Preacher, Gone To Texas...

At long last, I’ve started in on reading the highly regarded and critically acclaimed Preacher series of graphic novels written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Steve Dillion. I’m a huge fan of Ennis' work on Punisher, and have been meaning to read the Preacher novels for a while, just haven’t got to it. Well, I have the first one of nine books here, and picked it off the shelf the other night. Couple hours later, I finished it, then proceeded to order the other 8 books from Amazon. Should be here soon, I hope. Have to see where this story goes. It is a completely over the top mix of violence, humor, questions of faith, western themes, vampires, utter crudeness, biblical references, and anything else you can think of. Anywhere else, this kind of stuff wouldn’t work, but here it all mixes together in some weird kind of sense. I was laughing out loud at some of the dialogue one minute, then pondering a thought provoking moment the next. It all revolves around Reverend Jesse Custer and his trip to find God. And that is to say, literally find Him and talk to Him. Accidentally bonded to a supernatural force called Genesis, Jesse finds himself with power that might just rival God. However, after finding out God left the realm of Heaven upon the birth of the Genesis entity, Jesse sets out to find Him and take Him to task for the way things are. (“How the hell can God quit?!” Jesse asks). With a strong moral conviction, Jesse is joined in his quest by his gun toting ex-girlfriend Tulip and an Irish vampire, Cassidy, who is a riot of a character. Along the way, a host of other characters show up, including a gunslinger straight out of the wild west called the Saint of Killers, appearances from a ghostly John Wayne, and a kid with revenge on the mind called Arseface. I tell ya, it’s a trip. Needless to say, if you are the type that is easily offended, steer way clear of this book. However, those that can appreciate this kind of trip with an open mind will enjoy a kick ass ride through a crisis of faith. It’s a helluva premise for a story, and interesting questions are raised, along with side splittingly funny and profane dialogue. Then in the middle of this mayhem, there’s this Jesse character with a moral compass who refuses to abuse his newfound power. I love works (movies, books, music, etc) that can entertain you, make you laugh, and make you think all at the same time. Can’t wait to read the rest of the books and see just how this story could end. If you're interested, you can download the first issue in PDF form here. Edit: This is a fictional story (the Preacher books, that is) that should not be taken literally by anyone. It should not be read by anyone under 18 and without a sense of humor. This should not be considered as a promotion or recommendation of the books as I have only read one and cannot comment on the scope of the story...yet. Stay tuned for that.