jbmorgan86's review
4.0
"When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. Then the Lord said, 'My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.' The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown." (Gen 6:1-4)
Preacher is a comic series that takes Gen 6:1-4 literally, and then takes it even further. An angel and a demon mate and give birth to a powerful being. If this being enters a human host, it will become the most powerful being in the universe. When this happens, God retires and goes into hiding on earth. He leaves the angels in charge of dealing with this problem. The being enters into a preacher who has lost his faith. The Preacher goes on a quest to find God . . . literally. That is the overarching story of the series. In this volume in particular, the Preacher and friends get wrapped up in a serial killer mystery.
Preacher is a graphic, graphic novel. Don't read this if you are easily offended or you have a weak stomach.
As a seminary graduate, I have an interest in all things religious. There was an interesting dialogue between the Preacher and his companion Cass:
The Preacher: "I'm lookin' for the Lord 'cause I figure he's desserted his creation. I aim to bring him to book for that little transgression: to confront him and hear his answer to that charge.
He has a [sic] obligation to do right by the world He's made an' the folks he's peopled it with. He quits an' runs, He ain't facin' up to his responsibilities.
Figure if I start Lordin' it over people with this gift I got, just to make life a little bit easier, who am I gonna be to talk about responsibility? You got power, you got to use it right."
Cass: "So do you reckon that His creation an' all these good people livin' on it are worth the time an' effort you're expendin' on their behalf?"
The Preacher: "Matter of fact Cass--Yes I do."
Theodicy at its best.
Preacher is a comic series that takes Gen 6:1-4 literally, and then takes it even further. An angel and a demon mate and give birth to a powerful being. If this being enters a human host, it will become the most powerful being in the universe. When this happens, God retires and goes into hiding on earth. He leaves the angels in charge of dealing with this problem. The being enters into a preacher who has lost his faith. The Preacher goes on a quest to find God . . . literally. That is the overarching story of the series. In this volume in particular, the Preacher and friends get wrapped up in a serial killer mystery.
Preacher is a graphic, graphic novel. Don't read this if you are easily offended or you have a weak stomach.
As a seminary graduate, I have an interest in all things religious. There was an interesting dialogue between the Preacher and his companion Cass:
The Preacher: "I'm lookin' for the Lord 'cause I figure he's desserted his creation. I aim to bring him to book for that little transgression: to confront him and hear his answer to that charge.
He has a [sic] obligation to do right by the world He's made an' the folks he's peopled it with. He quits an' runs, He ain't facin' up to his responsibilities.
Figure if I start Lordin' it over people with this gift I got, just to make life a little bit easier, who am I gonna be to talk about responsibility? You got power, you got to use it right."
Cass: "So do you reckon that His creation an' all these good people livin' on it are worth the time an' effort you're expendin' on their behalf?"
The Preacher: "Matter of fact Cass--Yes I do."
Theodicy at its best.
amy_da1sy's review
3.0
This was a pretty good book funny, and dark at times. I don’t 100% love it though
merqri's review
3.0
It's off to a good start. It's just the first volume. I'm not completely reeled in it yet. Let's see how the story unfolds.
kandicez's review
4.0
Vertigo is far and away my favorite comic book publisher. Yes, I know they are owned by one of the “Big Guys”, but Vertigo has a tradition of allowing artists to be just that - artists! Preacher is not for everyone. I can see how many, many people would find it offensive, but Vertigo produces it anyway for us wack jobs that love this stuff!
This first installment introduces us to the main trio and while we are left with many, many questions, we are given the groundwork and understanding of just what the hell is going on. Heaven has made a mistake and a child of a demon and an angel has inhabited a rough, handsome, but not so sweet, Texas Preacher, Jesse Custer. This has given Jesse the voice of God which he eventually uses in his quest find said God. He embarks on said quest with an old girlfriend, Tulip, and a Scottish Vampire named Cassidy. Talk about a fun trio!
I am re-reading these in anticipation of the new series on AMC. I got to see the pilot in April at WonderCon and thought I was remembering the comic wrong because it was so very different. I wasn’t. AMC is just condensing and making the subject matter more easily accessible and just a bit less offensive. It’s far from clean, but it isn’t raunchy, that’s for sure.
I absolutely love the guy cast as Jesse Custer, and while I originally felt Tulip was all wrong because she’s supposed to be blonde and pale, I have now decided the actress playing her may not look like the Tulip on the page, but she sure acts like her! Cassidy is perfect in looks, accent and just general “bad assness”!
