This is certainly entertaining to read, but the more one looks at it the more repulsive it becomes. Custer is in one sense the heroic American, the typical Western hero (the book concludes with he and his lover riding off on a vast desert plain). He is a thief and a fornicator, he swears and drinks like a fish. More importantly he is a ruthless killer and exterminator of his enemies. There is something vaguely ironic here. On one level Custer is the true common man, against moralism and bureaucracy, who heroically stops the cruelties of the Grail and God, even temporarily losing his own life in the process (note his initials). Yet throughout the course of "Preacher" he learns to trust and not to deceive his lover and at the end successfully begs her forgiveness.

Yet on the other hand he is nothing of the sort. He does not so much defeat God and the Grail as the two conveniently self-destruct. Can God create an assasin so powerful that he could kill God himself? Well let's just say that insane malevolent deities can sometimes do the most convenient of things. Rather conveniently Custer comes back to life with the help of two people, one whom he denounces and renounces, the other he has set up to be killed. There is the irony that Custer shares the name of the worst officer in the history of the American army. There is another more serious irony. You can take the boy out of Belfast, but not Belfast out of the boy. The Preacher is as ruthless and unforgiving towards his enemies as the deity in Numbers and Joshua, and his victims are no more deserving of sympathy than the exterminated Amalekites. Just like the old God, but with better sex. In an earlier volume Custer actually lynches a particularly disgusting Frenchmen. Aside from showing that Francophobia is the favorite prejudice of the right and the centre, one has to ask is this ironic or what? In so many respects Custer resembles the caricature of the Texas Good Old Boy, hard-drinking, hard-fighting, rude, belligerent, unthinkingly patriotic to the point of xenophobic. But unlike so many others of this type, his opinions about women and race are unimpeachable. He kills people, but at least they're not black. Is this plausible? Is this a joke? Is Ennis subtly sanitizing his hero or laughing his head off at the irony?

In an way Custer DOES resembles America, or more precisely a certain American hypocrisy, an America who benefits from good luck and the sacrifices of other people, but does not acknowledge them, who views its opponents as demons, who condemns without mercy while indulging in its own hedonism. But it will not do to praise Ennis as a clever ironist. For he is a man who indulges a noticeable sadistic streak, and who introduces bestiality and incest as plot points. One suspects this is a man who condemns the IRA and the Roman Catholic Church not for their cruelty or intolerance, but because their sense of principle challenges his ... sick easy nihilism.

...


The awesome finale for one of the best comics of the 90's   May 17, 2003
 12 out of 14 found this review helpful

For five and a half years it has led up to this. Jesse Custer's confrontation with God is coming full circle, as is the fates of all the characters who have gone through more character development in that aforementioned span than some comic characters go through in a decade. All the oddly written characters we have grown to love and hate like Jesse, Tulip, Cassidy, Herr Starr, The Saint of Killers, and Arseface meet their respective fates in big ways; ranging from Starr seeking his revenge on Jesse, to Jesse's showdown with Cassidy, to The Saint of Killers' war on heaven, and everything in between. By the end of Alamo, long time readers of the series will feel satisfied of most of the outcomes, and even though it is sad to see the Preacher series come to an end, it is good to know that the series didn't re-hash itself every twenty four issues and kept the storyline on one true track during the entire run. Let it also be noted that Preacher creators; writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, stayed on for the entire Preacher run. That in itself is an accomplishment in the comic industry as they brought readers some of the most unforgettable characters and one of the most engrossing sagas in the modern comic age. Rumor has it (straight out of Wizard Magazine) that a Preacher re-launch is in the works, but time will tell. I also strongly suggest Ennis and Dillon's Punisher TPB for Marvel Comics; even if you've never had an interest in that character you should read the re-invention of him by the Preacher duo, it is pure genius.


A fitting finish to a glorious ride   April 17, 2001
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

It seems only fitting that a work as wide in scope and broad in character as Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's epic 'Preacher' series should end up in a place so resonant with and characteristic of American ( especially the Southern United States) history as the Alamo. With the penultimate volume ( 'All Hell's a coming') re-revving the series into high gear and letting readers know that it was time to put all the cards on the table and bring it all to an explosive climax, this volume delivers on all counts- bringing what has been a refreshingly brilliant, funny, action-packed, thoughtful and adrenaline soaked series to it's deservedly satisfying finish. The way that issues are resolved with all characters is engrossing and the final 'money shot' that the entire run has been leading up to and hinting at is worth every penny.

If you haven;t read Preacher yet, or haven't read the whole saga, now is the time; you won;t regret spending the money on something that you will re-read again and again. LIke Warren Ellis's 'Planetary' stories , this is modern comic story-telling in it's purest form.

Thank you Garth and Steve for such a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable comic-book series.


Revelations   June 16, 2001
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

I picked up the first volume of Preacher over a year ago, and have read every installment since. What attracted me was the humor and reputation, but I didn't really know what to expect. I'll admit that Alamo, the end of the series, was not what I expected. The series had occasional moments of importance, but for the most part, it was a funny, violent romp. The ending, however, was extremly touching. I won't assume Ennis's motivations, but to me, Alamo changed my view of the whole series. At first glance, most of the series follows Jesse Custer, the Preacher. But Alamo reveals that Cassidy, the vampire, may be the strongest character. Much like The Shawshank Redemption is focused on Tim Robbins's character, while Morgan Freeman's character is the moral center. But I'll let you draw your own opinions. Read this.


A bit of a disappointing ending...   February 16, 2005
 6 out of 20 found this review helpful

Well, what can you say about Preacher? Probably the best series of the 90s. Still, I was dissappointed with the (very) end of this one, for a few reasons.

First, the Saint of Killers takes over Heaven. Erm, how? Sure, he's the angel of death. But, what about the Angel of War, or Victory, or Immortality? All just fodder for ths SOK's guns. A little underwhelming.

Second, Genesis. It got dealed with a bit too easily, in my mind. I mean, it never made 100% sense in the first place... an angel and a demon have a child, and it's something new. Now, how does this work? God made both... if you somehow got a dog and a cat to have a kitten/puppy would it take over the world? And then, in the end, God just sort of takes it out, because Jesse is distracted, or whatever.

Third, the confrontation with God. He just sort of whines, and then He dies. Woop-di-doo. I mean, Ennis is a big atheist guy--he said a fervent Christian was as likely to be Torquemada as a decent person (of course, Christianity had been around about 1,000 years before the Inquisition or Crusades, but I digress). Anyway, I sort of expect it from him. But still, after YEARS of reading the comic, buyng it every month... it was a let down.

Fourth, the thing was confusing in general. Preacher had a weird thing where it had an epilogue after the ending. Now, I thought the ending _was_ the ending: 'THey buried him in the ashes of his best friend'. It's actually basically the ending to Hitman, and seemed more intellectually honest. Instead, another comic comes out where the SOK wipes out Heaven in about five minutes, and kills God with one shot after chewing him out a bit. Oh, and everyone'e ressurected. That was the worst. They kill God, and the rest of the Grail, and they don't even suffer a single casualty.

Fifth, everything's fine. Heaven is emptied out, the group that controlled the world is wiped out, and, well, Jesse goes to get a day job. Umm... okay.

Anyway, you really should read the other issues, and you'll pretty much have to read the last. But still, it could have been much better.