Even The Boys can go too far sometimes. The television series already has a tendency to get grotesque, but best believe, the comics are worse, especially where Homelander is involved. The original comics that inspired the TV show rank among the most controversial, bloody, and utterly jaw-dropping reading material ever to be allowed on shelves to purchase.
Truth be told, not everything in The Boys is even allowed on the shelves. When the books go too far, they find themselves banned in certain parts of the world. Some parties have chosen to censor their pages heavily, but sometimes, the book is too graphic for censorship to even be possible. The Boys even risked cancellation for going so dark.
8
Swastikas Got This The Boys Comic Banned in Germany
The Boys #34 by Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra
Interestingly enough, it isn’t the degree of violence that gets the comic banned. The banning is largely a result of The Boys #34’s cover art, which features a swastika on the front cover. The swastika is a symbol that is most instantly recognized with its connection to the Nazi Party, which Germany has distanced itself from in recent years.
Post-WWII, Germany has enforced strict laws against the depiction of swastikas in the media, including a story like this. The story does not glorify the use of swastikas nor does it showcase Nazis in a positive light (the super Nazi, Stormfront, is actually beaten mercilessly in the issue). Still, its usage nonetheless goes against German law.
7
All Issues of The Boys are Banned in Texas Prisons
Every Issue Violates Texas Law
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has ensured the banning of over 10,000 pieces of literature over the years. This ranges from classic novels by Stephen King to books like The Boys. If one were to search the list of books banned from Texas prisons, one would find every omnibus for The Boys.
Texas law prohibits material that includes nudity, graphic sexual material, and graphic violence. Of course, The Boys features all of the above regularly in just about every issue. Even the fights are R-rated, so there was no chance whatsoever that any issue of The Boys was ever going to make its way into a Texas prison approval.
6
The Boys Is Reportedly Banned in Qatar
Fan Shares Personal Experience Ordering The Boys
The Boys is also reportedly banned in Qatar, according to one resident who shared her experience of ordering all 11 volumes, only to have them returned by Aramex. This regional delivery company opens, inspects, and clears packages as part of standard security procedures.
The individual recalls ordering several comics in the past with no problem until now. This time, her Boys volumes went through Customs and the Ministry of Culture. Her Customs paper referred to The Boys as a “sexual magazine.” There’s nothing confirmed beyond this anecdote, but she does believe her purchases have placed her on a “secret pervert list” as a “deviant.”
5
The Boys TV Show Has Been Banned in Singapore
Are the Comics Next?
Multiple Amazon shows, namely Invincible and The Boys, have reportedly been banned in Singapore. Most readers would assume that it’s because both shows feature vulgar depictions of violence, but laws around such graphic content have become more lax in recent years. However, homosexuality is still a hot topic in Singapore.
There are strict laws forbidding gay culture in the media in Singapore. If the country takes offense at homosexuality in the Boys TV show, then it’s safe to assume that comics are banned as well, if not on the verge of being banned. The depiction of same-sex relationships is made even more explicit in the comics through dialogue and visuals.
4
The Boys Comics are Virtually Banned in Queensland
Made Nearly Impossible to Buy in Australian Quarters Due to Restrictions on Sales
Australia enforces a rating system approved by the Australian Classification Board, as its equivalent to the MPAA. The ACB officials rated some volumes as Category 1 Restricted for 18+ readers, while others are Unrestricted M, meaning they are not recommended for anyone under the age of 15. In Australia, anything listed as a Category 1 cannot be acquired through a library.
By the same proxy, these restrictions make it difficult to find or purchase The Boys volumes locally in the Australian area. Books with a Category 1 or 2 restriction can only be sold to adults and on premises restricted only to adults due to nudity and sexual content.
3
The Boys Was Censored by DC Due to Parodying the JSA
The Beginning of the End of Their DC Partnership
While Dynamite Entertainment is most well-known as The Boys’ primary comic book publisher, it is often forgotten (or relatively unknown by the masses) that The Boys was originally published at DC Comics. The first six issues of The Boys was published under DC’s edgier imprint, Wildstorm, but even there, The Boys was too edgy for DC Comics.
DC found themselves censoring The Boys, but not for the reason you’d think. The original cover art for issue #3 was a parody in which The Seven satirized the Justice Society of America’s roundtable discussion on the cover of All-Star Comics #3. DC’s top brass weren’t amused and demanded it be scrapped and replaced immediately.
2
An Anti-Superhero Tone and Drug Imagery Was the Last Straw for DC Comics
DC Comics Cancels The Boys
In addition to their spat over the cover art, DC Comics found themselves censoring The Boys heavily, particularly whenever drug usage was seen on-panel. In fact, issue #4 was another comic altered because it shows Wee Hughie being stabbed in the neck with a syringe. Surprisingly, this wasn’t the final nail in The Boys’ coffin at DC.
In short, The Boys was canceled for being too dark. The Boys was always framed as a parody of superheroes, but its deeply anti-superhero narrative clashed with DC’s pro-superhero brand. From the start, it was never going to be a long-term fit at DC, especially with early covers parodying classic teams like the Justice Society of America, the publisher’s original superhero icons.
1
The Show Has Been Banned in Multiple Countries, Including Japan and India
Are the Comics Getting the Same Treatment?
It has been reported that The Boys, the television show, has been banned in additional countries beyond just the aforementioned Singapore. The Amazon Prime original series has also been banned in Japan and India. As for the comics, there is no clear indication reporting that The Boys, as a comic, has been banned in either country.
Readers should not be surprised if the comic inevitably winds up on the chopping block for either country, but it’s unlikely. While Japan has restrictions on manga that depict sexual content involving minors, that is one barrier that The Boys never crosses in the comics. The same applies to similar laws in India. Thankfully, The Boys never went that far.
The Boys
7/10
- Release Date
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July 25, 2019
- Showrunner
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Eric Kripke
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