As far as comic books go, I like to consider myself fairly well versed. However, one series that I never got around to reading was Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher. That's why, when DC announced that the series was to be collected in a nice series of hardcover books, I couldn't resist. Collecting issues #1-12 of the series, Preacher Book One is a solid presentation of the hit series.
Though I won't spend much time on critiquing the work itself - as I'm fairly certain Preacher has been reviewed by the best of them - it can't go without saying what a seminal story this is. The series focuses on titular Preacher Jesse Custer, as he is infused with a being from Heaven named Genesis, that ultimately gives him great power - the word of God. Along the way, he meets up with his ex-girlfriend Tulip, a vampiric nomad named Cassidy, and unravels the mysteries of Heaven and Hell that send him on a journey to find the Lord on Earth. And yes, this is only the first 12 issues.
It sounds dense, but honestly Ennis possesses a skill for exposition that allows it spill out with character development. By the end of the first issue, Ennis is able to both provide a solid direction and tone for the series to follow, but perhaps more importantly, a firm grip on the characters. To me, this indicates an intricately plotted structure with character beats that are all lined up to be executed in a particular fashion. I'm immensely excited to continue this story, and I'm betting I'll be plenty surprised along the way.
As we've seen in the years since, Ennis is a brutal, brutal man, putting his characters through the worst kind of trauma and other-worldly circumstance that no 3D human being would ever care to stand. Of course, there are instances of dialog that I found nearly too grotesque, to the point of being excessive. Granted, Ennis has built a career on excessive, but the problem arises when lines of dialog seem rather uncharacteristic of the person speaking them, or more simply, when they do not contribute anything to a character's development.
For all the violent scenes that emerge from Ennis' brain, readers can be thankful that artist Steve Dillon is there to render them to great detail. It's easy to crack open the Preacher hardcover and see it as a sort of precursor to all the great Vertigo books we are enjoying today - specifically Scalped - and it is Dillon's work to thank for that. His layouts and abrasive style - from torn-looking panel outlines to heads being blown to Hell - it all simply reeks of the formula that has made Vertigo such a hit.
Obviously, Dillon excels in the scenes with people getting their heads shot off or other various forms of violence, but Ennis' script does require him to go outside of his comfort zone a bit into the Kingdom of Heaven, drawing angels and the like. It's totally satisfactory, if not as exciting as when there is blood on the page.
But then - you know all this already. For those of you that already own the trades, what does Preacher Book One offer you? In the way of "extras", not much, unfortunately, aside from a snarky introduction by Garth Ennis himself. Interspersed in the issue breaks are Glenn Fabry's fantastic covers, minus any cover graphics, pretty standard for most collections. At the rear of the book, DC has included a great pinup gallery featuring high profile talen like Jim Lee, JG Jones, Bruce Timm, Joe Quesada and Tim Bradstreet, all featuring various characters from the series. In all, it's a great collection for a decent price at $34.99, but there are just a couple of issues to take up with it.
After seeing the beautiful Y: The Last Man deluxe hardcovers that DC has put out, featuring oversized pages for slightly less money - granted, almost 100 less pages - it is difficult to go back to the normal format. I'm not saying I would like every hardcover that gets released to be oversized and super fancy, but one would expect a series as overwhelmingly successful as Preacher would get the deluxe treatment.
In all, if you've never experienced Preacher before, like myself, this new hardcover is the way to go. As you've heard so many times from your fellow comic book friends, you won't be able to put it down, and having the first 12 issues collected in one spot makes it all the tougher.
