"Preacher" is a graphic novel series that follows the footseps of the three very different characters - Jesse Custer (a former Reverend and vassal of the mysterious entity Genesis, which may be more powerful than God), Tulip (once a flame of Custer's), and Cassidy (a vampire), as they get into adventures in Jesse's search to find God.

Volume Three of Preacher has a story of John Custer, Jesse Custer's father, fighting in Vietnam, Jesse's rescue of Cassidy from a fortress under the control of The Grail, a secret society dedicated to preserving the bloodline of Jesus and Madgalene, and Cassidy shares part of his life story to Jesse.

All of these stories are excellent - they expand upon the Preacher mythology in interesting ways, and show why the "Preacher" graphic novel series is so enjoyable - the explicit violence, the dark humour, the interesting ideas (including some interesting religious ideas for the story about The Grail).

If you have read the first two graphic novels of "Preacher", you know what to expect here, and it is delivered. If you haven't yet read either of the first two books, I would highly recommend both. ( )

Doesn't get any better than this. Well, maybe just a little bit. ( )

This volume of preacher brings a lot of bang for the buck. On the surface, this is Cassiday's rescue from The Grail, but it quickly becomes rich mining material for those wondering exactly how The Grail, Herr Starr and Jessie Custer are connected. If that weren't enough, connections between the Saint of Killers, Genesis and God's need to take off are solidified. As an added bonus, Cassiday's origins as a Vampire take up much of the last part of the book, so his character is given a little bit of depth.

This is not to say that this is a simple volume of backstory and relationships. There's the usual buffet of violence and a few major explosions thrown in for good measure. Ennis also brings his twisted sense of excess to Allfather D'Aronique - something you might not want to visit on a questionable stomach. This is also the issue that will give Herr Starr his unique signature look. ( )

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A game of two halves, with the first part seeing our heroes bust their Irish vampire friend out of captivity in southern France, overcoming adversaries who, if this weren't a graphic novel, you would happily describe as "comic-book villains". But the second part of the book was much more interesting for me; a presentation of the Easter Rising as witnessed by Cassidy, followed by a melancholy meditation on immortality and watching his friends grow old and die around him. I winced a wee bit at the historical inaccuracies in the Irish bit, yet it is a decent effort to portray the story to an audience who would have been mostly utterly unfamiliar with it. ( )