Rating: Summary: Excellent book Review: A while ago whilst I was reading reprints of Preacher in a British comic, I came across a letter that said that the latter part of Preacher was getting boring. Rubbish! Absolutely not! Salvation is an excellent read. Yeah like "Ancient History" and "Dixie Fried", it doesnt add much to the ongoing plot elements, but as a standalone story itself it is a cracking read. Those people who go on about Preacher going stale now need their heads testing. Preacher has never been better.
Rating: Summary: The worse Preacher storyline but still good Review: after the amazing War in Sun and Proud Americans, this collection was a piece of **** (but still good compared to other stuff). first of all, it ONLY stars Jesse who does nothing playing sheriff in a hick down. I read this for the biblical armageddon stuff, the Grail, Starr, violence, Saint of Killers, etc. this had NONE of it! I don't why Ennis decided to waste a precious year of Preacher with this ****...
Rating: Summary: Seems like salvation Review: After the climatic events in War in the Sun, Garth Ennis decided to give the Preacher series a much needed shift in gears to keep the story from becoming more bungled. We catch up with Jesse and his pooch Skeeter in the town of Salvation where he runs in with his childhood friend Billy Bob's (see Until the End of the World) sister Lorie. He also meets a mysterious older woman named Jodie who he has more in common with than he thinks, and eventually he becomes sherrif of the town. He also runs into vile businessman Odin Quincannon who gives the term "meat lover" a new definition, and he also gets to tangle with the KKK. And, last but certainly not least, Jesse finally finds out what happened to him in the desert, and what happened to his eye. Ennis' storytelling is at his usual best, but Steve Dillon's usually great art isn't at it's best here, but it's still above average. All in all, Salvation is a nice diversion from the series' nearly convulted storytelling, and this sets up the pivotal events that would come in the next chapter All Hell's A Comin', and the finale Alamo.
Rating: Summary: Seems like salvation Review: After the climatic events in War in the Sun, Garth Ennis decided to give the Preacher series a much needed shift in gears to keep the story from becoming more bungled. We catch up with Jesse and his pooch Skeeter in the town of Salvation where he runs in with his childhood friend Billy Bob's (see Until the End of the World) sister Lorie. He also meets a mysterious older woman named Jodie who he has more in common with than he thinks, and eventually he becomes sherrif of the town. He also runs into vile businessman Odin Quincannon who gives the term "meat lover" a new definition, and he also gets to tangle with the KKK. And, last but certainly not least, Jesse finally finds out what happened to him in the desert, and what happened to his eye. Ennis' storytelling is at his usual best, but Steve Dillon's usually great art isn't at it's best here, but it's still above average. All in all, Salvation is a nice diversion from the series' nearly convulted storytelling, and this sets up the pivotal events that would come in the next chapter All Hell's A Comin', and the finale Alamo.
Rating: Summary: Back in Texas Review: For the first time in the series, the Jesse-Cassidy-Tulip team is broken up, where Tulip and Cassidy are pushed completely into the background. "Salvation" focuses solely on Jesse Custer's experiences immediately after the cataclysmic events as depicted in "Tears in the Sun." Describing, appropriately enough, Jesse's stay in the racially polarized Salvation, Texas, Jesse's brawling talents land him the peachy job of town sheriff. Of course, being on the right side of the law for once only further encourages young Jesse to reach out and touch somebody. His rough and tumble ways seem to work, though, as his good conscience guides him to physically discipline only those who `deserve' it. Salvation eventually becomes a more just and humane town. Ennis is to be saluted for introducing the politics of race, here, and exploring small-town interracial relationships. As is unfortunately too often the case with other comic titles, African-Americans either don't exist or are the bad guys.
One thing I didn't like about this book was Ennis' excessive use of deus ex machina that makes the narrative creak - some of the volume's tenser moments are resolved rather dubiously (a fortuitous bolt of lightening, Jesse's dog Skeeter does his best impression of Lassie on several occasions). Also, there is one rather amazing coincidence/revelation that occurs soon after Jesse rolls into town involving one of Salvation's citizens. The sheer improbability of it really rubbed me the wrong way, and seemed like lazy, overly sentimental writing (which Ennis is almost never guilty of). Even more amazing was how this coincidence wasn't realized by the person even earlier than it was.
However, as always, this is immensely likeable reading. Ennis keeps churning out the freak show characters that demonstrate the diversity of the human condition. Although the stories have been better, Ennis nevertheless manages to confound, amuse, and perturb.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Review: Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon deliver the goods once again in Salvation, Volume 7 of the Preacher saga. While Salvation does share many of the traits of the previous books, including over-the-top violence, sexuality and language, this book adopts a different tone, as it title character Jesse Custer takes a break from the theologically-charged storyline to serve as Sherrif in the small Texas town that gives the book its title. Along the way, he reunites with a surprise character from his past, battles with one of Ennis' most bizarre villans yet, and dispenses old-fashioned Western justice. Ennis has professed that Preacher is his attempt at writing a modern-day Western, and Salvation is the truest example of that yet. As always, the dialogue and action and never less than entertaining--at times horrific, at times hilarious, at times both--and the art of Steve Dillon is simple but effective, a perfect fit. Salvation ends with a long-awaited confrontation and flashback sequence that set up the series well for what is apparently going to be its concluding storylines. If you are a Preacher fan, or just love good graphic (in all senses of the word) storytelling, don't miss this book! Thanks also to Amazon for shipping it so quickly--it made the effects of Hurricane Floyd a little more bearable!
