# So "Preacher" and "The Sandman" are gonna cost me $350? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2004, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748 "2004-02-18T05:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748/21 "2004-02-19T20:14:35Z")
Lucifer is awesome, in some ways better than Sandman. It’s not complete yet – Carey figures he’s got a year and a half or so left on the monthly series, and the TPB collections are about a volume or two behind that. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moo_the_Magic_Cow)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748/22 "2004-02-19T20:25:10Z")
Just go into a bookstore like Barnes and Noble, pray they have it, sit down and read it. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748/23 "2004-02-20T14:13:05Z")
I wandered into the local comic book store, which I visit about every four months or so, and on a whim, bought the first **Preacher** collection. The next day, I went back and bought the next two. Two days later, I bought two more. Eventually, I had all the TPBs, bought two at a time. Man, for addictive. I dunno why I didn’t just bite the bullet and buy them all at once. “I can quit any time; I don’t need these things.” ---
**Author:** ![Montresor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@Montresor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montresor)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748/24 "2004-02-20T20:36:13Z")
Oh, I see that no one has mentioned _Hellboy_ yet, so let me recommend that one. But seriously, folks, it is as good as everyone says. I think its the only title (aside from _Sin City_) of which I have yet to miss an installment. I’d also recommend buying them **soon** , before the only options are printings with all the “Now a Major Motion Picture!” bs attached. I’ve mentioned in this forum before that I live in morbid fear of the upcoming movie both sucking and blowing, and then I’ll have to get rid of my Hellboy pin and my BPRD t-shirt (which, I realize, I’m wearing even as I type). Apparently **Big Bad Voodoo Lou** is my old roommate, since s/he has listed pretty much the entire collection that turned me on to contemporary comics. _Watchmen_ and _From Hell_, along with (to a lesser degree, IMHO) _League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_, are must-have Allan Moore works. My girlfriend even enjoyed them. And Kyle Baker’s best work is an utter joy. _The Cowboy Wally Show_ had me in tears, and it hasn’t lost any of its charm over the years. Hell, I think I’ll re-read it tonight. _You Are Here_ was a little disappointing, though. _Cerebus_ and _Love and Rockets_ are also both excellent, although I’d avoid anything after the third or fourth installent of Sims’ _magnum opus_. Its also been discussed on this board in some detail, and rather recently. Now, a question for _Love and Rockets_ fans: what is a good intro to the series? I’ve bought a few TPBs here and there, mostly based on what’s been cheap, but I’ve always felt that I was just skimming the surface of a very deep well. Finally, are any San Francisco-area comic book fans going to APE this weekend? I’ve never been, and I’m more than a little curious… ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748/25 "2004-02-20T22:35:10Z")
> [@Montresor](#): > > Apparently **Big Bad Voodoo Lou** is my old roommate, since s/he has listed pretty much the entire collection that turned me on to contemporary comics. That is one of the greatest honors anyone has ever paid me on the SDMB, calling me an old roommate! 🙂 Seriously, thank you. I wasn’t always reading such good comics, but I like to think that I seek out all the good stuff now. Have you–or anyone else–tried writer/artist Alex Robinson’s Box Office Poison? It’s another modern classic, a “slice of life” story about normal people and their relationships and problems, very funny and touching and ultimately very powerful, because we all probably know people like the characters. It’s almost like a Kevin Smith story done right. For lighter fare, you can’t go wrong with Kyle Baker, but I also love the classic run of Justice League International (truly a superhero sitcom), written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. I’m also probably the biggest Blue Beetle fan on the SDMB, but don’t hold it against me. More comics that deliver the ha-ha: Ben Edlund’s original 12 issues of The Tick (available in two TPBs), and J. Scott Campbell’s Danger Girl, for sexy, campy, tongue-in-cheek action that only a child of the '80s could come up with. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748/26 "2004-02-21T00:14:00Z")
> [@Montresor](#): > > And Kyle Baker’s best work is an utter joy. _The Cowboy Wally Show_ had me in tears, and it hasn’t lost any of its charm over the years. Hell, I think I’ll re-read it tonight. _You Are Here_ was a little disappointing, though. I forgot all about Kyle Baker. I like _The Cowboy Wally Show_ well enough, but my real favorite is **Why I Hate Saturn**. There are some great characters and great writing. I agree that _You Are Here_ was a disappointment. _King David_ is pretty good, and I’d recommend it to anybody who’s a fan. Baker’s best stuff, IMO, was on the tail end of _The Shadow_ series written by Andy Helfer. Great writing and fantastic art that went together perfectly; I wish they had done more stuff together. I don’t think that’s ever been released in TPB format, which is a shame because it was a remarkable (albeit very short-lived) series. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748/27 "2004-02-21T01:08:35Z")
A quick question about _Hellboy_: I read the first two TPB, and was pretty underwhelmed. Didn’t suck by any means, but also didn’t seem like anything special. If it hasn’t clicked for me by that point, should I give it up as something that’s just not for me, or does it radically improve in subsequent volumes? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748/28 "2004-02-21T01:32:59Z")
> [@SolGrundy](#): > > Baker’s best stuff, IMO, was on the tail end of _The Shadow_ series written by Andy Helfer. Great writing and fantastic art that went together perfectly; I wish they had done more stuff together. I don’t think that’s ever been released in TPB format, which is a shame because it was a remarkable (albeit very short-lived) series. The Shadow will never be collected as a TPB either, because owner Conde Nast Publications took the license to use their character back from DC after the way Helfer and Baker treated the Shadow in that series. Maybe it was the fact that the Shadow’s head got cut off and put on a robot body, or maybe it was just all the over-the-top comic violence. I don’t think the last issue was ever published either, so the series ended on a cliffhanger. Interestingly, when asked about his work on The Shadow, Baker has shrugged it off as mere “work for hire” that he doesn’t really care about or hold any connection or sentimental value to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-preacher-and-the-sandman-are-gonna-cost-me-350/229748.md?page=1)