The Exterminators Vol. 1: Bug Brothers [Paperback]

Simon Oliver (Author), Tony Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2006

A smart and scary tale of roaches, rats, raccoons and the men who kill them,The Exterminators focuses on a dysfunctional group of bug killers prowling the barrios and bungalows of Los Angeles.

Henry James, the newest exterminator, sees the job as a way to cleanse the sins of his dark past, he has a hard time getting his view across to his careerist girlfriend, sociopathic partner and the general bunch of freaks he calls co-workers. Meanwhile, what Henry and the "bug brothers" of Bug-Bee-Gone Co. don't understand is that human beings may be the true pests — and bugs could be the real exterminator.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Henry James takes advantage of his mom's new marriage to Nils Petterson to get his first postprison job with Petterson & Sons, exterminators. Two initial pages of watching roaches being roaches during Henry's own portentous voice-over ends with a plunge directly into his first workday with partner A. J. ("a loathsome little f--k," Henry says), during which Henry proves his mettle with the kind of sudden aggression he needed in the stir to eradicate a raccoon--with his bare hands. Not pretty. Nor is A. J.'s knife-throw dispatching of a humongous rat looming over a baby, which shortly precedes Henry's deed. Worse sights lie ahead as Henry gets into the work, Petterson's staff chemist discovers a mutant strain of roaches, and Henry's loyal girlfriend rises in her new corporate workplace. Oliver peppers a slowly unfolding horror plot with revolting humor, and Moore gives him the low-key looks of the sf-horror comedy film classic Repo Man to produce what looks like a comics classic in the making. Don't miss book 2. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (August 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401210643
• ISBN-13: 978-1401210649
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.3 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,060,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping. Can't wait for the next one., December 7, 2006

By 

Math Teach - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Exterminators Vol. 1: Bug Brothers (Paperback)

I admit, the premise really isn't all that attractive, but after reading the first chapter, all my doubts were erased. It's like Twin Peaks. Great mystery, very suspensful, and I must say - gripping. I picked it up because of Tony Moore's art, which I loved in The Walking Dead, but the writing was remarkably captivating. Definitely not disappointed. One of my favorite reads this past year. Highly recommended.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Line Has Been Crossed, February 1, 2007

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Exterminators Vol. 1: Bug Brothers (Paperback)

This is the story of exterminators and their position on the front lines against a growing menace. Our main character is an ex-con who has been given a chance as an exterminator by his mother's new love interest who happens to be the founder of the company. In the field as a newbie he sees some unusual stuff. Their main weapon against cockroaches is a chemical that could cause a severe problem. In a poor section of the city where no one can afford exterminators, the roaches have changed. They are pretty harmless unless exposed to a rare chemical that just happens to be a main ingredient in the roach killer. Compassion drives our hero to perform a job for a young woman living in this neighborhood. Suddenly the roaches are a bigger problem.

There have been times in history when nature has risen up from the lowly creatures to swat down mankind including the recent theory that plague carrying fleas brought down the Roman Empire. We are approaching one of those times now. The signs are here and the Scarab has been sighted. Bugs are going to humanity's big enemy again and these exterminators are looking at ground zero.

How bad will it get and can these killers of bugs avert the coming tragedy? This volume does not answer these questions but it does an excellent job of setting the strange and getting the action moving at a fast pace. There is a lot of foreshadowing for future volumes but the first battle is fought to its end in this volume. Basing a series on exterminators is interesting although I expect most of the bug killers bear little resemblance to any reality (some of these guys are real characters). I am looking forward to the rest of this series. Check it out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comedic, horrific, sadistic, FUN!, January 7, 2008

By 

HJ Louw "Hermgerm" (South Africa) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Exterminators Vol. 1: Bug Brothers (Paperback)

The Exterminators had me at page one, when main character Henry James started wondering about "Nature's Banana Skin" and the pests out there waiting to rub out humanity 'cause of the big black stain we've left on the planet as a species. This book is so good that I immediately stopped reading once I got to page 2 and went out to buy the next two trades as well. 'Bug Brothers" has everything you want out of a good Vertigo comic: Nail-biting action and graphic violence (Like AJ, one of the most disgusting characters ever written, impaling a rat with a throwing knife, or Henry ripping out a vicious raccoon's guts), deep moralizing diatribes (Stretch, a Buddhist exterminator exclaiming: "The path to personal divinity requires first that one accepts one's own vile and reprehensible nature") and a good mystery (like what the deuce is that scarab key and the locked box of suspicious Egyptian origin?) All of these elements plus the catastrophic mutagenic effects breakthrough bug poison Draxx is having on Los Angeles roaches make for some pretty good storytelling and apocalyptic events. Throw in a few brilliantly written characters (Henry and his corporate girlfriend Laura) as well as the rest of the sickos at the Bug-Bee-Gone Extermination company and you've got yourself a winner. Cheers, Simon Oliver, keep writing and I'll keep reading. And Tony, your art rules, dude!