Graphic Novel Review: Preacher

“Don’t take no shit off fools. An’ you judge a person by what’s in ’em, not how they look. An’ you do the right thing. You gotta be one of the good guys, son: ’cause there’s way too many of the bad.”

– Garth Ennis, Preacher

PREACHER
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillon
Volumes: 1-9 (66 issues)
One of the most celebrated comics titles of the late 1990s, PREACHER is a modern American epic of life, death, love and redemption also packed with sex, booze, blood and bullets – not to mention angels, demons, God, vampires and deviants of all stripes.

At first glance, the Reverend Jesse Custer doesn’t look like anyone special-just another small-town minister slowly losing his flock and his faith. But he’s about to come face-to-face with proof that God does indeed exist. Merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Jesse now possesses the power of “the Word,” an ability to make people do whatever he utters. He begins a violent and riotous journey across the country in search of answers from the elusive deity.

I am going to start by telling you to stop reading this review and find a copy of Preacher. This comic’s only flaw is that it is only 75 issues long – I need me some more Jesse Custer and Cassidy.

Garth Ennis is one of those writers that just can not write trash. He is a wizard with a pen – weaving the most immersive story lines that you can’t help but lose yourself in. He doesn’t beat around the bush in Preacher, dishing up a brutal slap to the face of organised religion and most of stereotypes that are typically American. Hey – you have to admit that most of the stereotypes that exist about Americans are a little bit true, especially about those who live in the swampy swamps of the South.

He’s a little partial to all things vulgar – the imagery is almost always hyper sexual and violent, but it never seems heavy handed. It serves a purpose, as this is not your average hero/villain situation. Everything is much more dark and twisty. More complicated. Much more exciting.

The characters are – amazing. They are all flawed and broken, which only adds to the fact that you can’t help but connect with them as they develop and grow. Entire issues are often dedicated to characters considered supportive characters at best, which I found kept the pace nice and steady, and lightened the dark and gritty themes a little. I loved that you would meet a character earlier on only to see that their story has run linear to the main story arc and you meet these characters issues into the future right after you had forgotten they existed. These are pure filler, but it works so god damn well that you barely notice.

It’s hard to go into too much detail because of spoilers, but this comic really does touch on so many different themes that many of us have considered somewhere in our lives. You have the obvious ones, like the existence of God and his unwillingness to act in ways that seem fair. I personally loved the way that Ennis drew connections between religious people and their hypocrisy – you had characters preaching about God but who were torturing children, slaughtering people left right and centre.

I am a huge sucker for a well drawn comic, and Steve Dillon never fails to surprise me. He has the ability to draw in an incredibly emotive fashion, with characters being portrayed exactly as I imagine a normal person would react.The images simply ooze emotions often missed by others – annoyance, sadness, grief and hatred are all easy to differentiate and are perfectly tailored to each character – you won’t see the same face pulled by the same character twice.

The Good: You can’t help but fall in love with many of the amazingly well written characters, in all of their warped and broken glory. Garth Ennis doesn’t pull punches, throwing shade on all the things we love to hate. Mostly God, and religion. While this is a very blatant supernatural comic, it is also a beautiful ode to all things Western. Expect those Western themes, such as the need for a nemesis or a black and white version of good and evil.

The Bad: The fillers can be a little confusing but they are worked into the series in a way that you barely notice, and if you do.. you still enjoy them. It’s rare that a filler issue can be entertaining, but Preacher makes it happen.

The Verdict: You have to read this. BEFORE THE TV ADAPTION. You can not enjoy books like the Dark Tower series by Stephen King and not have read the comic that helped inspire it. This is comic is perfection, there is no doubt about it.

Rating: 5 bottles of gerbil lube out of 5.