The Exterminators Vol. 2: Insurgency [Paperback]

Simon Oliver (Author), Tony Moore (Illustrator), Chris Samnee (Illustrator), Ande Parks (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Henry, Stretch and Kevin, exterminators with the Bug-Bee-Gone company ("here to mop up nature's little mishaps"), are called in to handle an infestation at a literary brothel where clients pay to act out fantasies from Burroughs, Kafka and Carroll. But the problem is much larger, as tens of millions of roachlike critters begin coursing through the sewers and taking over electrical plants. The final showdown between the exterminators and the bugs is typical of the book's outstanding dialogue, as the three partners engage in lengthy conversations about world religion while stomping through the "crap bisque" of a city sewer. The bug story (which incorporates Egyptology and allegory about the war in Iraq) weaves through Henry's deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend, Kevin's after-hours job as a pro wrestler in a seedy fight club and a particularly well-done interlude where three major characters visit their respective mothers for advice. The color palette is appropriately dark and grimy; this is evidently a world where the sun seldom shines and when it does, it does so harshly. Artists Moore, Samnee and Parks use closeups to powerful effect and the scenes involving the army of bugs maximize the squirm factor. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

From the morbidly hilarious Bug Brothers (2006), The Exterminators settles into what would be, if it were a fantasy trilogy, a second-book slump. There's development aplenty as hero Henry James and corporate-ladder-climbing Laura break up, get involved with others, and each, as well as Henry's newbie (who works in a private library fronting a fantasy-fulfillment brothel for literary erotomanes), consults Mom. Meanwhile, the mutant roaches attack L.A.'s civilizational support systems, starting with convenience stores. Oliver's revolting black humor and Tony Moore's nasty art aren't as exuberant this time. Maybe they'll regain the gusto in the third arc. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (March 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401212212
• ISBN-13: 978-1401212216
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,127,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as the first one, if not better., April 18, 2007

By 

Particle409 (White Plains, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Exterminators Vol. 2: Insurgency (Paperback)

This is one of those series that you can't wait for every few months, for the next book. Great characters (no morons in capes), and a great story. This book gives you just enough info to keep you interested, but not frustrated.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Series- Given the Subject Matter, March 3, 2009

By 

graphik_persona "g_p" (NYC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Exterminators Vol. 2: Insurgency (Paperback)

A friend of mine gave me a First-Look type-of collection of comics. The first issue of Exterminators was in it. It was a good read- I generally don't read novels with heros in spandex. The first bound collection of this series was a definetly good read, and now that I have finished the series(at least I think it's over...?), I find that it was overall a good read too. The topics covered are larger than the whole, "I kill bugs." Still, in this collection the author introduces the meat of the underlying story arch- that being the return of the Hissing Coachroach.

At this point, with Volumen II, with this collection, it gets a little...blaise. The story gets a little more shallow and the characters are no longer so mysterious. This second volume starts to drag down the series into pop-soup, and one-dimensionalism that the later volumes seem to degenerate into. Still, overall, this volumne was a good read.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cover blurb is right, it is a crime against humanity not to read this, April 3, 2007

By 

Nolan J. Werner "Writer" (Chicago, Ill.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Exterminators Vol. 2: Insurgency (Paperback)

I thought it was a bit ridiculous and counterproductive to put a blurb like that on the cover, especially coming from a news source as finicky as AICN.

However, it is exactly right. It is a crime against humanity not to read this series.

Kudos to Simon Oliver and Tony Moore for another volume of what should end up being on of the best comics of the 2000s (unless the last years of the decade pump out one masterpiece after another).