Good for the Soul
Date
  • February 6–May 7, 2008
  • (Good for the Soul)
  • June 4–September 3, 2008
  • (I Tell You No Lie, G.I.)
No. of issues8 (2 parts)
Main characters
PublisherDynamite Entertainment
Creative team
WritersGarth Ennis[1]
ArtistsDarick Robertson
Matt Jacobs (inking; #22)
LetterersSimon Bowland
ColouristsTony Aviña[2]
Original publication
Published inThe Boys
ISBN978-1-6069-0150-2
Chronology
Preceded byGlorious Five Year Plan[broken anchor]
Followed byWe Gotta Go Now

Good for the Soul is a two-part graphic novel written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Darick Robertson with Matt Jacobs that was published by Dynamite Entertainment as the third volume of the American comic book series The Boys, consisting of the four-part story arcs Good for the Soul, released from February 6 to May 7, and I Tell You No Lie, G.I., released from June 4 to September 3 (all 2008), the former from which the novel takes its title.[3]

Across the volume, Wee Hughie and Annie January begin dating after the latter loses her faith, while the former sits down with the Legend to get the lowdown on the Boys and their enemies from the very beginning, learning of the history of the Seven's creation, their attempt to prevent the September 11 attacks years prior, and the formation of their truce with the Boys. Preceded by Glorious Five Year Plan[broken anchor], it is followed by We Gotta Go Now, with the events of the volume loosely adapted to the fourth episode of the first season of the television adaptation of The Boys.

The series has received a universally positive critical reception.[4][5][6]

Premise[edit]

Good for the Soul[edit]

As Wee Hughie visits the Legend, determined to find out more about the history and hidden agenda of the Boys, the Legend agrees to tell him as long as Hughie re-kills the recently-resurrected Blarney Cock, revived practically braindead by the "resurrection protocols" of Compound V. Meanwhile, Annie January / Starlight finds herself losing her faith in Christianity due to her experiences with The Seven, and on running into Hughie again in Central Park, six months after their first chance meeting, the two begin dating. Meanwhile, the Frenchman attempts to convince the Female from continuing to take contract work outside of their missions, Mother's Milk visits his mother to replenish his powers, while the specifics of Butcher's relationship with CIA director Susan L. Rayner is delved into. At the storyline's end, the Deep confronts the Boys on behalf the Homelander, asking if their truce still stands amid the Boys' recent actions testing its limits.[4][7][8] The story arc is told across: 1. You're Not There, 2. Female Trouble, 3. Mother's Milk's Mother's Milk, and 4. Battle Without Honor or Humanity.

I Tell You No Lie, G.I.[edit]

As Wee Hughie finally sits down with The Legend to get the lowdown on the Boys and their enemies from the very beginning, The Legend instead tells him the history of The Seven – all clones grown by Vought-American using Compound V, unlike previous supes who were simply exposed to the superpower-inducing substance – who had been deployed by Vic the Veep during the September 11 attacks to prevent the final plane from destroying the Twin Towers, only for the inexperienced team to have unwittingly caused the plane to crash into the Brooklyn Bridge, destroying it, which led to U.S. President Dakota Bob Schaefer invading Pakistan – original Seven member Mister Marathon[broken anchor] (later replaced with A-Train) having been killed in the process. Later, the Boys had attempted to blackmail the Seven over this, leading to another of their members, the Lamplighter, to have tried to kill their original leader, Mallory, accidentally killing Mallory's grandchildren instead, with the Seven then having given up the supe to the Boys in exchange for a truce. On concluding the story, the Legend casually mentions that Blarney Cock (whom Hughie killed) had been his son, and the shocked Hughie leaves, before realising the Legend never actually told him anything about the Boys' formation, just the Seven. Meanwhile, in the bowels of the Seven's hovering headquarters, Starlight and A-Train are put on cleaning duty for the V-resurrected Lamplighter, while the rest of the Seven and the Boys meet to discuss the state of their truce, the Homelander deducing Butcher's hatred of him to originate from the loss of a loved one.[5][9][10][11][12] The story arc is told across: 1. Where to Begin…, 2. Secrets of the Lettercolumn, 3. The Day My Heart Broke, and 4. Temper Tantrum.

