Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Steve Dillon
Covers: Glenn Fabry
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letter: Clem Robins
Book One: GONE TO TEXAS
(includes issues #1-7, 1995)
Am not sure what motivated/nudged/pushed me to collect Preacher. But whatever it was, I am quite grateful. Though I've only read the whole thing past its original publishing time (one good thing about collected editions), I have no regrets. I think I've re-read the whole thing dozens of times already, and I'm still fascinated.
Garth Ennis made his mark with this series, catapulting him to the stratosphere occupied by comicbook heavyweights Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, and Alan Moore. Already doing Hellblazer then, Ennis applied his talents to a more gritty and realistic realm - but twisting it further with elements of religion, psychology, pop culture and just-plain human dementia. Bringing his twisted (and some would consider, blasphemous) vision to life is Steve Dillon, whose simplistic artwork belied the scope of emotions it wanted to evoke. A perfect match to the visceral, yet intelligent dialogue that Ennis' characters spout. The whole series revolves mostly in America, specifically Texas, but Ennis' Irish sensibilities (and wit) keep flowing to the foreground. It never loses the reader though, and even it borders on the verbose when the characters do dramatic scenes, you don't wave it off - it gets in your head, as much as the violent scenes and overtly sick themes gets into you.
The first volume leads off with an intro by acclaimed horror/thriller writer and true-blue Texan Joe R. Lansdale, who trumpets it with "... we all know its a comic book ... a chance to watch the dark side without having to be part of it. Its like watching an alligator eat a pig. Ugly, but mesmerizing. Especially since we're not the pig." This was only the first part. After getting through 66 issues (yep, 66), I was thoroughly exhausted. But I wanted to ride again.
The whole series kicks off ... with a quiet scene ... in a diner. Yep, and thats probably the quietest moment of the whole series. This is where we meet the three principal characters, Jesse Custer, a preacher from Annvile, Texas; Tulip, his ex-girlfriend, and Cassidy, an Irish ne'er-do-well who's more than meets the eye. The only reason why the three are even together is ... well, that's a pretty complicated reason. Where to start?
Jesse was the pastor of a backwater Texas town called Annvile, and having lost his faith in his flock, tries to stir them up to shame themselves. Before he can deliver a sermon of forgiveness (on a Sunday after he outs every sinner in the local bar and gets beat up in the process), a "paranormal" event occurs and results in the devastation of his church - and his entire congregation. Holocaust-ic.
Tulip was working as a hitman (or hitwoman, for that matter), when a botched assassination attempt led her to flee and hijack a truck as a getaway vehicle. The driver? An Irish lout named Cassidy, who figured, ah-what-the-heck-its-a-boring-night-anyway. They were parked near Annville the morning after, and thus witnessed the wipeout of the local church. Cassidy at this point, wanted to stay where they were (hiding underneath a tarpaulin in the back of his truck), but Tulip's curiosity leads her to find a sole survivor in the wreckage - the good ol' Reverend Custer. Who turns out to be her ex-lover.
Way beyond the ken of these humans (nyhahahaha), things were going into motion in the background. Or up and above, as the case may be. An infant child in the care of the Adephi, the angels who sit at God's left side - the administrators of Heaven, if you will - had escaped from his lofty home. This was discovered by the Seraphi - the right-hand side angel warriors - and laid the blame on the Adephi for their negligence. Panicking, the Adephi have to protect a dangerous secret - and knowing that this infant child - more of a concept, really - was headed to Earth and will find a host body to bond to, they immediately turned to their last resort: the Saint of Killers. And thus started the gears of the whole story.
They're no angels. Not the ones your mama told you about.
The so-called Saint of Killers is actually the patron saint of (duh) killers. He's vindictive, relentless and has no sense of humor. And the Adephi knew he wouldn't stop till he got the child - at this point, nicknamed Genesis - back. But he is in a way, too late, because based on the events described above, Genesis had already bonded with (drumroll please) ... Jesse Custer, resulting in the death of the latter's congregation.
Having driven away from the scene of the devastation to find a hospital, Jesse awakens knowing he has changed within but doesn't know what or why. Meanwhile, the local cops headed by the redneck Sheriff Hugo Root is about to track them down. Jesse and Tulip are both confused as to the circumstances that brought them together, as it seems they have not been together nor seen each other for 5 years. Enter Sheriff Root and the cops. But to escape, Jesse finds that he has the power of the "Word of God" (to Cassidy's delight because of its potential) and orders all the cops to lay down their guns and let them go. Helpless to disobey, the law watches the three drive away. While pondering what the hell just happened to them, hell came back for a second round with the appearance of ...
Clint Eastwood is a wimp.
... the Saint of Killers, who decimates the whole police force with 2 antique revolvers. Yup, its a video game in God mode with a cheat code of infinite bullets. Jesse and company actually barely escape the Saint as well, as he cinematically walks through the flames and smoke. Hugo Root survives and later tries his best to explain what happened to his superior and the "goddamn Eff Bee Aye" agent heading the Annville investigation. We also learn that Root has a son who idolized Kurt Cobain, and right after his 1994 suicide, emulated the act with a shotgun. Good news: he survived. Bad news: See below.
Which then brings us back up-to-date with the quiet breather in the diner. Tulip stays mum about her assassin activities, as Jesse is equally-reluctant to explain why he ditched her and disappeared for the last 5 years.
Cassidy's Zagat-worthy recipe for quiche.
