Source: comicvine.gamespot.com

9. Highland Laddie

(The Boys: Highland Laddie #1-6)

I know this isn't a storyline most people really love, and I accept that it has flaws. But what it tries to do is admirable, and it’s something I don't often see in comics.

In the aftermath of Believe, Hughie heads home to Scotland to try and reconnect with his old life. In doing so, he realizes that maybe his old life isn't what he remembers.

When I returned home from college for the first time, I couldn't wait to see my old friends from high school. Upon doing so, it only took me a couple days to realize I'd been forgetting their negative qualities, and it was a tough experience. We whitewash our friends in our heads as being the best, forgetting the parts of them that we don't like. I haven't seen a ton of stories about that. And those are the parts of Highland Laddie that work best.

Plus, it serves as excellent foreshadowing for Hughie's relationship to The Boys, and more specifically Butcher. For the last act of the series, Hughie will be seeing the darker side of Butcher that he’d ignored. It's much better than people give it credit for, even with its flaws.