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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.

Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Sam Catlin’s show Preacher has returned this summer on AMC with its second season. For those who may not be too familiar with the comic, here is a review on the first 12 issues of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s profane iconic comic, a series published in the mid-to-late 1990s by Vertigo, which is an imprint and property of DC Comics.

*Warning: the topic at hand may contain graphic material. Also, a potential spoiler alert should be noted.*

preacher book one cover

The story starts off with the protagonist, Jesse Custer, intoxicated at a bar in his small Texas town, Annville, on a Saturday night. Inebriated, he insults and gets into a scuffle with several of his churchgoers. Meanwhile, a dangerous hybrid entity named Genesis breaks out of Heaven, leaving behind a headless angel as well as a number of anxious others. (Genesis is the offspring of a male angel and a female demon. The intimacy between such beings is forbidden due to the ongoing war between Heaven and Hell, but everyone knows there is no defeating the power of love.) Genesis crashes through the eponymous character’s church and possesses him in the middle of his Sunday sermon. What transpires after blows his whole world to pieces.

preacher genesis

preacher fuse

The angels send an impenetrable Terminator-esque gunslinger–who has existed since the American Civil War–named the Saint of Killers to track down Genesis and kill any man who may be in possession of the entity. Fortunately for Jesse, Genesis taking over has granted him a power called “The Word of God,” which means that he can tell any person to carry out a task and they will follow the command with obedience. He can tell a man to “go fuck [himself]”, and the man will do exactly just that. (It has also been said that Genesis is a force of nature just as powerful as God Himself, and can perhaps be a threat and a rival if even greater.)

preacher issue 2

A short series of chaos and insanity ensue until an Adephi angel named deBlanc comes down from Heaven to tell Jesse, his two companions, and the Saint of Killers that God has stepped down from his high throne since Genesis’ birth, and is now traveling throughout the earth.

preacher

This prompts Jesse and his two companions–his ex-girlfriend Tulip O’Hare and Irish vampire Cassidy–to embark on a journey to literally search for God, and so it begins! They go on a road trip, looking for any feasible answer they could get their hands on.

preacher tulip

preacher cassidy

Along the way, the three come across a myriad of bizarre characters (besides that of the Saint of Killers, of course). They travel to New York City and cross paths with the Reaver-Cleaver–a serial killer who dismembers his victims and sends their body parts to their friends and family–and the two cops of the police department that run the investigation, Paul Bridges and John Tool….

preacher reaver cleaver

They also come across Jesse’s sinister and wheelchair-bound grandmother, Marie L’Angell, and her two henchmen, Jody and T.C., in Angelville. While there, more of Jesse and Tulip’s backstory is explored. I.e. how Jesse was born, his tragic friendship with a one-eyed boy named Billy-Bob Bobbs, how he became a preacher, and how he broke up with Tulip. In addition, a special character makes a brief appearance in Marie’s plantation estate….

preacher variant

Although, what might be one of the best characters in this comic would have to be Arseface. He is the son of Annville’s sheriff (Hugo Root), a big fan of the band Nirvana, and a teenager who got his nickname after a failed suicide attempt–trying to blow his brains out with his father’s shotgun.

preacher_arseface

As crazy as it is, however, this is merely the first 12 out 66 issues of Vertigo’s renowned comic book series!

preacher amc arseface

Interested and want to learn more about this comic? Let us know or read the series yourself. Preacher Season 2 is out on AMC! For more DC Comics and Vertigo-related news, follow Geek Motivation on Twitter and Instagram!

 

 

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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.

John Daniel Tangalin

About John Daniel Tangalin

Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.

View all posts by John Daniel Tangalin

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