posted
I'm astonished by the number of excellent opinions regarding Preacher, from a wide variety of comic readers. I got v.1 out of the library and was basically grossed out. Interesting concept, but I don't see what the fuss was about.
posted
Wish I could count myself among them but I, too, don't get it. Both Caroline and myself really wanted to like the series and picked up the first two trades through our book club. Neither one of us bothered even finishing the first one.
Was it something that got better later in the series or am I just missing the boat altogether?
From: Utah | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I keep meaning to reply to this, and I will once I"m not posting on the fly from work
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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I can see if someone doesn't appreciate the gore/dark humor, but if you can get past that, it's phenomenal.
So... What can I say? Great stories, characters and art. To me, its so self-evidently classic that I it's hard to know where to begin... it's like trying to 'sell' LOTR or Star Wars.
I'm curious, Cramer, Scott... do you like any other Garth Ennis stories?
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
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Guess I just don't go for his kind of story - Judge Dredd, Hellblazer never caught my fancy. I was quite surprised to see him listed for a Fables novel (Animal Farm - with Willingham).; it seems to be quite a break from his other work.
quote:Originally posted by Fat Cramer: I was quite surprised to see him listed for a Fables novel (Animal Farm - with Willingham).; it seems to be quite a break from his other work.
That's got to be wrong; I just looked through my ANIMAL FARM TPB, and there's no mention of Ennis in the credits. The cover pictured isn't even the cover for the paperback; it's teh original cover for FABLES #8. Chalk it up to an error by whoever created that site.
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"Anytime an awesome book like S6 is cancelled, I hope EVERY Titan is murdered." --Me
From: Up a Gumtree | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Kent Shakespeare: I can see if someone doesn't appreciate the gore/dark humor, but if you can get past that, it's phenomenal.
I'd agree with that. Some of the issues and one-shots, like the one featuring the brothers, go a bit too far in the gross-out dept. and aren't worth the time.
I wouldn't say it's like selling an LOTR - to me, it's more like trying to explain the appeal of the Western. Or the better Sam Peckinpah films.
quote:Originally posted by Outdoor Miner: I wouldn't say it's like selling an LOTR - to me, it's more like trying to explain the appeal of the Western. Or the better Sam Peckinpah films.
I guess my point wasn't so much ot compare works as to say that either you get it or you don't, and if you don't appreciate its genre in the first place, I don't know what to say.
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
I picked up Preacher for a few issues, but then dropped it--I thought it definitely got worse as the series progressed--and haven't enjoyed Punisher or Ennis' minis. I was pretty fond of his Hellblazer work. But I loved Hitman.
I think the difference for me was the lack of self-assurance in the Hitman protagonists. I don't like almost any of Ennis' characters--I find them pretty repellent as people--but the guys in Hitman didn't like themselves very much, so they were sympathetic. And they dreamed about fulfilling Ennis' beloved Hard Manly Man archetype, while never actually having the courage/stupidity to actually go the distance.
In almost everything else I've read by Ennis, the protagonists seem to be 100% Hard Manly Men, perfect unflappable avatars of violence, yet apparently expected to be sympathetic by virtue of the truckload of moral commentary that comes with them. Or else they ought to be Hard Manly Men but are shamefully failing to conquer their inner sissy in various ways, and are justly punished for this. To me it feels like Ayn Rand channeling John Wayne, if that makes any sense, and it leaves me cold.
Obviously Preacher or Punisher fans will disagree, and I didn't jump on the thread to get you in a fighting mood--just to say that there are those of us who enjoy some Ennis but particularly dislike Preacher. My wife feels much the same way...she enjoyed Hitman but Preacher irritated her beyond measure. Maybe it's just because we're limp-wristed Berkeley bleeding-heart types.
The first trade struck me as way too gory. but I was curious what was going to happen next. This book dosn't seem like something I would like at all ... yet I just read trade number 2 and found it very funny. I laughed several times.
... and I'm interested in where the mystery is going with this one. trade number 2 had more action than trade number 1, and it seems like the book is finding it's legs.
Actually, it's no more gory than Walking Dead. Sometimes Walking Dead is a bit much for me too though.
I think number 3 will either be the trade where I finish it and say "that was good, I've had enough" or "I'm a fan and I'm going to read the all"
From: Ninja Land | Registered: Nov 2004
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Preacher is perhaps my favorite series of all time. Certainly a major contender.
It's hard for me to put into words why. I've reread the whole thing a ton of times.
Trade #3 is so good, Peebs that I bet you'll be hooked. I won't get into details so as not to spoil. But it has perhaps the best 'camraderie moment' ever in comics.
And then the series takes a major left turn out of nowhere and you realize it was about something else--something much more powerful--all along.
It has my favorite ending ever in comics.
It could make me laugh so hard one moment, then be totally disgusted the next...and then make me tear up like a little baby not soon after.
I got both brothers and my sister hooked on it years ago. We pass around the Preacher and Sandman trades continually, and have for years. (And now Scalped has joined that short list).
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Oh, and iirc, you just met Jodie and TC. Thats some f'ed up stuff! Few characters make me hate them more than Jodie.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I loved Preacher, but it definitely felt like Ennis was sometimes just pushing boundaries to see how far the editors and readership would let him go. Those were by far the weakest moments of the series. Overall, it's a startling and amazing exploration of the loss and nature of faith. And yeah, one of the greatest endings ever.
From: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: Nov 2003
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I loved Preacher as well. What it always comes down to me is if you take away all the gross-outs, you're still left with some of the most memorable characters I've ever read in a comic book. Garth excels at making them very 3-dimesional, and Preacher remains his opus for that.
As for the ending....spoiler-free, I wasn't terribly satisfied with it. I think Ennis' other big work, Hitman, ended just perfectly. Preacher? Well, it felt like Garth might have not gone as far as he should have.
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