What do you think?
Rate this book
The Exterminators #5
The Exterminators, Vol. 5: Bug Brothers Forever
"Vertigo's cult-favorite creepfest concludes in cataclysmic style as The Exterminators clash with Henry's former partner, the lowlife A.J., now reincarnated as a redneck version of an Egyptian deity and who commands an army of monster-sized cockroaches, seething with hatred for the human race. As the clock ticks toward insect Armageddon, the question is not who will live and who will die, but will humanity itself survive?"--Cover p. [4].
168 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2008
55 people want to read
About the author
Simon Oliver
207 books25 followersSimon Oliver was hatched in South London in 1969. Since that date he has consistently strived for mediocrity in a number of fields of employment, from cooking at the legendary Hacienda Club of Manchester in the late 1980's, scuba diving instructor in the planet's more tropical climes, to a career as a camera assistant in Hollywood. With such a spotty and heterogeneous employment record is seemed only fitting that the comic book would industry welcome him with open arms in 2005 for his writing debut in THE EXTERMINATORS.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 31, 2010
The series never delivered on the promise of it's first few issues. It vacillated uneasily between high adventure and political messages, lost it's sense of pacing (and horror) early on, introduced pointless characters, switched artists too often, and then simply forgot to wrap up its storylines.
I'm not sure when Oliver was told that he needed to curtail his run to thirty issues, but you would have thought he at least could have given a nod to characters that had been there for most of the series, had been heavily foreshadowed, and built up with an unsophisticated rape plotline. But no, they just disappear, never to be mentioned again.
Then there's an issue that's a complete aside, having nothing to do with the rest of the story, and the characters take some nice R&R despite being embroiled in the midst of an apocalypse. Talk about pacing problems.
The pseudoscience and faux history that underlie the plot are pretty silly, which wouldn't be bad if this were pure pulp, but Oliver tries to use these asides and allusions to make philosophical point here and there, not that it fares very well.
The whole thing goes from dark comedy to B movie over the course of the series, and the elements that make it up are predictable. Yet if Oliver was willing to trade with such familiar tropes, why did he treat this book like it was a new, exciting conceptual exercise?
It had the trappings of a lot of post-cyberpunk 'overload' fiction, which tries to tie together strange and disparate elements into something larger and stranger, but I didn't get the impression that Oliver was well-versed enough in the ideas he was alluding to, and hence, couldn't use them to their best advantage.
His literary references were scattered and didn't really jive with the story. The history and science were, as previously mentioned, ridiculous, but not in an insightful way. I suppose it just felt like Oliver was aping the styles of other UK authors for most of the run: Ennis, Morrison, Moore.
Then again, Ennis and Morrison have the same problem, so I won't say Oliver was completely outdone by them. It's an entertaining book, with some high points, some humor and character, but it is dragged down by numerous flaws and superfluity in its structure.
I keep reading series that show promise, but fail to deliver about halfway through, leaving me reading the latter half in a somewhat rushed, bored state, hoping that the author gets it back on track, but they never do. I just wouldn't feel right reviewing something without giving it the chance to redeem itself. I gave Exterminators a chance, but I'm not surprised it was canceled early.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
I'm not sure when Oliver was told that he needed to curtail his run to thirty issues, but you would have thought he at least could have given a nod to characters that had been there for most of the series, had been heavily foreshadowed, and built up with an unsophisticated rape plotline. But no, they just disappear, never to be mentioned again.
Then there's an issue that's a complete aside, having nothing to do with the rest of the story, and the characters take some nice R&R despite being embroiled in the midst of an apocalypse. Talk about pacing problems.
The pseudoscience and faux history that underlie the plot are pretty silly, which wouldn't be bad if this were pure pulp, but Oliver tries to use these asides and allusions to make philosophical point here and there, not that it fares very well.
The whole thing goes from dark comedy to B movie over the course of the series, and the elements that make it up are predictable. Yet if Oliver was willing to trade with such familiar tropes, why did he treat this book like it was a new, exciting conceptual exercise?
It had the trappings of a lot of post-cyberpunk 'overload' fiction, which tries to tie together strange and disparate elements into something larger and stranger, but I didn't get the impression that Oliver was well-versed enough in the ideas he was alluding to, and hence, couldn't use them to their best advantage.
His literary references were scattered and didn't really jive with the story. The history and science were, as previously mentioned, ridiculous, but not in an insightful way. I suppose it just felt like Oliver was aping the styles of other UK authors for most of the run: Ennis, Morrison, Moore.
Then again, Ennis and Morrison have the same problem, so I won't say Oliver was completely outdone by them. It's an entertaining book, with some high points, some humor and character, but it is dragged down by numerous flaws and superfluity in its structure.
