Was the preacher run good? [Archive] - Comic Book Resources Forums

Gargus

10-02-2006, 06:12 PM

I had someone offer me whole run on preacher 1-66 for a really reasonable price and was curious if it was good, I never read them.

I like ennis when he does his own stuff like darkness and so on.

Just wondering if the whole series was good and ended well or if Im just better off having the first arc or two.

Hush Little Batman

10-02-2006, 07:44 PM

It was a fantastic series which started and ended with a bang. One word of caution - even though there were 66 regular issues, you really should get all the specials that were released. Unlike other companies where one-shots and limited series are just a way to make extra $$$ off a hot comic and usually have no bearing on the main story or reveal anything new, the Preacher specials were different. Reading them, in addition to the regular 66 issues, will give you a great overview of the entire world of Preacher. You don't HAVE to read them to understand the reg. series, but if you do, you'll have a more in-depth understanding of everything.

Here's a list:

Preacher Special: The Saint of Killers (limited series)
Preacher Special: The Story of You-Know-Who (one-shot)
Preacher Special: The Good Old Boys (one-shot)
Preacher Special: Blood and Whiskey (one-shot)
Preacher Special: Tall in the Saddle (one-shot)
Preacher Special: One Man's War (one-shot)

Kid Quick Foots

10-02-2006, 09:13 PM

Preacher was and is still one of my favourite books, great characters and story, run dont walk to get all 66 plus the specials as mentioned

Subotai

10-02-2006, 10:40 PM

Definitely worth reading - but I'd say get the trades, not the single issues. You get all the extras, and some cool intros by folks like Joe Lansdale and Penn Jillette.

carabas

10-03-2006, 01:32 AM

Preacher Special: The Saint of Killers (limited series)
Preacher Special: Blood and Whiskey (one-shot)
Preacher Special: One Man's War (one-shot)

These three are the only specials that you really need. The other ones are just frosting on the cake. Very nice frosting.

KYTouchMassage

10-03-2006, 03:06 AM

I was always a fan of "The Story of You-Know-Who" as well.

Anyway, yeah. Preacher was one of the best. Makes me a little choked up inside...

Bazooka Tooth

10-03-2006, 04:02 AM

Preacher is so darn goood that perhaps it deserves a stickied thread in here so that anyone can come in and praise it to heavens and others who've yet to read can go pick it up asap after the many recommendations and good words.

In any case..yeah Preacher's fun as heck. It's more than just the story that's awesome. The dialogs, the topics discussed, the issues it covers and many more, they're all clumped up together to make each and every read worthwhile and exciting. The characters are pretty powerful too. Soon enough after a few reads, you'll be hooked onto the characters deeply. A feew twists and turns from the book will have you either smiling, crying or smashing your home furniture. haha.

Go get em!

Gargus

10-03-2006, 06:28 AM

Sounds like a done deal then. Ill go get them after class today. Ill see about the specials later, I just started school so not like Ill be reading all 66 issues anytime real soon hehe.

Thanks.

dancj

10-03-2006, 06:37 AM

THe Good Ole Boys, The Story of You Know Who and The Saint of Killers are all reprinted together in the Ancient History TPB. Unfortunately the others are put in with the regular series in the other TPBs so you can't get those in trade without buying a load of the comics you'll already have

PanzerMega

10-04-2006, 09:02 AM

I just can't believe anyone would part with a whole run of Preacher.

Definately buy it.

filthysize

10-04-2006, 09:36 AM

I just can't believe anyone would part with a whole run of Preacher.

Definately buy it.

Yeah, seriously. I know a friend who would kill for it. It's been his pet project for years to own all the Preacher issues. Every year he goes to different cons to search for one or two back issues that he doesn't already own. Lucky bastard managed to find #1.

Sean Walsh

10-04-2006, 09:37 AM

I just can't believe anyone would part with a whole run of Preacher.

Definately buy it.

I might actually part with my set of TPBs soon...

...but only because I want those new printings that all match up real nice and purty. :)

Mister Mets

10-04-2006, 03:32 PM

PanzerMega

10-04-2006, 04:18 PM

I might actually part with my set of TPBs soon...

...but only because I want those new printings that all match up real nice and purty. :)

That's actually pretty tempting. Do the new versions have better coloring or paper quality?

I mean, I'd read Preacher printed on used toilet paper if I had to, but still....

carabas

10-04-2006, 04:48 PM

I might actually part with my set of TPBs soon...

...but only because I want those new printings that all match up real nice and purty. :)

Maybe wait until we see how Absolute Sandman does.
If it sells really well, I can see the possibility of an Absolute Preacher ot Transmet in the future.

DonC

10-04-2006, 04:55 PM

That's actually pretty tempting. Do the new versions have better coloring or paper quality?

