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A review by ponch22
Preacher, Volume 4: Ancient History by Garth Ennis
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.