"Preacher, Vol. 9: Alamo" by Garth Ennis

BOOK TITLE: Preacher, Vol. 9: Alamo

AUTHOR: Garth Ennis

YEAR: 2001

GENRE: Graphic Novel

SUBGENRE: Horror

GRADE: Extra Credit

Jesse Custer’s search for God, the Grail’s mission to bring Armageddon to earth, the Patron Saint of Killer’s obsession with revenge, and Cassidy’s quest for redemption, they’ve all come together for one last battle at the Alamo. It’s an appropriate battlefield considering the history behind such a famous stronghold. Bodies will pile up, deals will be brokered with spiritual entities, and everybody will get what they deserve in the end for better or worse.

The reason I’m giving this issue of Preacher a full five stars has to do with the ending and how no loose ends are left untied. While I won’t say what exactly happened (because of spoilers and all), I will say that the letters written to the main characters had my eyes dewy for a moment there. Will the letters mend broken relationships? Will the subsequent conversations bring Jesse, Cassidy, and Tulip the peace they need? Is life more complicated than just saying sorry? Indeed it is. Life is about changing and developing as you grow older, much like the stories themselves. Life is about becoming more than a one-dimensional stereotype. Every character in this graphic novel played their parts perfectly. Whether you love certain characters or hate them, there’s no denying they’ve earned not only their places in this story, but also their endings.

Which brings me to God almighty, the reason for the world’s chaotic destruction and the reason for Jesse Custer’s misery. He’s not portrayed as some fictional entity that haunts the minds of his followers. He’s portrayed as an actual god who demands love from the world and will go to devious lengths to get it. He needs to be put down just like any other despicable villain in this story. Is his portrayal controversial? Maybe to some people. But to me and every other fan of this comic book series, it was about time someone said these things about our lord and savior. Garth Ennis probably got a lot of hate mail in his day and he couldn’t care less. Offensiveness is his bread and butter and he put it to good use. Garth Ennis doesn’t even do it for the sake of shock value. He actually created an entertaining and thought-provoking story from all of the bloody and blasphemous moments. That’s what all R-rated authors should aspire to do.

This was a wonderful way to end the Preacher series and I’m glad I stuck through with it. Then again, sticking through with it wasn’t hard to do considering the previous volumes before it were entertaining to the core. It’s not often I give a five-star review, especially when entertainment is the only thing a book has going for it. I’m giving the final volume my strongest endorsement because of all of the emotions it made me feel as it got closer to the end. I cared about the characters. I cared when they got beaten down, killed, or otherwise humiliated. I still care about them even after I’ve finished reading. Congratulations, Garth Ennis, for earning your extra credit grade!

"Preacher, Vol. 8: All Hell's a-Coming" by Garth Ennis

BOOK TITLE: Preacher, Vol. 8: All Hell’s A-Coming

AUTHOR: Garth Ennis

YEAR: 1999

GENRE: Graphic Novel

SUBGENRE: Horror

GRADE: Pass

After six months of drug-induced sex with Cassidy, Tulip O’Haire escapes the devious vampire’s clutches and reunites with the one she truly loves, Reverend Jesse Custer. The two of them clear up their misunderstandings and their relationship becomes stronger for it. Now all that’s left is for Jesse to ask around town about how dark of a past Cassidy truly has. Meanwhile, the Grail still have plans to assassinate Jesse. Plus, a certain disfigured recording artist faces backlash for his “controversial” messages. All of this will come to a head in the ninth and final installment of Preacher. But for now, enjoy this violent appetizer.

When I first started reading this volume, I expected it to suffer from the same problems as its seventh predecessor. I thought it was going to be yet another hackneyed drama with all of the “good stuff” conveniently left out. By the time I got to the horsemeat storyline, I was proven dead wrong. In fact, the way those horses were butchered wasn’t at all “deliciously violent”. It was downright disturbing. While I never like to see animals treated in that way, I do appreciate being unsettled and uncomfortable during a series that prided itself on offensive content. The horse butchers were the villains of that storyline, so watching them get their rightful beatings was well worth the discomfort.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate the dramatic aspects of this graphic novel. On the contrary, I loved seeing Jesse and Tulip back together again. Not only is their romance a healthy one, but they’re also equal when it comes to beating up the bad guys. They’re both good with guns, they’re both vicious brawlers, and they both do their fair share of rescuing each other. It makes Cassidy look even more disgusting when you realize just what kind of a person he really is. He tried to keep Tulip for himself, but Tulip saw right through the lies and put a bullet through his chest. She’s a keeper, but only for Jesse Custer.

