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Preacher Book 1

August 3, 2009 | Trades

Preacher Book 1
Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon
Vertigo/DC Comics
$43.99/$39.99 US (Hardcover)
***** (out of five)

Let’s get one thing clear: Preacher is simply the filthiest, bloodiest and arguably best adults-only comic book you’ll ever read.

It’s a road picture that would make an in-their-prime Quentin Tarantino or Sam Peckinpah squirm, starring a man of god, a hired killer and a vampire and featuring angels, demons, a teenager with a face like an ass and almighty God himself.

Readers picking up this slick new hardcover edition, which collects the first year’s worth of Preacher comics, might be taken aback by artist Steve Dillon’s incredibly graphic depictions of violence and writer Garth Ennis’ equally colourful use of creative vulgarity.

Now try to remember that this is a 14-year-old story.

In 1995, when Preacher first hit the stands, it was, without a doubt, one of the most shocking comics ever released by a mainstream publisher.

Of course all that violence and cursing just served to enhance an incredibly compelling story, full of fantastically defined characters, centred around Rev. Jesse Custer and his mission to find God on Earth and make him answer for abandoning humanity.

Pouring over this new Preacher collection shows the series’ incredible lasting strength and it’ll have you wondering either why you’ve never read it before or why you waited so long to re-read it.