Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Time to get a little sidetracked, 12 May 2004
I don't know about anyone else, but I found volume 4 of the PREACHER library to be a nice change of pace, and an enjoyable little sidetrack away from the main storyline. It was interesting checking out the back story of some of the series' most notable supporting cast members. I also enjoyed seeing other artists' (aside from Steve Dillon) renditions of these characters. If you're looking for a few amazing PREACHER tales that are off the beaten path, then 'Ancient History' won't disappoint! If you thought the Saint of Killers was an unpleasant character in PREACHER's main storyline, wait'll you see his origin story! A man so full of hate that he literally does the impossible: freezes hell over! Oh yeah, then there's the part where he offs the devil before he really gets his killing spree goin', which gives you an idea of how much of a bad mofo he really is. Speaking of the devil(!), this particular story arc reveals the name he prefers to go by. And it's NOT Satan, Scratch, Be'elzebub, or Lucifer! The second part depicts how PREACHER's beloved horribly disfigured teenager with a heart of gold, Arse-Face, came to be. I'll not go into too many details about it; let's just say his decision to drastically alter his facial features was a misguided attempt to emulate a particular grunge artist's suicide. 90s American teenage angst, substance use, and physical & mental abuse abound in this ish. 'The Good Ol' Boys' features quite a few moments of gratuitous, gory violence in the over-the-top vein of Paul Verhoeven action flicks. There's also a few great scenes featuring that Ennis-trademark you're-not-supposed-to-laugh-at-that-style humor, highlighted by one hillbilly's disgustingly hilarious fond memories of- um, romance- with various inanimate objects and members of other species. Throw in a gorilla getting bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat, and a swamp chase featuring a middle-eastern cartel boss whose attempts at using various English-language curses are both pitiful and gut-bustingly funny, and-well, you'll hafta see it to believe it... 'Late
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not neccesary, 9 Jul 2001
By A Customer
While this volume of the Preacher Graphic Novels has nothing to do with the continuity of the title itself, it's still a pretty nice easy-reading book. Nothing special (certainly when you compare it with the rest of the Preacher books) but not a waste of time either. In here are the first three Preacher Specials, two oneshots ("The Story of you-know-who" and "Good Old Boys") and a miniseries ("Saint of Killers"). In "The story of you-know-who" we get to see how a normal boy, who is living in less than normal circumstances, winds up becoming a disfigured boy named Arseface. This story is to me personally the best one in the book (with very nice art by Richard Case). Tragic, yet not too much, so that it doesn't get sentimental but stays bizar. "Saint of Killers" is the one with the most relevance to the Preacher series itself. Here it's shown how the character we now know as 'Saint of Killers' was once a mortal man and how he was pushed over the edge so that eventually he became the replacement of the current Angel of Death. While this one has the most to do with the Preacher series itself, it's a shame to know it has the least good art in the book (Steve Pugh). Not horrible, but compared to the other art it's a little bleak. Note here that people who love graphic violence will have a ball with it since it's probably THE most brutal Preacher story out there. The third part is "Good Old Boys", a story about Jody and T.C. taking place between Jesse's escape and them recapturing him (see "Untill the end of the World". This one is the least relevant to the Preacher series and in al honesty is just a filler. A story where the overall brutality of T.C. and Jody is displayed. Not a bad read, but not a great one either.In conclussion, the volume doesn't add a thing to the series. True, we learn some 'origins' but nothing that matters happens. Apart from that it's a nice book which many people should be able to enjoy. Another good thing about this book is that everybody should be able to pick it up, no matter if you did or didn't read the other Preacher TPB's, and just enjoy the story. No knowledge of what has gone before required. Pick it up if you wanna read some more about Preacher, or if you wanna read some Preacher but don't feel like getting into the whole big story. But if you're in it for the main story of Preacher you can ignore this book without missing out on anything.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pfew, it picked up again, 9 Jul 2001
By A Customer
I'm glad to admit that after the not-so-good "Dixie Fried" volume, this one (collecting #34-40) bounces a little back. Jesse resumes in his quest to find God and tries a whole new approach to do so. Meanwhile Starr is still looking for him, and since Starr is the new allfather of the Grail he has some new means to aid him. If that wouldn't make for a big enough confrontation there's also the matter of the Saint of Killers who's coming for Jesse to get some answers, and he isn't about to take crap from anyone who tries to stand in his way. It all leads up to a point of extra-vaganza-violence (and there's totally no exaggerating in that) where all our main-characters get separated without much of a clue to what happened to one and another. They're further from their goal than ever before ! It's the start of the long road back. Finally there's another Preacher Special collected in here in which we learn more of how Starr, The Grail, and the conspiracy within The Grail became what they are today. The goals and the amount of power and influence of the Grail really become totally clear here. Finally a Preacher Special that isn't only entertaining but also adds to the storyline.It's really good to see that Ennis gets on with the story here, where he was a little off in the previous volume. It's not the best Preacher TPB but it's definately picking up. What also very much comes to the good of the book is that the dialogue between Cassidy and Jesse is back where it was before. The humor is totally back and the characters act more like themselves again. I was a little worried after "Dixie Fried" that maybe it was over, but Ennis puts Preacher back on the rail again here.
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