Cassidy meanwhile, is raring to see where their next adventure leads them. Jesse has an inkling of the Genesis entity within him, and he knows he has the power of "The Word." We also note that Jesse strangely, has The Duke (Marion Morrison for those in the know, John Wayne for the laymen) as his personal offscreen advisor/mentor. Nice touch, Garth.
Fill your hands, you son of a bitch.
Which like I mentioned, was the last quiet moment before things pick up again, when Jesse and Cassidy get into a fight outside, and Cassidy gets stabbed in the eye. Suddenly, there's a Hammurabi moment, only its times 5, as eye for an eye becomes throat for an eye.
Supersized Value Meal at McVamp's
Yes, boys and girls, Cassidy is a vampire. Aren't you loving this series yet?
This shock revelation gets heated results, as Jesse drives Cass away (hahaha, "Cass away"), calling him "an abomination" (he is still a priest after all). Cass drives off in his truck, and Jesse and Tulip are forced to stay at a motel. Lest you naughty minds start wandering, nope, they don't do the nasty (but somewhere down the line they will, so stay tuned). Jesse though, with the pulsing power of Genesis within him, gets visions that makes him understand a little better. Genesis, as it turns out, is the offspring of a boy angel and a girl demon (the circumstances to be divulged later in the series). And this entity seems to be as powerful as God. Jesse deduces that Genesis was being held in Heaven and had escaped and someone sent the Saint of Killers to get it back. He then resolves that the quickest way to get some answers is to find the Saint and squeeze them out of him. Walking out of the motel room, a gun is aimed at Jesse's head. A gun held by Sheriff Hugo Root.
Gratuitous violence? What gratuitous violence?
Cass meanwhile, stumbles into a bar where all the patrons (and the two cops outside) have been killed by the Saint. Recognizing Cass as Jesse's companion, the Saint politely asks Jesse's whereabouts. Cass declines and gets shot for his efforts. The Saint just ambles away to find the standoff between Tulip and Sheriff Root, pointing guns at each other ala a John Woo scene. Tulip drops her gun at the sight of the Saint, then its Sheriff Root versus this unholy superman. That is, until Cass interrupts the proceedings by smashing his truck on the Saint, which was almost practically useless (Cass goes flying out the windshield while the Saint is still standing). Almost. Jesse's glad that Cass came back to rescue them, validating his regrets for his earlier behavior.
So its back to Sheriff Root vs the Saint - until the second interruption. Root's son jumps out of the car and pleads to the Saint not to shoot his dad, screaming unintelligibly. The look on Root's face is just priceless.
The answer is "You."
At this point, the Saint almost draws on Root's son. Until Jesse makes him desist with "The Word." And demands to talk to someone who knows the answers to his questions. Utterly humiliated, the Saint does his bidding and summons the head Adephi (named DeBlanc) down to Earth. Its hilarious to see the angel appear all in white, trumpeting magnificence, glory and purity, and Jesse tells him to "Cut the shit, will you?" and the rebuked angel goes "... Right." He's dressed in a nondescript gray cloak, is balding but has a mohawk. And you know Jesse is going to wring the secret out of him, which was ...
The Lord our God just quit.
Uh-huh.
When Genesis was born, the concept of a melding of both good and evil was seemingly too much for him, so He quit his post. And so the Seraphi and Adephi were forced to close ranks and not let any of these events out (to whom? well, humans can be clever too, you know). Where did he go? Apparently, He went down to Earth and hasn't been heard of since. As DeBlanc states "... no Apocalypse, no Lion lying down with the Lamb, Four Horsemen still in the stable ..." - Ennis really kills me by slaughtering commonly-held beliefs. The mess led to the execution of Genesis' parents, and the imprisonment of Genesis, lest someone else might use it to find out the secrets of Heaven. Too late ...
Murderous saints, absentee landlords, cursing angels - not the stuff we read in the Bible
DeBlanc then makes Jesse an offer: that the Adephi can separate Genesis from his soul. Jesse declines, figures that he can use this power for something good - which is ... to find the Lord God and make Him own up to what He did - abandoning humanity. Yeah. That's an idea. Mind-blowing. And when DeBlanc protests, Jesse dismisses him without hesitation. There is no coincidence that Jesse's initials are J.C., just like the greatest revolutionary ever.
Standoff ends. The Saint promises that they will meet again (and they will), and fades into the night. And Sheriff Root ... well, let's just say he does exactly what Jesse tells him to do.
What he said.
And that leads to his suicide, assisted by his dimwitted offspring, who then takes the name (drumroll please) ... Arseface, and vows vengeance on Jesse Custer. Arseface is going to play a more prominent role later in the series. Back in Heaven, the Seraphi learn of DeBlanc's divulging of their secrets and righteously banishes the guilty Adephi to Earth (fallen angels, duh).
Hard to imagine they were able to squeeze all of that in just 4 books.
The last 3 issues in the collection follows the
Its easier to do this when you're immortal.
Up Next: Some kinky shenanigans, dark family secrets and the appearance of the ultra-secret organization known as The Grail. It's only just begun.
note: Now that Hellblazer has been translated to the big screen, and was far from a critical or commercial flop, would anyone have the balls to give Preacher its due? Casting call, casting call!
2 comments:
Casting call? Clive Owen as the Preacher.. and Jessica Alba as... anybody. Nyaahahahaaa!!
The Duke as advisor? Stolen from Tarantino's Elvis as advisor in True Romance. Nyahahahaa!!
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