I keep reading series that show promise, but fail to deliver about halfway through, leaving me reading the latter half in a somewhat rushed, bored state, hoping that the author gets it back on track, but they never do. I just wouldn't feel right reviewing something without giving it the chance to redeem itself. I gave Exterminators a chance, but I'm not surprised it was canceled early.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
November 9, 2020
3.4 stars
The pretty good finale arc made up for the mediocre meddling in the past few volumes. Would overall recommend
The pretty good finale arc made up for the mediocre meddling in the past few volumes. Would overall recommend
May 19, 2025
Well damn. What a series. What a book. What an ending. This series has been a blast to read. It's weird. It's creepy. It's hilarious. It's disgusting. And it's so damn fun. I think this has quickly become a new favorite of mine. What starts out as just a book about exterminators, turns into a full blown Egyptian mystery thriller. Yeah. I told you it was weird. Sure it's super out there, but that's why it's so much fun. It's the perfect blend between reality and fiction. The realness of the characters and relationships and how they interact with each other. Mixed with the wacky bugs, Egyptian Gods, and wild gore. It's a seriously great series. This volume wrapped it all up nicely. We got the big climax we've been waiting for. It was fast. It was brutal. And it was a little bit expected. I won't say what happened, but I think I'm happy with the ending. Anyway if you've never heard of this series before, now you have. Go read it. It's fucking great. Highly recommend.
September 2, 2024
Ok, this is, without a doubt of any kind, the second craziest vertigo series ever. Preacher will always hold the top spot. This series ends with a bang (read it, you'll get it). Insane. Totally enjoyable. PS: as with the previous volumes: DO NOT READ IF BUGS CREEP YOU OUT!
September 3, 2010
Le final de la série. J'avais vraiment beaucoup aimé le premier tome, les suivants étaient corrects, mais pas exceptionnels non plus. La faute, sans doute, aux différents changements de dessinateurs qui ne m'ont pas tous convaincu.
Le final est assez sympathique à suivre, et résout la majorité des intrigues. On tient une série complète, terminée, et c'est agréable. Maintenant, il manque à ce final une note apocalyptique, ou poétique, qui aurait vraiment marqué la série.
Une lecture agréable, mais pas essentielle.
Le final est assez sympathique à suivre, et résout la majorité des intrigues. On tient une série complète, terminée, et c'est agréable. Maintenant, il manque à ce final une note apocalyptique, ou poétique, qui aurait vraiment marqué la série.
Une lecture agréable, mais pas essentielle.
June 22, 2011
Simon Oliver - writer
Tony Moore - artist
2.5/5 stars
It is pretty clear that at this point in the story the series had been cancelled and Mr. Oliver had to wrap all the disparate story lines up neatly in a too-short timeframe. That is a pity because up to the fifth volume, The Exterminators was one of the funniest, most original comic books out there. Worth reading if you want to finish the story, but sadly not up to the same level of excellence of the previous four volumes.
Tony Moore - artist
2.5/5 stars
It is pretty clear that at this point in the story the series had been cancelled and Mr. Oliver had to wrap all the disparate story lines up neatly in a too-short timeframe. That is a pity because up to the fifth volume, The Exterminators was one of the funniest, most original comic books out there. Worth reading if you want to finish the story, but sadly not up to the same level of excellence of the previous four volumes.
December 6, 2009
kind of a weak ending for such a strong series. you can really tell they are getting canceled and trying to wrap everything up by the end, there were a few pages where i didnt really know what was happening and a few pages that were kind of pointless, which really hurt the whole wrapping it up thing.... it wasnt terrible though, if your a fan of the series it is an adequate read.
May 12, 2012
Watery, weakened finish to a series that showed immense promise at the start. The standalone tales are amusing at best, stilted and discomfiting at worst; then the final three-part wrap-up sequence attempts closure by way of explosive climax and completely whiffs. No good. If I knew the depths to which it would sink I would have skipped the series altogether. Reader be warned.
February 6, 2009
So while this book suffers a little from "wrap up quickly"-itis... i still really liked it. There's some good growth in the characters, and more backstory is painted in. I'm sticking to my guns that this is a great series and a truly fun read.
April 22, 2011
As others have said, the series wraps up very, very quickly, but I still enjoyed it. Henry James and company's battle against the creepy crawly things we don't like to think about was well worth the ride.
July 25, 2011
No menihän se liian pitkälle ja ihan pimeäksi ja sairaaksi ja kaikkea, mutta minä nautin. Ötököistä, viittauksista kaikkeen mahdolliseen ja mietteistäni, minkä kirjan ja kohtauksen valitsisin Pagen työpaikassa...
April 20, 2012
Yes, this volume suffers from having to wrap everything up in a hurry, but it also suffers from the same issues as the other volumes--a lack of direction. The entire series felt like it never quite knew what it wanted to be or where it was ultimately going.
March 4, 2013
The art continued to carry this series all the way to the end. The story - entertaining enough.
April 18, 2015
Ugh. Just gets from bad to worse. This is so badly-written, I'm surprised it lasted 30 issues.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews