# Do comics get any better that Preacher?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 18, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789 "2004-05-18T16:13:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/1 "2004-05-18T16:13:29Z")
I’ve just finished reading all of them and they are fantastic. One of my reading highlights so far in my life. Everyone should read them IMO and everyone would love them if they could get over the comic thing IMO as well.
I don’t really know what’s good and out there when it comes to graphic novels as I just get them from a mate.
The one’s I’ve read are:
The Watchmen
Preacher
V for Vendetta
Last Knight Returns (and several other Batman issues)
Akira
Sin City
I’m reading American Splendor at the moment but only really like it for Crumb’s artwork.
So did you like Preacher and is there anything like it for me to read?
By the by I’ve also just started reading the novel \*[Cryptonomicon](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0380973464/102-1291179-4264918?v=glance) \* which the same friend describes as “Preacher” good so you may want to give it a look.
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/2 "2004-05-18T16:16:09Z")
Title should be "Do comics get any better tha **n** Preacher? "
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### Author:  [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/3 "2004-05-18T16:23:50Z")
You’re not doing too bad with that list there. My recommendations:
Kingdom Come
Earth X
Popbot (collected 1-3)
The Ballad of Halo Jones
Swamp Thing vols 1-5
Hellboy
You might want to try some of the Daniel Clowes stuff too:
Ghost World
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron
Eightball
Thats all I can think of off the dome, plus i’m going home in a minute. Check em out Yojimbo, I liked them. Cheers!
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### Author:  [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/4 "2004-05-18T16:32:56Z")
I didn’t particularly like Preacher, honestly, but I liked a couple others mentioned by you and paulberserker, so I’ll throw out my favourite (and be shocked I’m the first):
The Sandman, and all its spinoffs (other than the Dreaming, which failed completely to impress me.)
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### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/5 "2004-05-18T16:36:28Z")
I was looking at _The Preacher_ comics the other day (they didn’t have book 1) and thinking of buying one. I’m not a huge comix fan by any stretch, but I love the Sandman series and some of Alan Moore’s stuff (_Promethea_ especially). Is _Preacher_ comparable to those by way of intelligent writing, imagination, research, odd references, etc.?
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### Author:  [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/6 "2004-05-18T16:50:41Z")
I really enjoyed **Preacher** for the first three graphic novels. Interesting stories, good artwork, great anti-hero, and a rich, deep mythology to build on.
Then it started to suck. And the ending blew. I was very depressed because it could have, and should have, been so much better. I honestly don’t know what happened, but I was sorely disappointed with it.
To each their own.
As an aside, I loved **Cryptonomicon**. It’s a great read. If you like it, give Stephenson’s other works a chance. I liked the Diamond Age even better than Cryptonomicon. I’m currently reading his latest hardcovers, called the Baroque Cycle, and they are interesting and involved, but seem to lack the energy of his earlier work.
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/7 "2004-05-18T16:51:57Z")
Preacher is fantastic. It’s a horror-crime-comedy-Western, with terrific characters and good dialogue and action and adventure and love and sex and friendship and betrayal and irreverence and humor and gore and violence and plenty of weirdness. It’s one of the top two or three comics I’ve ever read. I honestly prefer it to Sandman (it’s more FUN), and I’m a huge Alan Moore fan too, so that says a lot. Some will find it offensive, but if any parts of violent movies like Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, or Kill Bill made you laugh, then Preacher is definitely for you.
Some of my other favorite comics (most of which are available in trade paperbacks):
V For Vendetta
Watchmen
Starman (start with “Sins of the Father,” but they’re up there with Preacher and Sandman for excellence)
Sandman Mystery Theatre (only one TPB so far, but 70 great issues to seek out)
Justice League International
Grendel (a confusing saga to get into–ask me where to start if you want)
X-Force (get the “Famous, Mutant, and Mortal” hardcover)
Madman
The Atomics
Hellboy
The Amazing Screw-On Head (the greatest single-issue comic book ever)
American Flagg!
