Preacher Vol. 1: Gone to Texas

Husband: "You should read Preacher, I think you'd really like it."
Me: "Oh yeah? What's it about?"
Husband: "...well, it's, uh, hmmm...it's a western?"
Me: "You can't blurb it for me?"
Husband: "Not really, no. Just read it."

A few hours later...

Me: "So lemme get this straight. We have Jesse Custer, the Preacher, who's been possessed by some sort of nigh-omnipotent heavenly power and has the spirit of John Wayne as his guardian angel, Cassidy, who's basically Shane McGowan the vampire, and Tulip, the mob-connected hit woman and Jesse's ex-girlfriend all off on a mission to literally find God?"
Husband: "Yup."
Me: "That's just insane."
Husband: "Maybe."
Me: "Be a dear and grab me volume two, if you would be so kind..." ( )

While I feel that this is extremely well executed and thought-provoking, this is definitely at the far violent and graphic edges of my taste. Foul language? Yep. Sex? Yep. Over-the-top violence? Yep. I read books with all of these things included, but in a graphic novel they have an even higher impact. A strong stomach and a tolerance for less than reverent depictions of religion are both needed, but if you can handle it, I would highly recommend this series. This first volume really sets the stage for the series as a whole and introduces us to the three main characters - Jesse, who has the Word of God on his side (sort of), Tulip his gun-toting ex-girlfriend, and Cassidy, an Irish vampire. Fun and funny in places as well. ( )

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked up Preacher, I just knew that it was one of the Vertigo titles that everyone raved about and that the trade had Kevin Smith's recommendation right above the title. That was enough for me.

This book is fantastically written. There is so much dark humor, crass language, and graphic violence that I'm surprised I didn't hear more about it from the people who usually boycott things like that, especially in a comic book. Kudos to Garth Ennis for pulling off such a brilliantly dark book and to Steve Dillon for not holding back on the gory details.

I cannot wait to see where this is going. ( )

One word: Beefybird ( )

As soon as I got wind of this series I knew I had to read it. A Texas preacher possessed by a supernatural entity wielding power to rival God himself, a snarky alcoholic Irish vampire, and a female contract killer named Tulip? And all three on the lamb! What's not to love? The whole cast of characters, major and minor, is wonderfully imagined and perfectly portrayed. The tone and content of this comic is so full of attitude, grit, vulgarity, and violence that it makes Frank Miller's Sin City look like Family Circus. Not to say that these elements are simply to shock and disgust. They come natural to the characters and the situations they find themselves in. There are good lowbrow laughs to be had as well. Some great one-liners. Ennis' dialogue is golden and makes you really hear the characters. I keep drooling about the writing, but not to discount Steve Dillon. His art is amazing. Almost twenty years later, I doubt half of the pencillers working today could deliver so perfect a compliment to story as Dillon does here. ( )