| Preacher | |
|---|---|
 The main and supporting cast ofPreacher on the cover of issue #56 byGlenn Fabry. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Vertigo imprint ofDC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Genre | Satire,supernatural,action |
| Publication date | 1995–2000 |
| No. of issues | 66 (plus 5 specials and a 4-issue miniseries) |
| Main characters | |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Garth Ennis Steve Dillon |
| Written by | Garth Ennis |
| Artist(s) | Steve Dillon Glenn Fabry Carlos Ezquerra |
| Letterer | Clem Robins |
| Colorist(s) | Matt Hollingsworth Pamela Rambo |
Preacher is anAmerican comic book series published from 1995 to 2000 byVertigo, animprint ofDC Comics. The series was created by writerGarth Ennis and artistSteve Dillon, with painted covers byGlenn Fabry. It won the Eisner Award forBest Continuing Series in 1999.
The series consists of 75 issues in total – 66 regular, monthly issues, fiveone-shot specials, and a four-issuePreacher: Saint of Killerslimited series. The final monthly issue, number 66, was published in October 2000, withan epilogue published in Ennis' subsequent seriesThe Boys in February 2009. The entire run has been collected in four series of collected editions: an original nine volume run of trade paperbacks, a second run of six trade paperbacks/hardcovers, three extra oversized "Absolute Preacher" volumes, and two oversized omnibus volumes.
A television series adaptation,Preacher, aired for 43 episodes overfour seasons onAMC, from 2016 to 2019.
Preacher tells the story ofJesse Custer, a preacher in the smallTexas town of Annville. Custer is accidentally possessed by the supernatural creature named Genesis, the infant of the unauthorized, unnatural coupling of an angel and a demon.
Genesis has no sense of individual will, but since it is composed of both pure goodness and pure evil, its power might rival that of God Himself, making Jesse Custer, bonded to Genesis, potentially the most powerful being in the universe.
Driven by a strong sense of right and wrong, Custer journeys across the United States attempting to literally find God, who abandoned Heaven the moment Genesis was born. He also begins to discover the truth about his new powers, allowing him, when he wills it, to command the obedience of those who hear and comprehend his words. He is joined by old girlfriendTulip O'Hare, as well as a hard-drinkingIrishvampire namedCassidy.
During the course of their journeys, the three encounter enemies and obstacles both sacred and profane, includingThe Saint of Killers, an invincible, quick-drawing, perfect-aiming, come-latelyAngel of Death answering only to "He Who Sits On The Throne"; a disfigured suicide attempt survivor turned rock-star named Arseface; a serial-killer called the 'Reaver-Cleaver'; The Grail, a secret organization controlling the governments of the world and protecting the bloodline of Jesus; Herr Starr, primary enforcer for The Grail, a megalomaniac with a penchant for prostitutes, who wishes to use Custer for his own ends; several fallen angels; and Jesse's ownredneck family — particularly his nastyCajun grandmother, her mighty bodyguard Jody, and theZoophilic T.C.
| Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preacher: Gone to Texas | 978-1563892615 | March 1, 1996 | Preacher #1–7, 4-page foreword byJoe R. Lansdale |
| Preacher: Until the End of the World | 978-1563893124 | January 1, 1997 | Preacher #8–17, 3-page foreword byKevin Smith |
| Preacher: Proud Americans | 978-1563893278 | October 1, 1997 | Preacher #18–26, 4-page foreword byPenn Jillette (ofPenn & Teller) |
| Preacher: Ancient History | 978-1563894053 | March 1, 1998 | Preacher Special: Saint of Killers #1–4,Preacher Special: The Story of You-Know-Who, andPreacher Special: The Good Old Boys, 2-page introduction by Garth Ennis |
| Preacher: Dixie Fried | 978-1563894282 | September 1, 1998 | Preacher #27–33 andPreacher Special: Cassidy – Blood and Whiskey, no extras |
| Preacher: War in the Sun | 978-1563894909 | March 1, 1999 | Preacher #34–40 andPreacher Special: One Man's War, 1-page recap, 2-page character introductions |
| Preacher: Salvation | 978-1563895197 | September 1, 1999 | Preacher #41–50, no extras |
| Preacher: All Hell's A-Coming | 978-1563896170 | June 1, 2000 | Preacher #51–58 andPreacher Special: Tall in the Saddle, 2-page character introductions, 2-page recap |
| Preacher: Alamo | 978-1563897153 | May 1, 2001 | Preacher #59–66, 2-page character introductions, 2-page recap |
