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ponch22's review against another edition
3.0
Preacher Vol 4 Ancient History doesn't deal with Jesse's attempt to find God with Tulip & Cassidy at all, but is rather a collection of spin offs. Here, we have three Preacher Specials which expore the backstory of some other second tier characters.
The first special, Saint of Killers, gives us the story of...the Saint of Killers. The preface explains the different look to the comic due to new artists brought onboard while Preacher' still was being published. There are some bits that look better than usual, but it was odd seeing such a different Saint (at times). The story is 4* and could have been 5* had it gone back to the Civil War days for more than a splash page to explain a little more about this man before he became the Saint. His time in hell was beautifully drawn and written, and his revenge on earth as the newly ordained Saint was brutal and bloody.
The Story of You-Know-Who gives the back story of Arseface and is a solid 5* story. It's only half the length of SoK but still gives a damn fine arc. Set in the days of Nirvana, it introduces us to Root's teenage son before his botched suicide attempt. We meet his Cobain-loving friend; we see Root beat up his son; we see Mrs Root drink her way to oblivion; we see the struggles of being the son of a sheriff who makes the lives of every big jock miserable; we see the awkward attempts to talk to girls. It's all written so well with hints of the "future" (Columbine) and bombs from the "present" (Kurt's suicide). I'm anxious to see if Arseface will actually appear in future stories as he tried to take revenge on the man he feels is responsible for his father's death or if this is all we'll get.
The Good Old Boys takes us back before Jody & T.C. crossed paths with Jesse for their last time & gives us a little story about them. It seems like it might have been written in a day. Here's an example of how two new characters are introduced on page 4: "Hey, don't mess with me lady! I'm a cop on the edge!" / "You watch how you talk to me, then! Remember, I'm a supermodel-turned-lawyer with a dangerous secret!" Page 4 is filled with even more horribly-written exposition and these characters and their whole story just stunk. Jody's a pretty bad ass character, but he was the bad guy in previous issues so it feels weird to root for him as he kills dozens of terrorists (oh yeah, there are terrorists chasing after the cop and model-cum-lawyer). And the continuity is absolute shit. On one page, our macho cop gets covered in shit (don't ask), and on the facing page, with no break in the action, he's completely clean. If I could give this less than 1* I would. But I can't, so it, plus the other two average out to a 3* overall. Here's hoping I still remember the important story when I (hopefully) get back to it in Vol 5.
The first special, Saint of Killers, gives us the story of...the Saint of Killers. The preface explains the different look to the comic due to new artists brought onboard while Preacher' still was being published. There are some bits that look better than usual, but it was odd seeing such a different Saint (at times). The story is 4* and could have been 5* had it gone back to the Civil War days for more than a splash page to explain a little more about this man before he became the Saint. His time in hell was beautifully drawn and written, and his revenge on earth as the newly ordained Saint was brutal and bloody.
The Story of You-Know-Who gives the back story of Arseface and is a solid 5* story. It's only half the length of SoK but still gives a damn fine arc. Set in the days of Nirvana, it introduces us to Root's teenage son before his botched suicide attempt. We meet his Cobain-loving friend; we see Root beat up his son; we see Mrs Root drink her way to oblivion; we see the struggles of being the son of a sheriff who makes the lives of every big jock miserable; we see the awkward attempts to talk to girls. It's all written so well with hints of the "future" (Columbine) and bombs from the "present" (Kurt's suicide). I'm anxious to see if Arseface will actually appear in future stories as he tried to take revenge on the man he feels is responsible for his father's death or if this is all we'll get.