I mean, I'd read Preacher printed on used toilet paper if I had to, but still....

I didn't read Preacher back when it originally came out, so I've been getting the trades. I think I've managed to get nothing but the latest editions and the paper changes from glossy to non-glossy and back again. It's confusing as hell, and more than a little annoying.

gsmith5678

10-05-2006, 08:41 AM

Definitely worth reading - but I'd say get the trades, not the single issues. You get all the extras, and some cool intros by folks like Joe Lansdale and Penn Jillette.

But with the issues you get Gone To Texas, the excellent letters page...

thehod

10-05-2006, 08:42 AM

Sparda

10-06-2006, 04:37 PM

I've been thinking of getting Preacher as well and everyone say's it's so good. What's the basic idea on the story?

spaz

10-06-2006, 04:57 PM

The Preacher series is definitely worth reading if not owning. I found it a bit slow but definitely picked up the pace in the latter issues. Great writing and art combo in Ennis and Dhillon.

PanzerMega

10-07-2006, 12:01 AM

I've been thinking of getting Preacher as well and everyone say's it's so good. What's the basic idea on the story?

It's hard to sum easily. On the surface it's about a Texas preacher who inherits the voice of God. But there's a million other things going on.

Try the first TPB, you'll dig it.

dancj

10-09-2006, 06:27 AM

I've been thinking of getting Preacher as well and everyone say's it's so good. What's the basic idea on the story?

The main ideas are:
Slapstick ultraviolence
Friendship
Blasphemy
Romance
Cowboys
Vampires
Organised religion

If you don't get offended too easily then there's no reason not to read it!

zebop

10-12-2006, 09:16 AM

PREACHER rocked. Period.

In any list of The Top 50 Comics of All Time, it would be in my Top 10.

Run, don't walk, and buy those bad boys off of your buddy before he sobers up. You won't be sorry.

:cool:

p.s. Dancj left out of the main themes, ultra-violence, vomit, sex and humiliation of one-eyed Germans.

Love Machine

10-15-2006, 11:57 AM

Overall it was an excellent series...some of the arcs are better than others and I disliked the overuse of the Starr character...but its probably the best regarded Vertigo series of them all...

Eumenides

10-15-2006, 12:25 PM

It's not a very good comic book. It has slapstick humour all over it, it's infinitely readable, you'll feel like you've known Jesse all your life, but it isn't particularly artistic. Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon didn't come into this world to set comics on fire; they never knew how to use the medium to tell the story.

ednemo

10-16-2006, 12:15 PM

Preacher is a great book for someone who wants to take a step away from super-hero books for a brief time. Preacher got me interested in Garth Ennis.

I also highly recommend Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis.

gorthon616

10-16-2006, 06:35 PM

I've been thinking of getting Preacher as well and everyone say's it's so good. What's the basic idea on the story?

It's basically the best of Garth Ennis. He goes the whole range of his ability, which is something he rarely does anymore. I'm not saying this as a critique of his current works (well at least not completely), but just to say if you liked any of Garth's work you would probably like this. But conversely, if there are some things that he does stylistically that you don't like then it might not be for you.

Gargus

11-08-2006, 04:34 PM

<Smacks Gargus around back of the head.>

Stop asking stupid questions. ;)

OW! Your gonna pay for that one, and your little dog to.

Well he finally got off his butt and we made a deal. It took so long cause I got a discount if I helped him do 2 raids in WOW to get something he needed. The guy lives like 800 miles away, I just met him and his wife along time ago playing EQ and now we play WOW.

At any rate I got 1-66, saint of killers mini series and some specials.

Hope its worth it, I been wanting to read this for awhile but never got around to getting them.

geordiesteve

11-09-2006, 06:08 AM

Preacher is excellent, it's very funny, dark, and it's about religion, trust, friendship, growing up, a whole range of subjects, which is one of the its strong points.

The basic story is about a former priest seeking God, literally, he is looking to find him and give him a stern talking to, but that is only scratching the surface, as it's like saying LOTR is about getting rid of some pesky jewellery!

I think it's one of those books that will stand the test of time as something special, like Watchmen, and more recent stories like Y: The Last Man, Pride of Baghdad, Strangers in Paradise etc.

Agent Helix

11-09-2006, 06:36 AM

stealthwise

11-09-2006, 10:24 AM

Preacher is half great, half UTTER DRECK.

For every brilliant moment in the story, ten pages later there's a hillbilly throwing his own feces, or something. Worth reading, but word of advice:

When you get to book seven, "Salvation", just skip right on to book eight.

Bwuh? Salvation is hilarious! I didn't like it too much at first, but the complete and utter absurdity of the whole situation eventually won me over.

"Odin... and his meat."