| Title | Format | ISBN | Release date | Collected material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preacher: Book One | Hardcover | 978-1401222796 | July 21, 2009 | Preacher #1–12 |
| TPB | 978-1401240455 | June 18, 2013 | ||
| Preacher: Book Two | Hardcover | 978-1401225797 | February 16, 2010 | Preacher #13–26 |
| TPB | 978-1401242558 | October 1, 2013 | ||
| Preacher: Book Three | Hardcover | 978-1401230166 | December 21, 2010 | Preacher #27–33,Preacher Special: Saint of Killers #1–4, andPreacher Special: Cassidy – Blood and Whiskey |
| TPB | 978-1401245016 | January 28, 2014 | ||
| Preacher: Book Four | Hardcover | 978-1401230937 | June 14, 2011 | Preacher #34–40,Preacher Special: The Story of You-Know-Who,Preacher Special: The Good Old Boys, andPreacher Special: One Man's War |
| TPB | 978-1401230944 | June 24, 2014 | ||
| Preacher: Book Five | Hardcover | 978-1401232504 | November 29, 2011 | Preacher #41–54 |
| TPB | 978-1401250744 | August 19, 2014 | ||
| Preacher: Book Six | Hardcover | 978-1401234157 | January 17, 2012 | Preacher #55–66 andPreacher Special: Tall in the Saddle |
| TPB | 978-1401252793 | November 4, 2014 |
| Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected material |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Preacher, Vol. 1[1] | 978-1401264413 | July 12, 2016 | Preacher #1–26 |
| Absolute Preacher, Vol. 2[2] | 978-1401268091 | May 9, 2017 | Preacher #27–40,Preacher Special: Saint of Killers #1–4,Preacher Special: The Story of You-Know-Who,Preacher Special: The Good Old Boys,Preacher Special: Cassidy – Blood and Whiskey, andPreacher Special: One Man's War |
| Absolute Preacher, Vol. 3[3] | 978-1401278489 | April 25, 2018 | Preacher #41–66 andPreacher Special: Tall in the Saddle |
| Title | ISBN | Release date | Collected Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preacher: The 25th Anniversary Omnibus Vol. 1 | 978-1779502674 | August 4, 2020 | Preacher #1-33, Preacher Special: Saint of Killers #1–4, Preacher Special: Cassidy – Blood and Whiskey |
| Preacher: The 25th Anniversary Omnibus Vol. 2 | 978-1779510372 | August 31, 2021 | Preacher # 34-66, Preacher Special: The Story of You-Know-Who, Preacher Special: The Good Old Boys, Preacher Special: One Man's War, Preacher Special: Tall in the Saddle |
Additionally, the bookPreacher: Dead or Alive (ISBN 9781563898488) collects Fabry's covers to the series.
Garth Ennis, feelingPreacher would translate perfectly as a film, sold thefilm rights toElectric Entertainment.Rachel Talalay was hired to direct, with Ennis writing the script. Rupert Harvey andTom Astor were set as producers. By May 1998, Ennis completed three drafts of the script, based largely on theGone to Texas story arc.[4] The filmmakers found it difficult financingPreacher because investors found the idea religiously controversial. Ennis approachedKevin Smith andScott Mosier to help finance the film under theirView Askew Productions banner. Ennis, Smith and MosierpitchedPreacher toBob Weinstein atMiramax Films.[5]
Weinstein was confused by the characterization ofJesse Custer. Miramax also did not want to share the box office gross with Electric Entertainment, ultimately dropping the pitch. By May 2000, Smith and Mosier were still attached to produce with Talalay directing, but Smith did not know the status ofPreacher, feeling it would languish indevelopment hell.[5] By then, Storm Entertainment, a UK-based production company known for their work onindependent films, joined the production with Electric Entertainment.[4] In September 2001, the two companies announcedPreacher had beengreenlighted to commencepre-production, with filming to begin in November and Talalay still directing Ennis' script.[6] The production and start dates were pushed back because of financial issues[7] of the $25 million projected budget.[8]
James Marsden was cast in the lead role as Jesse Custer sometime in 2002. He explained, "It was something I never knew anything about, but once I got my hands on the comic books, I was blown away by it."[7] In a March 2004 interview, Marsden said the filmmakers were hoping for filming to start the following August.[9] With the full-length film adaptation eventually abandoned with budgetary concerns,[7]HBO announced in November 2006 that they commissionedMark Steven Johnson andHoward Deutch to produce atelevision pilot. Johnson was to write with Deutch directing.[10] Impressed with Johnson's pilot script, HBO had him write theseries bible for the first season.[11] Johnson first planned "to turn each comic book issue into a single episode" on ashot-for-shot basis. "I gave [HBO] the comics, and I said, 'Every issue is an hour'. Ennis said 'You don't have to be so beholden to the comic'. And I'm like, 'No, no, no. It's got to be like the comic'."[12]
