Whenever the name Garth Ennis appears in the writing credits of a comic or graphic novel you know it won't be an easy ride.  If anything, the Irish-born writer has systematically set out to create dark subversive anti-heroes such as Preacher or Hitman, or added his own take to mainstream loners such  as The Punisher or Ghost Rider.  However, with his latest offering, The Boys, he introduces a savage band of heroes, who are more like law-breaking street   brawlers than upstanding champions of justice.

This first volume collects the story The Name Of The Game which introduces the team.   Billy Butcher is the leader who recruits a group of vicious, superpowered individuals. Hired by the CIA, their covert mission is to keep all superheroes in line using whatever means necessary, no matter how brutal or unorthodox their methods may be.  Many of the so-called heroes have been abusing their fame and fortune by endlessly indulging in every vice, and so Billy and his Boys are about to teach a new kind of moral justice to The Homelander and his smugly depraved team, The Seven, who indulge their superprowess to new level of debauchery. Just be warned if they're coming to your rescue!

Whilst Ennis's style is as brash and as wickedly funny as ever, he has a great sparring partner in artist Darick Robertson, who's best know for his work on Transmetropolitan.  His clear but muddied style suits the script, uncluttered by elaborate detail, bringing out the darkness and the humour of script.

Together they create an unforgettable band of brawlers and a well-orchestrated series of scenes that relish the violent action as much as the deliciously subversive ideas. And if Glaswegian Wee Hughie looks familiar, that's because he resembles Shaun of the Dead /Hot Fuzz star (and comics fan), Simon Pegg, who provides an approving introduction to the story.

It's all a matter of taste though whether your regard this graphic novel as an adolescent rebellion deliberately trying to shock, or a brash adult satire that leaves you battered, bloodied and entertained. Certainly, Ennis's dislike for superheroes is dangerously close to turning into a pathological hatred, but there's no doubt that The Boys: The Name Of The Game will leave its boot prints on the pages of your imagination.