:D

Agent Helix

11-09-2006, 10:29 AM

Salvation is like a bad Seagal movie that even Seagal wouldn't bother starring in.

Bazooka Tooth

11-10-2006, 11:14 PM

Salvation grossed me out. Like really, it did. I almost even died lookin at the cyclop girl who looked at jesse like a cooked turkey or something. hahaha.

But i love that bit when Jesse pwned the Lawyer. hahaha that was Golden. And how he handled the KKK singlehandedly. hah!

Apathy Boy

11-11-2006, 02:00 PM

I liked "Salvation" a lot. Gross, but funny and also a little sweet.

"Dixie Fried," on the other hand, had no redeeming value whatsoever. Man, that was a stupid story.

Mr. Palmer

11-11-2006, 07:37 PM

To be honest, I was underwhelmed by the whole thing.

I came outta the gate really diggin on it, but by the 6th trade things simply began to fizzle. I had to strain to finish the whole 9 books.

will_butler

11-11-2006, 07:44 PM

Preacher is a little uneven. The Salvation arc is pretty much a digression, The Good Ol' Boys is entertaining but substandard, and I'm not going to lie; the ending was a bit underwhelming.

With that said, it's still one of the finest comics ever written.

Ennis got to combine everything he loves into one book, and anyone sho can't appreciate Ennis when he's working on something near and dear to his heart just doesn't want to like it. Preacher's moments of friendship, love, and mythmaking are some of the finest and most engrossing the medium has ever shown us. I love Preacher.

Will

stealthwise

11-12-2006, 12:11 AM

I liked "Salvation" a lot. Gross, but funny and also a little sweet.

"Dixie Fried," on the other hand, had no redeeming value whatsoever. Man, that was a stupid story.

Really? I thought that it did a good job establishing Cassidy's character and re-emphasizing exactly how f'd up he was as a person.

I mostly love that opening story about New Orleans with the other vampire though.

"Wanker. Noun: One who wanks."

Bazooka Tooth

11-12-2006, 12:35 AM

I've yet to finish the book.

By the looks offit..it's not gonna end the way i expect it to be. The setups for the entire plot was awesome..but daym..i'm sooo gonna be dissapointed if it doesnt end on a high note.

stealthwise

11-12-2006, 12:51 AM

Bazooka Tooth

11-12-2006, 02:02 AM

fingers crossed.

i hope it ends well.

-Sven-

11-12-2006, 04:00 AM

By the way, does anyone know if there will be something like a "One Volume Edition" of Preacher some time?
Like "Absolute Sandman" or Bone......?

A proper hardcover or something?

batturtle

11-13-2006, 11:27 PM

Preacher is one of my favorite comics ever and within it there are three of my favorite characters from any medium ever. It's the best writing from Garth Ennis accompanied by beautiful Steve Dillon art.

Jiminez Criqueta

11-14-2006, 12:00 AM

I've used Preacher to make fans out of people who completly and utterly hated comics with a passion and thought it was all corny 1950's type garbage.

And the ending to Preacher to me is perfect. And to show why I'll use what that person that I made a fan said: "The ending is genius cuz God is dead, he's gone, and.....nothing has changed". Nobody noticed any difference. Life is going on, humanity is fine and etc.

Kinda proved the whole point of the whole series.

Apathy Boy

11-14-2006, 12:07 AM

Really? I thought that it did a good job establishing Cassidy's character and re-emphasizing exactly how f'd up he was as a person.

I mostly love that opening story about New Orleans with the other vampire though.

"Wanker. Noun: One who wanks."The one-shot was damned good, but the actual story arc with the entire crew in New Orleans was just annoying. Ennis making fun of wanky goth poseurs would've made for an amusing one- or two-panel gag. But to construct an entire storyarc around that conceit? Ugh, talk about beating a one-note joke to death. I mean, c'mon, it's wanky goth poseurs.

Also include me among those who were disappointed by the finale. Not a bad story in itself, but the whole thing felt like Ennis had written himself in a corner and ended things in the simplest and most unsatisfying way possible.

Having said that, PREACHER was one of the finest series to come out of the '90s (and contrary to popular opinion, the '90s were an awesome decade for comics). Even with the flaws, PREACHER is worth reading from beginning to end several times. "All in the Family" ranks as one of my top 10 favourite comic stories ever.

Bazooka Tooth

11-14-2006, 09:17 AM

I fell in love with Until The End Of The World.

I unno..something about Jesse and Tulip in the book got me hooked onto it and i've never searched for something else when something nasty between me and my girlfriend pops out just to you know..get a peace of mind and allow me to act rationally, with love? i guess. haha.

I liked the Saint Of Killers one shot too. That pack of wolves scene has got to be one of the illest things i've seen in a comic panel.

