Preacher Vol. 2: Until the End of the World

It's hard not to be completely captivated by this volume, because it's so full of action and intrigue that you just can't look away.

The first half of this book takes us back to Angelville, the ancestral home of Jesse's family, that (let me assure you) is not full of angels. Instead, the place is populated by a violent sociopath and a redneck who will fuck anything, both of whom are under the dominion of Jesse's psychtic grandmother. All grandmother's have the tendency to be a bit scary somtimes (since they've had longer to perfect the mother stare and manipulation techniques), but this one is some other piece of work. I literally cheered when she (and the ancestral home) went up in flames! So long and good riddance, you crazy old show more bat!

The second storyarc sets us up for the next big adventure, with the introduction of a secret society who is in charge of protecting the Grail (ie the bloodline of Christ). Apparently they want Jesse to be the next messianic figure, since he actually has the power of God and the current offspring is somewhat of a disappointment. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they're practicing inbreeding as a means of keeping the bloodline "pure" again! Sometimes these fundamentalist types are just so stupid that it makes me laugh. show less

The first half of Volume Two of the Preacher series has Jesse return home at the behest of his grandmother, and it's not a happy go lucky return either. No, no, this is a violence laced reunion of the sort one should expect from these books. The second half has the introduction of a new enemy in the form of a secret society with its own corrupt agenda.

I enjoyed Volume Two so much more than Volume One. It's still full of an assortment of vile characters, but I was able to get a feel for Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy finally, which allowed me to care about what happened to them. The structure is cleaner and the art still fits nicely. A much more solid book, in my opinion and it has me wanting to pick up Volume Three just so I can find out show more what happens next. show less

I enjoyed book two much more than book one because now I understand the story more fully.

I love the strong characters of Jesse Custer (the preacher), Tulip (Custer's girlfriend), and Cassidy (the Irish vampire). If you think that's a strange cast of characters, wait until you meet the others. In this book, I think the creepiest were Gran'ma (you have to grab this book to see what she looks like!) and Jesus de Sade. They are not only disgusting characters, but they are drawn to look as bad as they are. Wonderful artwork by Steve Dillon, including some individual covers by Glenn Fabry. Check it out.

A truly fun part of this series is the occasional laugh-out-loud one-liners that provide comic relief to an otherwise intensive dark story. show more Love it!

Moving on to book three of this series... show less

Bueno, si la idea era superar la perversión de "Rumbo a Texas", misión cumplida. De nuevo nos encontramos un tomo que contiene dos historias separadas (bueno, más bien una y media, porque la conclusión de la del Grial no es exactamente satisfactoria).

En la primera de ellos, conocemos a la encantadora abuelita de Jesse, una señora en silla de ruedas que lidera una especie de secta de paletos en la que creció nuestro predicador. Un infierno en vida, con torturas continuas y la muerte de los seres queridos de Jesse. La historia se vuelve a repetir cuando capturan a Custer y Tulip, y buena parte de los capítulos se emplean en contar por medio de flashback el pasado del predicador. Las anécdotas depravadas se suceden.

Aunque para show more depravación, la segunda mitad del tomo, en la que Jesse y la pandilla se ven envueltos en un lío de narcotráfico, orgías extremas, "detectives sexuales" y los descendientes de Jesús. Es una maldita locura se mire por donde se mire, y toda la aventura acaba un poco de repente con un Cass acribillado a balazos por El Grial.

Un par de detalles que me gustan: el poder de la Voz se ve nerfeado considerablemente, primero por Dios Todopoderoso (cuya intervención y relación con los sucesos acaecidos es todavía un tanto confusa), y luego por un cubrimiento de oído estándar. Acostumbrado al chetadísimo Sueño en Sandman (que claro, es más que un dios, pero Jesse tiene a Génesis dentro y a saber de lo que es capaz todavía), es un alivio ver que Jesse no es omnipotente.

Mucho romance entre Tulip y Jesse también, cosa que hace que la acción levante un poco el pie del acelerador, y se agradece. Tulip parece un personaje bastante bien ejecutado por lo general, cosa que también está fenomenal.

El volumen 3 me espera, a ver como termina todo esto. show less

So what do you get if you lock Quentin Tarantino in an editing room with film spools from the Exorcist, Caligula, the Divinci Code and Deliverance - you guessed it - Preacher Volume 2. Sacrilegious, violent, depraved, and philosophical are a couple of words that describe it. But really if you're reading Volume 2, you don't really need a warning label.

The funny thing is through all that, one of the things that disturbs me the most is that all 3 main characters are chain smokers and they smoke everywhere. Sorry smokers, but it's just so nasty to think of people smoking inside a room or smoking and then kissing. I'm definitely old enough to remember when it was common, but I hated it back then too.

Anyway, rants aside, this is not totally show more my kind of thing, but I respect it for its originality and the author's willingness to follow the story wherever it takes him (and us). The dialogue is pretty hilarious and occasionally philosophically witty. It kinda strange that he somehow managed to fit a love story into the whole thing as well.

One thing I didn't like was Starr seemed like a complete badass at first but then turned out to be this kind of bumbling weak character. The alley scene just didn't make any sense to me. show less

Hello Grandma!

A little of Jessie's childhood has come back to haunt him and a good little spanking, too. I love getting more of Tulip's history, too, but it's not quite up to levels I want just yet. Hit-Girl, eh? Just fine. :) But grandma the bible-thumper? Wow, what a nightmare she is.

Good thing we can put that thing in the coffin, now.

What I really liked most about this volume was the guest appearance of god. :) He sounded so scared... or was that really him? Who knows!?! Well... maybe me because I'll be continuing on right away. :)

Volume 2 just gets darker and darker.

Jesse's home life, it's no wonder Genesis chose him as a host. These two apparently were made for each other. And the fact that Ennis isn't scared to just kill off a major character (although briefly) is the act of a madman (with a flash of genius), and unlike most comic book character revivals, this one makes absolute sense because it fits the ongoing plot.

And the Grail. These guys are not messing around. Once again, I cannot wait to see where this story goes next.