Reception[edit]

Issue # Publication date Critic rating Critic reviews Ref. Issue # Publication date Critic rating Critic reviews Ref.
Good for the Soul I Tell You No Lie, G.I.
1 February 2008 7.7/10 5 [13] 1 June 2008 7.5/10 5 [14]
2 March 2008 7.7/10 5 [15] 2 July 2008 7.9/10 4 [16]
3 April 2008 7.5/10 5 [17] 3 August 2008 9.1/10 4 [18]
4 May 2008 7.9/10 5 [19] 4 September 2008 8.5/10 4 [20]
Overall 8.0/10 37 [21]

Collected editions[edit]

Title Material collected Published date ISBN
The Boys: Good for the Soul The Boys (vol. 3) #15–22 October 14, 2008[22] ISBN 1-933305-92-4
The Boys: Definitive Edition 2 The Boys #15–30 (Good for the Soul and We Gotta Go Now)[23] December 23, 2009 ISBN 1-60690-073-0

Adaptation[edit]

On the production of a television adaptation of The Boys from Amazon Prime Video, the events of Good for the Soul and I Tell You No Lie, G.I. (with regards the relationship of Hughie and Annie, and the Seven failing to prevent a hijacked plane from crashing) were loosely adapted as the first season episode "The Female of the Species", with Jack Quaid portraying Hughie Campbell, Erin Moriarty portraying Annie January / Starlight, Antony Starr portraying John Gillman / Homelander, and Dominique McElligott portraying Maggie Shaw / Queen Maeve.[24][25][26]: 54:56–55:23 

In the series' third season, Miles Gaston Villanueva and Luca Oriel would portray Alex / Drummer Boy / Supersonic, a character from Good for the Soul.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Phegley, Kiel (September 25, 2012). "Saying Goodbye To "The Boys" with Garth Ennis, Part 1". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  2. ^ Dmitri; Chad; Josh; Marcus (August 12, 2022). BTS w/ the Colorist of The Boys (Tony Avina). The Square Round Table. Retrieved August 12, 2022 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Johnston, Rich (August 13, 2018). "The Top 500 Most-Ordered Comics and Graphic Novels in July 2018". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Phillips, Dan (April 2, 2008). "The Boys #17 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
  5. ^ a b Peterson, Matthew (June 11, 2008). "Rapid-Fire Review III: This Time It's Personal!". Major Spoilers. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  6. ^ Turpitt, Elle. "Graphic Novel Review: The Boys, Volume 3: Good for the Soul". Elle Turpitt. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  7. ^ Colbert, Michael (April 4, 2008). "Daily Reviews: The Boys #17". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  8. ^ Phillips, Dan (May 7, 2008). "The Boys #18 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
  9. ^ Phillips, Dan (July 2, 2008). "The Boys #20 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
  10. ^ Hill, Shawn (August 11, 2008). "Daily Reviews: The Boys #21". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  11. ^ Peterson, Matthew (September 8, 2008). "Rapid-Fire Reviews VII: The New Beginning". Major Spoilers. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved September 14, 2008.
  12. ^ Phillips, Dan (September 4, 2008). "The Boys #22 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on September 8, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
  13. ^ "The Boys #15 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. February 6, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  14. ^ "The Boys #19 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. June 4, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  15. ^ "The Boys #16 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. March 5, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
  16. ^ "The Boys #20 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. July 2, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  17. ^ "The Boys #17 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. April 2, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
  18. ^ "The Boys #21 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. August 6, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  19. ^ "The Boys #18 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. May 7, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
  20. ^ "The Boys #22 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. September 3, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  21. ^ "The Boys: Good for the Soul Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. October 1, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
  22. ^ Ennis, Garth; Braun, Russ (November 3, 2010). "The Boys Volume 7: The Innocents". Previews World. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  23. ^ Johnston, Rich (July 8, 2022). "The Boys Omnibus Selling Out – How Many Copies Are Left?". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  24. ^ "The Boys: Top Differences And Hidden Details Between The Show And The Comics". WorldTravelling. 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  25. ^ McGuire, Liam (2020-09-16). "The Boys' Darkest Scene Was Even More Shocking in Comics". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  26. ^ Rosenberg, Craig (July 26, 2019). "The Female of the Species". The Boys. Season 1. Episode 4. Amazon Prime Video. End credits begin at 54:34.
  27. ^ Romano, Nick (August 7, 2021). "'The Boys' season 3 reveals Starlight's supe ex-boyfriend with ties to nefarious organization". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.

External links[edit]

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