I know this is more of a commentary on the pilot of the show, but as I finish the series, because really, now that I’ve begun, how can I not? I’ll review the installments on just the books’ merits.
Anyone who likes the comics and is remotely interested should watch the show. It was great!
This first installment introduces us to the main trio and while we are left with many, many questions, we are given the groundwork and understanding of just what the hell is going on. Heaven has made a mistake and a child of a demon and an angel has inhabited a rough, handsome, but not so sweet, Texas Preacher, Jesse Custer. This has given Jesse the voice of God which he eventually uses in his quest find said God. He embarks on said quest with an old girlfriend, Tulip, and a Scottish Vampire named Cassidy. Talk about a fun trio!
I am re-reading these in anticipation of the new series on AMC. I got to see the pilot in April at WonderCon and thought I was remembering the comic wrong because it was so very different. I wasn’t. AMC is just condensing and making the subject matter more easily accessible and just a bit less offensive. It’s far from clean, but it isn’t raunchy, that’s for sure.
I absolutely love the guy cast as Jesse Custer, and while I originally felt Tulip was all wrong because she’s supposed to be blonde and pale, I have now decided the actress playing her may not look like the Tulip on the page, but she sure acts like her! Cassidy is perfect in looks, accent and just general “bad assness”!
I know this is more of a commentary on the pilot of the show, but as I finish the series, because really, now that I’ve begun, how can I not? I’ll review the installments on just the books’ merits.
Anyone who likes the comics and is remotely interested should watch the show. It was great!
jcschildbach's review
4.0
This is another work that if you like Ennis, you'll like this, and if you don't, you won't. As a whole, I like Ennis, although there are numerous things he does (repeatedly throughout almost all of his works) that irritate me. One is an obsession with genital mutilation (rarely actually depicted, usually just described in dialog and occurring twice in this particular volume). Ennis comes up with enough other violent acts, that the GM hardly seems a necessary go-to. Another thing is the use of racist and homophobic language--which, to his credit, Ennis usually uses to make some point about how language is used. Still, not really that necessary when done so frequently. Also, since Ennis often has the most homophobic characters actually turn out to be closeted, angry, self-loathing homosexuals, you start to expect that.
All that said, there's enough here to get things rolling in more than one interesting direction. A sadistic family, divine intervention on multiple levels, God on hiatus, a vampire, a serial killer, and a rookie hit-person. I wasn't wild about the artwork, but it is effective for telling the story clearly.
All that said, there's enough here to get things rolling in more than one interesting direction. A sadistic family, divine intervention on multiple levels, God on hiatus, a vampire, a serial killer, and a rookie hit-person. I wasn't wild about the artwork, but it is effective for telling the story clearly.
delphinaris's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
this book FUCKS SO HARD 😤😩
foreverbeautifulbooks's review
4.0
Wow! Just wow! Talk about a reality where literally ANYTHING is possible! I started reading this because of the show, and while they have changed quite a bit, and they haven't really touched on any of the heaven stuff, they have held true to the tone of the comic. I love the uncensored approach to the story. Anything can happen and hell it does! It is a brilliant storyline and it was this crazy roller coaster that hit and then didn't stop! I hope they keep some of the stuff on the show from the comic. I'm going to assume volume one is going to be season one. It was really lengthy and had a fantastic story to be told!
itsmarkyall's review
5.0
I picked Preacher up because a friend recommended it to me. About the first hundred pages I wondered just what the hell I was reading, and as the story goes on it gets stranger and stranger. As the story gets stranger it keeps getting better. Preacher is pretty different than any comic I've read. Reverend Jesse Custer is searching for God. Along the way awesome-weird-bad things start happen. Being a graduate of Bible college I've met religious cooks and nuts. This book's take on religion leaves me one part disturbed and one part giddy. This is not for the faint of heart or easily offended. Garth Ennis includes a lot of shock factor in this story. In my opinion that's a major factor in the story being so damn good. It's not all shock factor though. It's well told. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a group of characters so much. I highly recommend Preacher. If for no other reason than there is no better dialogue written in comics. Even Kevin Smith said so. That has to make it true.
rebelstorm's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4.3/5
Quality of writing: 4
Plot development: 4
Pace: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 5
Ease of reading: 5
Quality of writing: 4
Plot development: 4
Pace: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 5
Ease of reading: 5