by: S. Scott Stanikmas – Senior Staff Writer

I’m a huge fan of Garth Ennis. His dark and disgusting sense of humor still tickles my funny bone the right way. One of my favorite pieces of his work is The Boys, his ultimate take on the superhero genre. I was a bit worried when I heard this property was being looked at for a major film adaptation, as even a trilogy wouldn’t be enough to fully cover all the ground this series laid out.

But I’m actually pretty excited now that Deadline is reporting Cinemax is developing The Boys as an ongoing series.

The dark and twisted tale focuses on an off-the-books CIA wetworks team codenamed “The Boys” who are tasked with keeping the superpowered community in check. Heroes are shown to be just as bad and immoral as the villains they supposedly fight as their celebrity status makes them think they are untouchable.

Characters from both major companies (DC and Marvel) are skewered and Ennis and co-creator/artist Darick Robertson bring their signature brand of dark humor and balls-to-the-wall action to a series that was first published at DC but was dropped after a half dozen issues saw print and left with an uncertain future before being picked up by Dynamite Entertainment to finish it’s 60+ issue run.

The series is being brought to life by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the duo behind AMC’s Preacher (which is another Ennis property). The vibe I get from the Preacher promos fits right into line with what I’d like to see from The Boys. And being on a channel like Cinemax allows the show to be just as crude and honest as the comics they look to adapt.

Cinemax looks to grow their stable of comic book properties which also includes the spooky supernatural comic from Image / Skybound Outcast, which premieres this June on the premium cable channel.