Preacher

[David T. Cole]

Picking this up from the newbie suggestions topic.

 

I finally read book 2 of Preacher. Aaaaaa! So good. I really *really* loved the mirror panel pages of Herr Starr after his run with Jesse at Masada. I actually laughed out loud at the wig page and I never do that.

 

On to book three!

[jellysalmon]

I haven't read preacher since the early 00s, but man that story gets crazy quickly. Also gross. Very very gross.

[Danny Franks]

I think Preacher is really the delineation point for Garth Ennis crossing over into, 'gross-out, 13-year-old-boy humour'. While those elements are still very much present in the story, I think the series as a whole is very good, with some interesting and provocative ideas. And Preacher is absolutely nothing compared to the disgusting Crossed and The Boys (seriously. Just google some images of either, and it should be enough to ensure you never pick up a single issue).

 

But I find Jesse Custer to be a very interesting, if not entirely sympathetic, protagonist. And Tulip, who was perhaps more sympathetic and almost as troubled. I found her backstory to be the most affecting, because it was so normally tragic. Jesse's was just dark and sinister and tough to read. Round those two off with Cassidy, and that was a good triumvirate of 'heroes' to root for. For the most part. Good supporting cast too, with Herr Starr, the Saint of Killers and other, grosser characters.

 

It was definitely darker than I generally like my comic books, though. Even for stuff that isn't mainstream superheroes, I prefer stuff with at least some lightness and positive energy.

[David T. Cole]

I think Preacher is really the delineation point for Garth Ennis crossing over into, 'gross-out, 13-year-old-boy humour'. 

 

I finished the run this weekend and I'm going to heed this warning as I thought, at times, this was getting too juvenile (the money shot of the meat 'thing' in particular). I still enjoyed the series as a whole and I'm curious to see what Seth Rogen can do with it for TV -- especially since he has stated he's going to toss some stuff out and rebuild the story somewhat.

[canucktvwatcher]

I finished the run this weekend and I'm going to heed this warning as I thought, at times, this was getting too juvenile (the money shot of the meat 'thing' in particular). I still enjoyed the series as a whole and I'm curious to see what Seth Rogen can do with it for TV -- especially since he has stated he's going to toss some stuff out and rebuild the story somewhat.

I'm worried about what Rogen, who can sometimes be a hack, is going to do to the source material. While I'm happy to see the series coming to tv, a watered-down, changed version would not be cool. This needs to land on a network that is going to tell the story, warts and all. True, there's a lot of gross-out moments in this series, but it's great nonetheless.

This was the series that got me back into comics.....great writing, memorable characters, and a willingness to go over the top when necessary. After reading this series, I sought out the rest of Ennis' work. Great stuff!

Edited June 15, 2014 by canucktvwatcher

[ShadowDenizen]

I think Preacher is really the delineation point for Garth Ennis crossing over into, 'gross-out, 13-year-old-boy humour'. While those elements are still very much present in the story, I think the series as a whole is very good, with some interesting and provocative ideas. And Preacher is absolutely nothing compared to the disgusting Crossed and The Boys (seriously. Just google some images of either, and it should be enough to ensure you never pick up a single issue).

 

I find Ennis a mixed bag.

 

He had THE seminal run on "Hellblazer", and I LOVED Hitman. (It was like Ennis trying to restrain himself for the mainstream, and it kinda worked.)  Plus? One word: Dogwelder.

 

But I gave up on Crossed after the 2nd miniseries, since it didn't seem like it was going anywhere and was more about the gross-out factor.

 

I haven't tried "The Boys" yet,

 

[Danny Franks]

I find Ennis a mixed bag.

 

He had THE seminal run on "Hellblazer", and I LOVED Hitman. (It was like Ennis trying to restrain himself for the mainstream, and it kinda worked.)  Plus? One word: Dogwelder.

 

But I gave up on Crossed after the 2nd miniseries, since it didn't seem like it was going anywhere and was more about the gross-out factor.

 

I haven't tried "The Boys" yet,

 

Ennis also wrote one of my favourite Judge Dredd epics, Judgement Day (along with a lot of other Judge Dredd stories). I have such fond memories of that as a kid. Dredd, zombies, world ending apocalypse, all the Judges of the different Mega Cities united. And Johnny Fucking Alpha along for the ride. "Epic" was the only word for it. Plus, the zombies sang their own version of We're Off to See the Wizard.

 

There were elements of his love of gore and black humour in that story, but Judge Dredd was always at its best when written as a dark, dirty satire anyway. Anyone who has enjoyed Ennis's work should seek that story out.

[Mini-Mart]

I must have a really high tolerance for gross, because nothing in the series phased me.  Except for the panel of 

Tulip getting shot

which actually made me gasp out loud on the bus.  I know it's twisted, but something about the Tulip/Jesse relationship really connects for me.  (The boy and I dressed up as them for our first Halloween.  No one got it.)