I've always been interested in checking out Preacher, and am not sure why I didn't sooner.

Admittedly, I did watch the first couple episodes of the TV show when it started, and liked it well enough but just didn't have the time to keep up with it.

The graphic novel was not how I remember the show starting out, but it is interesting. It definitely pushes some boundaries, and I like that the characters are not super easy to figure out. The characters who seem like the "bad guys" aren't as bad as they appear, and some of the good guys are a lot worse than they seem at first glance.

The story is violent, but I'm okay with that. I particularly enjoy the interplay between Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy. Cassidy is probably my favorite of the three because he's so blunt and just keeps pushing on, regardless of the crazy stuff thrown his way.

I will probably keep moving forward with the series, but at a slower pace. Honestly, part of the reason I started now is because I desperately want to hit 100 books read by the end of 2018, and this was one I thought I could finish in time (for the record, I don't think I'll be hitting 100 anyway. Oh well).

Ennis' sick twisted sense of humor will continue to get me coming back for more. The story is exceptionally well written and the artwork is a bit dated but stands up pretty darn well to this art snob.

Review in Volume 9.

First of all let me say that I love the AMC show. Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga and Joseph Gilgun are great in their roles and although the show has had pacing problems it really hit its stride in its excellent third season. I was always going to try to get around to reading the series it was based on and my expectations were not only met, but beaten. This is one of the best graphic novels that I've read in a while, with Garth Ennis revelling in the absurdity of the premise, taking delight in making things as weird and as brutal as possible. By most television show standards, Preacher is on another level of weirdness, but even then, it's nothing compared to the source material.

It did throw me off seeing Tulip as blonde haired after being so used to Ruth Negga's take on the character, but that's expected. It did help me contextualise the episode where Negga wore a blonde wig to rob a bank in Season 3. Steve Dillon's artwork is fantastic and helps fit the tone of the series very well. You can see why they went with Dominic Cooper for the show, the character for Jesse is similiar, as is the storyline even if the comic is a bit more fast-paced. The Southern Gothic feel of the book is really brought to life by Dillon as he crafts a unique vision for the story, and it really helps make the settings of the book so memorable.

The main group of characters is an interesting and dynamic bunch and they are one of the book's biggest strengths. Tulip, Jesse and Cassidy play off each other really well, and I like that this comic holds nothing back, unconstrained by the problems faced by television budgets and mandatory episode counts per season. Its pace is sustained all the way through, and I literally couldn't stop reading this. Whilst a lot of what comes next I was aware about because of the show had already adapted multiple of its storylines in some form or another, it didn't stop it from being very thrilling, leading up to an excellent ending.

The book feels very Quentin Tarantino-esque at times and it's hard not to see the influence of his work on this series, and it's basically a good barometer of whether or not you'll enjoy this book assuming you haven't seen the show. If you like Tarantino's work, you'll dig this book. If not then you probably won't. It's gory and bloody, but that isn't anything new when stacked up against Ennis' other work. On top of that, it manages to make the most out of its set-up in an exciting, fresh and unique way.

Preacher, even read for the first time all these years later, is a remarkably good book. Hopefully it won't be long before I can pick up Vol. 2.

The Reverend Jesse Custer is a Texas preacher who becomes possessed by a half god half demon creature called Genesis. This gives him to power of ...well, a God. When he learns that God has actually abandoned all he created he goes on a mission to find him and hold him accountable. He teams up with his ex Tulip and an Irish Vampire named Cassidy. What we then get as well as a great storyline is violence, swearing, a really deranged serial killer, sex, more violence and more swearing.

I will definitely continue reading this series and will hopefully check out the TV series that's been made of it.

Another one where I expected the art to be better than what I got. And Jesse and Tulip haven't really given me much to be excited about yet, but OMG CASSIDY. I think I picked up the next two volumes for this dude alone.

Hopefully things get more interesting with everyone else.

Solid 4.5 stars. Would be a 5 but for the odd thing that detracted from the epicness of it.

A solid story wrapped in violence, gore, and crude tough-talking characters. It's pretty good. Sometimes I felt like they went back just to throw in more bad language and salty suggestions, and it would've been better to go in a humor direction. Still, there were some great plot moments and they nailed the pacing.

This is the most gore filled graphic novel I've read. It wasn't bad, but I had difficulty getting past faces being cut off with knives and brain splatter every other page. Cut out half the gore and half the unnecessary chatter and it would easily be 5 stars.