Top Ten
Greyshirt
Supreme
Promethea
Sleeper
Point Blank
Wildcats (anything written by James Robinson, Alan Moore, and Joe Casey - several TPBs)
Box Office Poison
I Die At Midnight
You Are Here
Why I Hate Saturn
The Cowboy Wally Show
Danger Girl
Nowheresville
Daredevil (anything written by Frank Miller or Brian Michael Bendis)
Catwoman (only the current series by Ed Brubaker)
Gotham Central
The Losers
Transmetropolitan
Planetary
The Authority (only Warren Ellis’ run)
Stormwatch (only Warren Ellis’ run)
Death: The High Cost Of Living
Sandman
Swamp Thing (Alan Moore’s run, in six TPBs)
The Tick (only the first 12 issues by Ben Edlund, should be collected in 3 “Omnibuses”)
Marvels
Kingdom Come
Queen and Country
Courtney Crumrin
Powers
Sin City
Y: The Last Man
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### Author:  [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/8 "2004-05-18T16:58:17Z")
**yojimbo** me lad, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon did several runs on _Hellblazer_ as well. “Rake at the Gates of Hell” isn’t one of the earliest of these, but it is one of the best. Recommended oh you betchee.
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### Author:  [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/9 "2004-05-18T17:01:52Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#):
>
> Sleeper
I cannot friggin _wait_ for the next Sleeper trade. It is too friggin good.
Friggin.
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### Author:  [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/10 "2004-05-18T17:27:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I’ve just finished reading all of them and they are fantastic. One of my reading highlights so far in my life. Everyone should read them IMO and everyone would love them if they could get over the comic thing IMO as well.
Not everyone should read that pseudo rebellious crap. I couldn’t even get through 1/2 the series before I was tired of watching brains splatter every second page.
I can understand that someone likes it (different tastes and all that) but better then **Watchers**? Never in a million years.
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### Author:  [@Hecubis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hecubis)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/11 "2004-05-18T17:40:43Z")
I would like to start reading the series but I’m having trouble finding the order in which the digests are printed. Could someone either point me to the list or list them off here. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/12 "2004-05-18T19:22:11Z")
> [@Hecubis](#):
>
> I would like to start reading the series but I’m having trouble finding the order in which the digests are printed. Could someone either point me to the list or list them off here. Thanks.
If you ever have questions about the order of trade paperbacks, the titles, or what single issues are reprinted in each, get thee to The Trade Paperback List website, at [http://www.tplist.com/](http://www.tplist.com/) , to answer all your questions. But the Preacher books, in order, go:
1. Gone To Texas
2. Until the End of the World
3. Proud Americans
4. Ancient History
5. Dixie Fried
6. War In the Sun
7. Salvation
8. All Hell’s A’Comin’
9. Alamo
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/13 "2004-05-18T19:29:19Z")
> [@Moody Bastard](#):
>
> I cannot friggin _wait_ for the next Sleeper trade. It is too friggin good.
>
> Friggin.
MY BROTHER! I just got Sleeper #1-6 in the mail yesterday, and read them in one sitting. I was friggin blown away! I only wish I had been with this title from the beginning, but better late than never. I’ll probably have to seek out the singles for #7-12… I might not be able to wait for the next trade! And once “Season Two” starts in July, I’ll probably pick that up in singles as well, just to support Brubaker and Phillips and to let DC know that people are loving Sleeper.
Have you read Point Blank yet? It’s Ed Brubaker’s prequel to Sleeper, with art by Colin Wilson. It’s not “required reading,” but it’s a twisted little noir storyline starring Cole Cash, the Grifter from Wildcats, and appearances from several other Wildstorm Universe characters. It also features the first appearance of Holden Carver, and sets up an important plot point in Sleeper.