Rating: Summary: now this I like... Review: I hate bookstores. Every time I try to read a series in order, I run into odd gaps in bookstores' shelf stocks, and I end up reading things all out of order. For example, I planned to read "Preacher" in order, buying each volume from a local comics shop, but when I applied for a job at Borders, I happened to look at the graphic novel section. And there they sat: "Gone to Texas," "Salvation," and "All Hell's A-Coming." Any sign of the volumes in between? Noooo... I have no willpower when it comes to books, so I bought "Salvation" and "All Hell's A-Coming," and all my plans of actually following continuity went straight out the window. Oh well. This has never impaired my enjoyment of other series, and I guess it won't matter much now."Salvation" is the seventh collected trade paperback volume of "Preacher, and is apparently a departure from much of the earlier storyline. Following an epic confrontation in which Jesse loses his left eye, and Tulip goes off with Cassidy, Jesse is confused about his mission and his understanding of the world. While trying to find his purpose, he spends some time as the sheriff of Salvation, a small town in western Texas. Jesse soon angers Odin Quincannon, the crazed and crooked owner of a local meat plant, whose efforts to kill Jesse fill most of "Salvation." There are also subplots involving a former Nazi, a woman from Jesse's past, and Cindy, the deputy sheriff. After Jesse leaves Salvation, he reaches the Pacific and takes peyote in an effort to remember what happened to his eye. He remembers, and apparently makes a vital discovery about God's motives and fears. The violence is a trifle more restrained, though Ennis and Dillon don't shy away from showing plenty of sexual perversions. I personally think Quincannon's particular obsession might have been better left unrevealed; I imagined many things much more disturbing than what Ennis and Dillon finally show, which probably tells you more about me than you really need to know. "Salvation" also contains numerous references to Westerns and the myth of America, which sound slightly out of place in the mouths of Americans, but I can easily forgive that lapse, since the story as a whole is so fun. Yes, "Salvation" is quieter than "Gone to Texas," but is that really a bad thing? As my band director used to say, unchanging fortissimo gets old fast; you need to vary the volume and tempo to get the full effect of the exciting bits. And soft is good in its own right, anyway. (Besides that, "Salvation" is only quiet in comparison to the rest of "Preacher." Compared to a lot of other literature, it's still incredibly violent and graphic.)
Rating: Summary: now this I like... Review: I hate bookstores. Every time I try to read a series in order, I run into odd gaps in bookstores' shelf stocks, and I end up reading things all out of order. For example, I planned to read "Preacher" in order, buying each volume from a local comics shop, but when I applied for a job at Borders, I happened to look at the graphic novel section. And there they sat: "Gone to Texas," "Salvation," and "All Hell's A-Coming." Any sign of the volumes in between? Noooo... I have no willpower when it comes to books, so I bought "Salvation" and "All Hell's A-Coming," and all my plans of actually following continuity went straight out the window. Oh well. This has never impaired my enjoyment of other series, and I guess it won't matter much now. "Salvation" is the seventh collected trade paperback volume of "Preacher, and is apparently a departure from much of the earlier storyline. Following an epic confrontation in which Jesse loses his left eye, and Tulip goes off with Cassidy, Jesse is confused about his mission and his understanding of the world. While trying to find his purpose, he spends some time as the sheriff of Salvation, a small town in western Texas. Jesse soon angers Odin Quincannon, the crazed and crooked owner of a local meat plant, whose efforts to kill Jesse fill most of "Salvation." There are also subplots involving a former Nazi, a woman from Jesse's past, and Cindy, the deputy sheriff. After Jesse leaves Salvation, he reaches the Pacific and takes peyote in an effort to remember what happened to his eye. He remembers, and apparently makes a vital discovery about God's motives and fears. The violence is a trifle more restrained, though Ennis and Dillon don't shy away from showing plenty of sexual perversions. I personally think Quincannon's particular obsession might have been better left unrevealed; I imagined many things much more disturbing than what Ennis and Dillon finally show, which probably tells you more about me than you really need to know. "Salvation" also contains numerous references to Westerns and the myth of America, which sound slightly out of place in the mouths of Americans, but I can easily forgive that lapse, since the story as a whole is so fun. Yes, "Salvation" is quieter than "Gone to Texas," but is that really a bad thing? As my band director used to say, unchanging fortissimo gets old fast; you need to vary the volume and tempo to get the full effect of the exciting bits. And soft is good in its own right, anyway. (Besides that, "Salvation" is only quiet in comparison to the rest of "Preacher." Compared to a lot of other literature, it's still incredibly violent and graphic.)
Rating: Summary: The best of all the Preacher collections Review: I have finally read all eight collected Preacher graphic novels and number seven (Salvation) stands out as the best. The comedy, violence, and drama is mixed so well that as Kevin Smith said ( and I paraphrase) , this is more fun than going to the movies. I love the character of Tulip but this was a nice break from the normal story and it allowed the reader to get back in touch with what Jesse Custer is all about. In a new situation he still stands tall as a great western character.
Rating: Summary: Sweet Salvation Review: I just finished reading "Salvation," Preacher #7, and I've got to say it's my favorite since #3, "Ancient History." "Salvation" doesn't deal with the main storyline of the comic (neither did "Ancient History"). This time around, Jesse finds himself in a small Texas town called Salvation, where he is reunited with his long lost mother, and where he also gets to play at being sheriff. Jesse puts his pursuit of the almighty on hold and goes after a local baddy, Odin Quincannon, a truly bizarre individual who looks and acts like a demented Ross Perot. Jesse nearly falls in love with a black woman and finds himself dealing with the clan, but before the grass has a chance to grow too high under his feet, he's back on the road, chasing after God. This is one of the best "Preacher" books I've read, if not the best. It's focused, tight storytelling that keeps propelling you to find out what happens next. Now I've got to go down to the bookstore and cross my fingers that they have #8 in stock.
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