Johnson also wanted to make sure thatone-shots were included as well.[13] Johnson changed his position, citing new storylines conceived by Ennis. "Well, there would be nothing new to add if we did that, so Garth [Ennis] and I have been creating new stories for the series," he said. "I love the book so much and I was telling Garth that he has to make the stories we are coming up with as comics because I want to see them."[11] By August 2008, newstudio executives at HBO decided to abandon the idea, finding it too stylistically dark and religiously controversial.[14]Columbia Pictures then purchased the film rights in October 2008 withSam Mendes planned to direct.Neal H. Moritz and Jason Netter would have produced the film. The previous scripts written by Ennis would not have been used.[8]
On November 16, 2013, it was announced thatAMC would be shooting a pilot forPreacher.[15] On November 18, 2013,Bleeding Cool confirmed thatSeth Rogen andEvan Goldberg had developed the series pilot withSam Catlin, and that it would be distributed bySony Pictures Television.[16][17] On February 7, 2014, it was made public that AMC was officially developing the series to television based on the pilot written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Rogen had no plans to co-star in the series. On May 9, 2014, AMC announced thatPreacher was picked up to series.[18]Preacher was slated to premiere mid to late 2015, as announced by Seth Rogen, with the script for the series complete and the pilot ordered by the studio.[19][20][21] Comic creatorsSteve Dillon andGarth Ennis were to work on this project as co-executive producer.[22][23] On April 17, 2015, Seth Rogen tweeted thatDominic Cooper was cast in the role ofJesse Custer,Joseph Gilgun asCassidy,Ruth Negga asTulip O'Hare,Ian Colletti asArseface, andW. Earl Brown as Sheriff Hugo Root. On September 9, 2015, Seth Rogen announced via Twitter that the series ordered to a ten-episodefirst season and was due to premiere in mid-2016.[24] The series premiered on AMC on Sunday, May 22, 2016, and concluded July 31. Asecond season, with thirteen episodes, aired from June 25 to September 11, 2017. From June 24 to August 26, 2018, a ten-episode third season aired. In November 2018, the series was renewed for a fourth and final ten-episode season, with production relocating to Australia, and the season airing from August 4 to September 29, 2019.
In May 2020, all 98 issues ofGarth Ennis'The Boys comic book series and the 8-issueepilogue seriesDear Becky were adapted into seven full castaudiobooks produced byGraphicAudio, with all volumes numbering a combined 31 hours in length.[25] In the second audiobook, thePreacherepilogue from "We Gotta Go Now" is adapted, with Michael John Casey voicingProinsias Cassidy.[26]
Stephen King has said that his comic book seriesThe Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, based on hisThe Dark Tower series of novels, was influenced byPreacher.[27]
The character Yorick fromY: The Last Man, has a Zippo lighter with the words "Fuck Communism" engraved, identical to the one owned by Jesse Custer inPreacher. When asked about it he says it is "from this book I read once... a graphic novel. You know, like a comic book." The phrase originated as a 1963 satirical poster produced byThe Realist magazine'sPaul Krassner.[28] This lighter appears later in the series when Yorick and Agent 355 are being held by Russian agents at gunpoint, who find the lighter and take offense to it.[29]
In February 2009, an older now-humanProinsias Cassidy appears in aepiloguecameo role in the fourth volume ofGarth Ennis' first ongoing comic book series afterPreacher, theDC Comics (WildStorm)/Dynamite Entertainment seriesThe Boys – "We Gotta Go Now" – in the twenty-seventh issue overall, depicted as a former friend andsponsor ofBilly Butcher working as abartender, clearing out his bar onSt. Patrick's Day so that Billy can drink in peace while waiting forWee Hughie Campbell.[30]
IGN declaredPreacher the third-greatest Vertigo comic, afterThe Saga of the Swamp Thing andThe Sandman.[31]
Jesse Custer was ranked the 11th Greatest Comic Book Character byEmpire magazine.[32] The Saint of Killers was ranked at number 42 on the same list.[33]
Definitions from Wiktionary
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata| DC Comics and Vertigo | |
|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | |
| Avatar Press | |
| Image Comics and Top Cow Productions | |
| Dynamite Entertainment | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Other | |