Speaking of our dear friend Cassidy, the way his acquaintances describe him to Jesse is another part of the Preacher series that could be considered disturbing. For the first few editions, he was a fun-loving friend who’d never stab his friends in the back. In this edition, he’s described as a selfish jerk who disrespects women, spends money on drugs, and has no room in his heart for love. I hated Cassidy so much after hearing this that I wanted Jesse to exact his revenge right then and there. But that’s what makes Cassidy such a convincing shades-of-gray villain: he can manipulate his way out of any dangerous situation. He’s the kind of creep you’d see on Dr. Phil’s show. Or Jerry Springer’s show, either one would be fine.

All in all, this was a fun little comic book even though it didn’t have nearly as many of the screwed up moments as its predecessors. I have a feeling we’ll get more of those in the final volume. For what it’s worth, I’m looking forward to that final volume. Will Jesse finally put God in his place? Will Cassidy get the comeuppance he deserves? Will the Grail finally assassinate Jesse in a nuclear fallout showdown? What will become of Tulip if she loses her boyfriend again? I legitimately want to know the answers to these questions and this graphic novel put me in that mood. Another passing grade for you, Garth Ennis!

"Preacher, Vol. 7: Salvation" by Garth Ennis

BOOK TITLE: Preacher, Vol. 7: Salvation

AUTHOR: Garth Ennis

YEAR: 1999

GENRE: Graphic Novel

SUBGENRE: Horror

GRADE: Pass

Feeling betrayed by his girlfriend Tulip and best friend Cassidy, Reverend Jesse Custer searches for meaning in the small town of Salvation, Texas. After fending off an attack against an old friend, he’s unofficially appointed sheriff of Salvation. His first big assignment is to do something about the Quincannon meat-packing family, who have run amok in Salvation with no consequences due to the patriarch Odin constantly paying off judges and officials. Jesse Custer cannot be bought or sold so easily and promises to do right by the people of Salvation.

While this installment of Preacher has its share of messed up moments, it doesn’t feel nearly as messed up as the previous volumes. Sure, there’s Odin’s little secret in the meat-packing plant. Sure, the villains are intolerably racist. But it just didn’t feel like the Preacher of old. Maybe I’ve become numb to it all after the first six volumes. Maybe I missed something along the way. Maybe I need to have this particular story explained to me. In any event, this seems more like a drama-driven story rather than a shock value extravaganza. While shock value doesn’t always mean good storytelling, Garth Ennis normally does it in a way that fits with the story perfectly. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a good story, but it’s just not the same.

But for all of this story’s faults, there’s no denying the heartstring-tugging moments that go along with it. This isn’t much of a spoiler since it happens early enough in the story, but Jesse does reunite with his mother after several decades apart. I won’t say how, but it does happen. And when it happens, tears flow from Christina Custer’s face like a running faucet. I’m sure Jesse cried somewhere during this reunion as well. Volume two was where Jesse’s sadistic upbringing and subsequent kidnapping was turned up to eleven. After enduring all of that trauma and never really recovering from it, Jesse and his mother have earned their tears and hopefully they’ll earn the reader’s tears too. This kind of hopefulness is what a dark and disturbing story needs every once and a while. Not too much of it, but this story had the right amount.

It’s also nice to see the sense of community among the residents of Salvation. It’s a small town, so everybody knows each other. I’ve lived in a small town before, so I know what that’s like. Coming together during a dire time of need is exactly what this town needed to feel credible. For years, Quincannon’s corporation has been terrorizing Salvation and getting away with it. It’s about time the citizens got sick and tired of being harassed. It’s about time they took Jesse Custer seriously as a sheriff. It’s about time they realized how badly they’re being wrecked by corporate interests. A nice little rebellion is what this story desperately needed. That too is heartwarming, probably just as heartwarming as Jesse’s reunion with his mother. I wish more small towns in America would stand up for their rights as much as Salvation ended up doing.