The Good Old Boys takes us back before Jody & T.C. crossed paths with Jesse for their last time & gives us a little story about them. It seems like it might have been written in a day. Here's an example of how two new characters are introduced on page 4: "Hey, don't mess with me lady! I'm a cop on the edge!" / "You watch how you talk to me, then! Remember, I'm a supermodel-turned-lawyer with a dangerous secret!" Page 4 is filled with even more horribly-written exposition and these characters and their whole story just stunk. Jody's a pretty bad ass character, but he was the bad guy in previous issues so it feels weird to root for him as he kills dozens of terrorists (oh yeah, there are terrorists chasing after the cop and model-cum-lawyer). And the continuity is absolute shit. On one page, our macho cop gets covered in shit (don't ask), and on the facing page, with no break in the action, he's completely clean. If I could give this less than 1* I would. But I can't, so it, plus the other two average out to a 3* overall. Here's hoping I still remember the important story when I (hopefully) get back to it in Vol 5.
tawfek's review against another edition
5.0
Three amazing stories.
we get the origins of The Saint of killers and Arse-face.
and a story in the past of T.C and Jody.
They are all well made with Great Supporting characters.
dam am too distracted i don't feel like writing anything else.
we get the origins of The Saint of killers and Arse-face.
and a story in the past of T.C and Jody.
They are all well made with Great Supporting characters.
dam am too distracted i don't feel like writing anything else.
baasanka's review against another edition
3.0
I'm going to review the 'Saint of the Killers' - that's the longest and perhaps the most memorable story of the three. It's 6am, I haven't slept all night because of insomnia, so I've had some time to think this story over - and I have a lot of opinions.
The narrative style varies widely throughout the 4 issues, going from depressingly gloom and serious to silly and humorous and back. Predictably, these things do not mesh together well, at least when crammed together into 4 short issues. At times everything just feels awkward and disjointed.
The story is, admittedly, pretty cliché, which is okay - it's supposed to be a legend retold times over, even though readers are expected to hold it for truth. Mysterious religious and mythical characters can have a bit of leeway. Coupled with the right tone and pacing, this all could've made a solid backstory. But no, that's not what happened.
The first half or so of the special was great - I wasn't convinced that a Western with a murderer turning into the Angel of Death was going to work out, but I was quickly shown that this premise has potential. Then things started turning south - both for our main hero and myself as the reader.
I loved the portrayal of the Devil and the Angel of Death. The Devil in Preacher is how I imagine Hellboy if he were evil - bored in hell, frustrated at losing a poker game, making banter. Contrary to Hellboy, however, our Devil is perhaps not very bright and, for some reason, VERY easily killable.
I could buy that a guy angry about his family's death could have been so mad that he made hell freeze over seemingly for the first time ever - even though before him millions must have had their families die, and at least one of them must have been almost/just as murderous if not more. What I don't buy is the devil then getting upset and talking and behaving like a frustrated child. Furthermore, our dear Lord Satan is then killed by the annoyed/insulted murderer. With a pistol. For good (as it's implied). Mind you, this is the same pistol with magical never-ending bullets that was fired into Cassidy in an earlier issue. Our friendly neighborhood vampire is alive and completely regenerated, so go figure - the Devil can't do something a 97y.o. vampire does in no time at all.
I understand that humour often compliments dark fantasies, and perhaps this contrast of violent and unfair earth vs. the silly scared rulers of hell is meant to highlight the brutality of the Saint of the Killers, but it only achieves in making the story seem flimsy and awkward. Disappointing.
The narrative style varies widely throughout the 4 issues, going from depressingly gloom and serious to silly and humorous and back. Predictably, these things do not mesh together well, at least when crammed together into 4 short issues. At times everything just feels awkward and disjointed.
The story is, admittedly, pretty cliché, which is okay - it's supposed to be a legend retold times over, even though readers are expected to hold it for truth. Mysterious religious and mythical characters can have a bit of leeway. Coupled with the right tone and pacing, this all could've made a solid backstory. But no, that's not what happened.
The first half or so of the special was great - I wasn't convinced that a Western with a murderer turning into the Angel of Death was going to work out, but I was quickly shown that this premise has potential. Then things started turning south - both for our main hero and myself as the reader.
I loved the portrayal of the Devil and the Angel of Death. The Devil in Preacher is how I imagine Hellboy if he were evil - bored in hell, frustrated at losing a poker game, making banter. Contrary to Hellboy, however, our Devil is perhaps not very bright and, for some reason, VERY easily killable.