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### Author:  [@Selkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Selkie)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/14 "2004-05-18T21:33:01Z")
Big Bad Voodoo Lou has posted an excellent list, but I’ll pick a few highlights that are probably of particular interest to a fellow **Preacher** fan:
[**Transmetropolitan**](http://www.transmetropolitan.com/) would be my first recommendation for a follow-up series. It has much of the same sensibility as Preacher, albeit in a very different setting. If I ramble on about how wonderful this book is, we’ll be here all day. Try it. The first TPB, **Back on the Street** is inexpensive, but only a set-up for what’s to follow.
If you were a fan of the Grail/international conspiracy angle, try **Sleeper: Out in the Cold** (and its soon-to-be-published follow-up, **All False Moves** ). Even if that aspect of the book didn’t appeal, try it anyway - an absolutely fantastic comic on every level, from writing to art to coloring.
Another popular Vertigo offering with an international conspiracy angle is **100 Bullets**. I don’t care for it the way others do, but you might.
I second the recommendation of the Ennis **Hellblazer** issues, but I personally would recommend starting with **Dangerous Habits** (illustrated by William Simpson, IIRC) before reading **Rake at the Gates of Hell** (which Dillon illustrated). I think Ennis’ stint on **Hellblazer** acted as a warm-up of sorts for Preacher, and you’ll see a lot of the same concepts and themes used - perhaps too much so, for I feel that Hellblazer suffers a little by comparison to Preacher. Personally I didn’t care for the other Ennis/Dillon team-up **Hellblazer: Damnation’s Flame** , but it might be worth a look.
If you liked the raunchy comedy angles, try the first twelve issues of **American Flagg!**. It’s being reprinted soon, in two TPBs or one pricey HC. Back issues, and the three TPBs covering issues 1 - 9, are readily available via eBay.
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### Author:  [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/15 "2004-05-18T22:40:39Z")
Absolutely not. I’ve been meaning to pit Garth Ennis for awhile now for ruining comics for me, and I will get around to it one day, I promise you that.
I bought those trades and passed them from myself to my girlfriend, then to my brother, then to my roommate, then to my dad. My girlfriend, roommate, and dad had never read comics before but I managed to convince them all and they all thanked me for it. Through all 5 of those people (including myself), I’ve never heard a bad word about Preacher.
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### Author:  [@Hecubis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hecubis)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/16 "2004-05-18T23:04:42Z")
**Big Bad Voodoo Lou** thanks for the list and the great site. I’m sure it will be extremely handy in the future.
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### Author:  [@gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gentle)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/17 "2004-05-18T23:35:47Z")
Jeff Smith’s _Bone_.
Someone already mentioned _Hellboy_.
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### Author:  [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/18 "2004-05-18T23:41:28Z")
> [@Moody Bastard](#):
>
> **yojimbo** me lad, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon did several runs on _Hellblazer_ as well. “Rake at the Gates of Hell” isn’t one of the earliest of these,
Unless you have a funny definition of “run”, yes it is. Ennis’ first run on Hellblazer was from #41 to #83. Major stories in order: Dangerous Habits, Royal Blood, Guys and Dolls, Fear and Loathing, Tainted Love, Damnation’s Flame, Rake at the Gates of Hell. His second (and to date, last) run was the five-issue story Son of Man.
As to my recommendations, I think **Big Bad Voodoo Lou** covered most of them by the simple expedient of recommending everything. 😃
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### Author:  [@d\_redguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d_redguy)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/19 "2004-05-19T01:35:35Z")
> [@Selkie](#):
>
> [**Transmetropolitan**](http://www.transmetropolitan.com/) would be my first recommendation for a follow-up series. It has much of the same sensibility as Preacher, albeit in a very different setting. If I ramble on about how wonderful this book is, we’ll be here all day. Try it. The first TPB, **Back on the Street** is inexpensive, but only a set-up for what’s to follow.
Firmly seconded. Imagine Hunter S. Thompson, in the future, on drugs they haven’t even come up with yet. Meet your new idol, Spider Jerusalem.
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2004, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-comics-get-any-better-that-preacher/245789/20 "2004-05-19T10:00:53Z")
Some really good stuff here.
Thanks a lot. Looks like a trip to the local comic shop is in order.
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