While I would have loved to see a continuation of the love triangle between Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy (drug-induced hallucinations aside), I’m not giving up hope for that just yet as I have two more volumes to read before the canon is over. This was still an enjoyable volume to read, however. Yes, it didn’t feel as gritty as the previous volumes, but it didn’t have to be in order to earn my seal of approval. Imagine if I expected grittiness from every story I read outside of the Preacher series. That wouldn’t be fair, now would it? How does a passing grade sound, Mr. Ennis?

"Preacher, Vol. 6: War in the Sun" by Garth Ennis

BOOK TITLE: Preacher, Vol. 6: War in the Sun

AUTHOR: Garth Ennis

YEAR: 1998

GENRE: Graphic Novel

SUBGENRE: Horror

GRADE: Pass

Reverend Jesse Custer, Tulip O’Haire, and Cassidy’s search for God continues in the Arizona desert, where the Grail leader Herr Starr and an entire army are waiting for them. Herr Starr’s rise to power within the Grail has been a long time coming, complete with backstabbing, politicking, and rubbing shoulders with the highest authorities. With complete control of this Christian shadow society, Starr’s power hungriness won’t end until Jesse Custer and the Patron Saint of Killers are both finally dead and buried in the desert sands. Will nuclear missiles, tanks, and machineguns be enough for these two powerful entities?

Yes, the Grail is a fictional religious entity that controls all of the world’s governments and corporations. But despite being fictional, their portrayal is brutally honest when it comes to how power is traded across entities. Conspiracy theorists would go nuts with this kind of material. The Grail moves the money, they keep world leaders under their thumbs, and they do it all in the name of God. Ordinary people don’t have access to that kind of power, so all they can do is protest peacefully and most of the time it’s not enough. If you’ve ever thought there was something out there holding you down and keeping you from advancing, this is the comic book for you. It won’t give you the strength you need to carry on, but it’ll be otherwise entertaining and slightly educational.

Another thing I enjoyed about this graphic novel was the continuation of the storyline between Tulip and Cassidy. If you remember from Volume Five (Dixie Fried), a drunken Cassidy confessed his love for Tulip behind Jesse’s back and that made Tulip despise the Irish vampire for it. While I won’t say how this storyline continues (you know, because of spoilers and all), it will reach its climax by the end of the book. Hearts will be broken, anger will be felt, and everybody comes out of it with sadness in their souls. Maybe your own heart will break alongside the three characters.

Of course, I’d be remised if I didn’t mention just how brutal and messed up everything in this comic book is, the violence not being the deadliest among them. Anybody can shoot a tank cannon or drop a missile with the press of a button. But can you dine on flesh like it’s Taco Tuesday? Can you make the strangest requests to prostitutes imaginable? Can you dive into an eight-hundred pound man’s belly and cause him to throw up? Can you stomach the inbreeding that goes on to keep the “true savior’s” blood pure? Can you listen to New Orleans tunes if they’re unintelligibly sung by a teenaged boy with a grossly deformed face? Garth Ennis has a vivid imagination and he’s not afraid to use it when penning copies of Preacher. That’s what I love about his work.

Another awesome volume of Preacher is in the books. Everything that made the previous volumes great is neatly packaged into this one as well. It makes me want to finish the final three volumes, which is what any book should be doing in the first place: making you hunger for more. Preacher is one of my all-time favorite comic book series and for that I’m giving this volume a passing grade. I anticipate more greatness in the volumes to come.

"Preacher, Vol. 5: Dixie Fried" by Garth Ennis

BOOK TITLE: Preacher, Vol. 5: Dixie Fried

AUTHOR: Garth Ennis

YEAR: 1998

GENRE: Graphic Novel

SUBGENRE: Horror

GRADE: Pass

Reverend Jesse Custer, Tulip, and Cassidy venture down to New Orleans to seek help from a voodoo priest. Jesse wants to access the supernatural power within him in an attempt to find God and make him pay for turning the world into a bloody mess. It just so happened to slip Cassidy’s mind that a den of vampires want revenge on him for what the Irishman did to their master several years ago. Graphic violence is the name of the game for these characters and anybody would be lucky to make it out of this story alive, let alone without any gushing injuries.

