Columbia Pictures has acquired the motion picture rights to The Boys, a comic book series created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.  Described by Ennis as the comic that would 'out-Preacher Preacher' (a reference to his ultra-violent, sexy Vertigo series that is being adapted for HBO), The Boys is a no-holds-barred saga of a super-powered CIA squad charged with keeping tabs on society's growing number of superheroes.  Sony/Columbia producer Neal H. Moritz loves what he considers The Boys' original take on the superhero genre (superheroes unfortunately have all the flaws that afflict us ordinary mortals and need to be kept in line).  The Boys was originally optioned by Kickstart and Kickstart's Jason Netter will produce the film with Moritz.

DC's Wildstorm published the first six issues of The Boys, but the sagas' anti-superhero elements were evidently too much for DC, which dropped the series (though to its credit DC has allowed Darick Robertson, who is under exclusive contract, to keep working on the book).  Dynamite Entertainment picked up The Boys and the series has been a hit, especially in graphic novel form -- the first collection of The Boys was a top ten release in the direct market in May.  A second trade paperback collection, The Boys Vol. 2: Get Some, is due out in March.