I could buy that a guy angry about his family's death could have been so mad that he made hell freeze over seemingly for the first time ever - even though before him millions must have had their families die, and at least one of them must have been almost/just as murderous if not more. What I don't buy is the devil then getting upset and talking and behaving like a frustrated child. Furthermore, our dear Lord Satan is then killed by the annoyed/insulted murderer. With a pistol. For good (as it's implied). Mind you, this is the same pistol with magical never-ending bullets that was fired into Cassidy in an earlier issue. Our friendly neighborhood vampire is alive and completely regenerated, so go figure - the Devil can't do something a 97y.o. vampire does in no time at all.
I understand that humour often compliments dark fantasies, and perhaps this contrast of violent and unfair earth vs. the silly scared rulers of hell is meant to highlight the brutality of the Saint of the Killers, but it only achieves in making the story seem flimsy and awkward. Disappointing.
foofers1622's review against another edition
4.0
We learn more about how the "Saint of Killers" came about, who Arseface was before the accident and a random story of Jody and T.C.
theduchess93's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a sucker for origin stories and that's basically all this volume was. 10/10.
ppetropoulakis's review against another edition
4.0
This volume is a collection of origin tales. The stories add depth to the motives of the villains and are narrated in an ironic and tragicomic way. Favorite story is Arseface's origin, as it is hilariously linked to Kurt Cobain's life and death in the 90ies. Brilliant.
rocketiza's review against another edition
2.0
All self contained side stories that would be better skipped.
ericbuscemi's review against another edition
4.0
This should really be labeled Volume 3.5, as it does not follow the main cast of characters -- neither Jesse, Tulip nor Cassidy make an appearance in this volume -- nor does it push forward the main story line.
That being said, these three unrelated back stories are still engaging and do a good job of fleshing out the ensemble cast of the Preacher universe. The first, chronicling how the Saint of Killers became who he is, is the highlight of the three, but the Arseface story is also revealing and worth reading. The story of Jesse's redneck cousins was the only one that I really didn't love, as it was a little too farcical and over the top.
I also didn't like the fill-in artist, Carlos Ezquerra, as much as Steve Dillon, the regular artist for the series.
That being said, these three unrelated back stories are still engaging and do a good job of fleshing out the ensemble cast of the Preacher universe. The first, chronicling how the Saint of Killers became who he is, is the highlight of the three, but the Arseface story is also revealing and worth reading. The story of Jesse's redneck cousins was the only one that I really didn't love, as it was a little too farcical and over the top.
I also didn't like the fill-in artist, Carlos Ezquerra, as much as Steve Dillon, the regular artist for the series.
ninj's review against another edition
4.0
I actually thought this one wasn't going to be all that great - it's a look back on the past of several characters. Hearing that just made me think "filler episode." But it definitely turned out quite interesting: all three sections.
shane_tiernan's review against another edition
3.0
The Saint of Killers
This was decent, but almost a little to ridiculous. Anyone else super curious about how these events affected the cosmic balance? Talking about a certain someone being shot.
The Story of You Know Who
The origin story of Arseface, though I thought we already knew what happened, we get the details in this one. Not too exciting but not terrible.
Good Old Boys:
This was 100% pure Preacher without the Preacher. Nothing supernatural going on here, just the twang of a banjo that makes you cover your ass with your hands and back against a tree. There's also some great homage to classic spy-novel/movie type stuff. Saddam Hopper's cursing is worth the price of admission alone.
This was decent, but almost a little to ridiculous. Anyone else super curious about how these events affected the cosmic balance? Talking about a certain someone being shot.
The Story of You Know Who
The origin story of Arseface, though I thought we already knew what happened, we get the details in this one. Not too exciting but not terrible.
Good Old Boys:
This was 100% pure Preacher without the Preacher. Nothing supernatural going on here, just the twang of a banjo that makes you cover your ass with your hands and back against a tree. There's also some great homage to classic spy-novel/movie type stuff. Saddam Hopper's cursing is worth the price of admission alone.