As someone who never hits on women, I enjoyed the subplot where Cassidy drunkenly confesses his love for Tulip despite the fact that she’s loyal to Jesse instead. Alcohol or not, it paints Cassidy as a shady pervert who could be easily ousted to Jesse for what he did. The idea that this is even a secret is enough to make me want to read more. You know sooner or later the secret might come out. When it does, a whole powder keg of emotions will destroy the otherwise solid friendship between Cassidy and Jesse. Does the secret actually come out in this volume or will it be saved for a later issue? Maybe. Maybe not. I guess you’ll never know, because I don’t give spoilers beyond the basic synopsis.

Another thing I like about this issue of Preacher is the wisecracking dialogue peppered throughout. Yes, it’s raunchy and vulgar, but the author can write the dialogue without coming off as a teenager trying to be edgy. I would advise my writer friends not to try and duplicate what Garth Ennis has written. Coming from his pen, the dialogue is gritty and rough. Coming from anybody less experienced, it sounds sloppy and awkward. I don’t want to give away any of the dialogue in this review lest I break the PG barrier. Yep. It’s that dirty…and I love it!

And of course, where would the Preacher series be without the delicious violence to go with all of this nasty dialogue? Decapitations, mutilations, gunshot wounds, sex-themed attacks, and vampires burning in the sunlight: what lovely guilty pleasures! But the violence isn’t superficial at all. There’s a deeper plot beneath it all and none of that gets lost in the shuffle. We’re talking about a minister on a revenge mission against God himself. Of course there’s going to be some wild and wacky violence. Of course there’s going to be some three-dimensional storytelling. If all you wanted was violence alone, you could just watch a UFC pay-per-view. Word of advice, Dana White: don’t allow Jesse Custer on any one of your cards. While we’re at it, let’s keep Cassidy and Tulip away from the cage as well.

The fifth volume of Preacher is a satisfying read that makes me want to finish the series. I must know what happens with Cassidy’s secret. I must enjoy more crass language and violence. I must see what happens when Jesse finally confronts God for a battle of epic proportions. A passing grade will go to this exciting graphic novel!

"Preacher, Vol. 1 through 3" by Garth Ennis

Just because the title of this graphic novel series is “Preacher”, doesn’t mean you should expect some Mickey Mouse, Veggie Tales, McGee bullshit. Yes, the main character, Jesse Custer’s, occupation is a minister, but what actually occupies his time is trying to fight off demons and angels left and right. How does he do it? With the help of a trigger-happy girlfriend named Tulip and a raunchy Irish vampire named Cassidy. Oh, and Jesse also has a powerful stare that forces its victims to do whatever the fuck he wants. If Jesse Custer wants you to go fuck yourself, that’s exactly what you’ll do. If he wants you to count the grains of sand on the beach, then be prepared for a long ass night. You can see every piece of hardcore, godless, offensive action in the first three graphic novels of the Preacher series. Each of them have blood, guts, broken bones, monstrous sex scenes, and dialogue that no bar of soap on the tongue can cure. No absence of malice in any of the first three editions. Having said that, the most disturbing of the three so far is the second one where Jesse has to survive being tortured and twisted by his devilish and bitchy grandmother. The horror she put Jesse through as a child and teenager is unspeakable, the most disgusting treatment being locking him in an underwater coffin for what seems like an eternity as punishment for going against the word of God. Throughout the entire second edition, you keep hoping and praying (no pun intended) that the grandmother gets her comeuppance. The further you read, the angrier you get at her and her cohorts. But before you punch a hole through the comic book, you should feel some sort of relief that there’s a special place in hell for people like her. You think you have fire coursing through your veins? Try living in hell for as long as the grandmother will. Constant torture and agony for a longer time than all of Jesse Custer’s underwater coffin punishments put together. This is the kind of thing you can expect from every episode of Preacher: badass action, transgression horror, and nightmares for many days to come. For all of you who say that comic books are for kids, I certainly hope you’re not talking about the Preacher series. Your kids would need so much therapy that even Bill Gates couldn’t afford to pay for it all.

　

***LYRICS OF THE DAY***

“When I hear that trumpet sound, I’m gonna rise right out of the ground. Ain’t no grave can hold my body down.”

-Johnny Cash singing “Ain’t No Grave”-