Highland Laddie is a six-issuecomic booklimited series byGarth Ennis andJohn McCrea (with Keith Burns). Originally published as aspin-off ofThe Boys, set between issues #47 and#48, it follows the story of"Wee Hughie" Campbell as in the aftermath of learning his ex-girlfriendAnnie to be a Supe, he takes a sabbatical from the Boys and returns home to Auchterladle, the Scottish seaside town where he grew up, where he reunites with his mystery-solving childhood friends, Bobby and Det.Highland Laddie was collected in trade paperback in April 2011 as the eighth volume ofThe Boys, asThe Boys: Highland Laddie. Storylines from the series would be continued in the 2020The Boysepilogue seriesDear Becky.
His mind still reeling from the events ofThe Innocents, Wee Hughie heads back home to the semi-idyllic Scottish seaside town of Auchterladle where he grew up, eight years after he left and a year after meetingBilly Butcher. While all he wants is some time to himself, Hughie finds his luck more cloud than silver lining, and the familiar surroundings he craves to not be what he encounters.[4][5][6]
Hughie delves into his past, finding the halcyon days of a childhood long past to not be all they're cracked up to be, in-so-far as successes of his junior detective operations with Big Bobby and Det, unaware of a connection between their oldest case and a shadowy outfit now moving Compound V-infused narcotics through the otherwise idyllic town of Auchterladle.[7][8]
Life in Auchterladle starts to settle down for Hughie, and with the return of his old loveAnnie, there may even be a ray of sunshine for our young hero. But into Eden comes the serpent, as Joe Tupper and the monstrous Big Sarah set about their bloody business. Just when things are looking up for Hughie, a new arrival throws his world into chaos yet again…[9][10]
As Hughie looks into the past of his erstwhile girlfriend Annie – a.k.a.Starlight of The Seven – but what he finds it to be is far from what he expected. Meanwhile, the true horror of Joe Tupper's Compound V-infused drug smuggling operation is explored…[11][12][13]
As Hughie does his best to get to the root of his personal troubles, events in Auchterladle begin spinning out of control. Hughie gets set up by an unexpected player as the depravity of Joe Tupper's narcotics operation is revealed.[14]
Wee Hughie's visit home turns violent, and everyone loses something – Hughie a friend, Tupper his sense of humor, and Big Bobby something even more vital, as Hughie finally comes to terms with his home and his past, but not before one last dark secret is revealed: his own.[15][16][17]
