The Boys vs Watchmen
Choose ONE of the prompts listed below and write an argumentative/analytical essay about the graphic novel, The Boys.
Your arguments and analysis should directly reference the graphic novel and any other supplemental sources you mention. Use specific examples to support your claims and develop your critical insight. Utilize the analytical frameworks, rhetorical tools, and the comic book terminology that we have discussed this semester to compose your
essay.
Your essay should adhere to MLA guidelines and must be at least 1,500 words.
1. While The Boys satirizes the old school “truth, justice and the American Way” style of superheroes, it also overtly criticizes the “grim and gritty” take on classic characters that was popularized by Watchmen.
Write an essay that compares the similarities and differences between The Boys and Watchmen.
Do you think the connections drawn between superheroes, sexual violence, corporate greed, and political fascism in The Boys are more direct, subversive, or offensive than what is depicted in Watchmen?
Which of the two graphic novels do you think does a better job of critiquing and deconstructing the superhero genre?