Agent Helix

11-14-2006, 11:18 AM

dtgooden

11-14-2006, 01:05 PM

At any rate I got 1-66, saint of killers mini series and some specials.

Hope its worth it, I been wanting to read this for awhile but never got around to getting them.

Glad you got a hold of them. Preacher is fantastic and the first comic that really showed me what good comics were all about. Wish I'd spent more money on those than that damn Gen13 run. Bah (bad taste in mouth)

stealthwise

11-14-2006, 02:45 PM

Until the End of the World, the trade, is really the distillation of what makes Preacher both great and awful to me. On one hand, you have the legitimately great story of Jesse's childhood, and his vengeance against his family... and then they go to a dumb orgy where a guy has sex with an armadillo and there's jokes about cucumber dildoes.

But the dumb orgy was all about the excesses of sexuality and avant garde asswipes like Jesus De Sade. If you remove that part of the story, you lose a key element in Ennis's critique of sexual morality.

Bazooka Tooth

11-14-2006, 08:17 PM

Hmmm true. Different strokes for different folks.

I guess if you're able to identify what kind of writer Ennis is, you'll pretty much be able to embrace these little off the top stuffs that gets around in his work. It gets a tad played sometimes..but during moments when you're not really expecting anything or you're in a different state of mind, it pops out to you in a digusting yet funny manner.

Well...for me at least. hahaha. Sometimes i get turned off with all the bullshit too, but at other times i'm able to take it in and understand why it's there.

Agent Helix

11-15-2006, 06:20 AM

I don't think Ennis is a bad writer. I think he's a good writer with a bad bag of tricks he uses as a crutch. When he's not loading his stuff up with fart and dick gags, he can be pretty brilliant.

Granted, I think there's more major thematic problems with Preacher than just juvenile humor, but still.

I think Hitman is actually his best work.

Edit: Also, his Hellblazer was, for the most part, really great.

Rich L

11-15-2006, 07:10 AM

I think Hitman is actually his best work.

Agreed. As much as I like Preacher - and I like it a lot - I love Hitman from beginning (Demon appearances excepted) to end.

And there really wasn't another way for it to end....

Agent Helix

11-15-2006, 07:29 AM

And I think the reason Hitman worked really well is that Ennis had to work under restrictions, since it was in the main line DC Universe. Ennis, to me, is a writer that actually does his best work when there's someone there to tell him "No".

Agent Helix

11-15-2006, 07:31 AM

But the dumb orgy was all about the excesses of sexuality and avant garde asswipes like Jesus De Sade. If you remove that part of the story, you lose a key element in Ennis's critique of sexual morality.

And I don't buy this. Ennis "critiques" on various aspects of society throughout the series were akin to a comedian making jokes about airline food: Obvious, shallow, and bland.

stealthwise

11-15-2006, 07:25 PM

And I don't buy this. Ennis "critiques" on various aspects of society throughout the series were akin to a comedian making jokes about airline food: Obvious, shallow, and bland.

Maybe to you, but they worked because they usually didn't overtake the plot. It's when Ennis goes overboard for too long that you get some really tediously disturbing stuff.

But come on, how can you not laugh at stereotypical crap like "Wub."

"Humperdido. Humperdoo!"

Agent Helix

11-16-2006, 06:10 AM

Well what was Ennis trying to say with the orgy? What was the point? That sex is funny until there's kids? That sexual liberation inevitably leads to pedophilia? It's shallow, and full of nothing but shock value, much like having the leader of the Grail be an enormously fat bulimic, or having Starr wipe a retard's ass for his freedom. If you find it funny, great. A lot of it is amusing. But please don't try to tell me any of that nonsense is necessary or deep.

Gargus

11-28-2006, 10:12 AM

Ok I got my comics today, fedex just dropped em off. Not to bad really, I paid like 130 for them all.

My question is now. What do I read in what order?

I got 1 - 66 of the series.

Good old boys.

Cassidy blood and whiskey.

Saints of killers 1-4.

The story of you know who.

Tall in the saddle.

One mans war.

Agent Helix

11-28-2006, 10:20 AM

Burn "Good Old Boys" and "The Story of You Know Who".

Hush Little Batman

11-28-2006, 10:52 AM

Read them in the order the TPB's are published, which is:

1-26
Saint of Killers 1-4
The Story of You-Know-Who
The Good Old Boys
27-33
Blood and Whiskey
34-40
One Man's War
41-58
Tall in the Saddle
59-66

Subotai

11-29-2006, 06:30 AM

And I don't buy this. Ennis "critiques" on various aspects of society throughout the series were akin to a comedian making jokes about airline food: Obvious, shallow, and bland.

Speaking of comedians: Bill Hicks showed up in the series.

Nothing cooler.