Preacher VOL 02: Until the End of the World (Preacher Series , Vol 2) [Paperback]

Garth Ennis (Author), Steve Dillon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: January 1, 1997 | Series: Preacher Series , Vol 2

Written by Garth Ennis Art by Steve Dillon Cover by Glenn Fabry Continuing the new editions of the classic PREACHER trade paperbacks! This volume contains PREACHER #8-17, in which Custer heads to the south to confront the extremely dysfunctional family that abused him as a child.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In and of itself, the story of a man with one foot in Heaven and one foot in Hell is hardly original. But in the hands of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, the story of Jesse Custer becomes a blasphemous masterpiece seething with originality. Custer is a former Texas minister who was joined with a spiritual being called "Genesis." Now Custer is on a journey to find God, but not in the traditional enlightenment sense. I mean track Him down and give Him a piece of his mind. Along for the journey are his gun-friendly girlfriend and his Irish punk vampire buddy. Until the End of the World starts with a flashback to Jesse's childhood, when he watched his father get shot in the head. That kicks off "All in the Family," the first of two stories in this collection. The second story, "Hunters," features the character Jesus de Sade. Yes, even if you've known for years how hip and cool comics are, you won't believe you're reading something this outrageous. And as Kevin Smith points out in his introduction, this is one book "that actually surpasses its hype." --Jim Pascoe

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563893126
• ISBN-13: 978-1563893124
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.4 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible! May 28, 2000

By Rowan Mullen

Format:Paperback

Being relatively new to the sordid world of comics, I happened upon this trade PB at a local comic book shop while desperately trying to find a couple of back issues of Strangers in Paradise (which, incidentally, I now own almost every one of.) I picked it up and flipped through it. The artwork was pretty darn good, and I really liked the quality, realistic coloring. Ooh, sacreligious ex-preacher guy, cool chick character, and a vampire too? Seemed almost too good to be true.

I sat down and read the thing all the way through, stopping occasionally to show my friends the delightfully disgusting portraits of "Grandma", and to quote the evil hill-billies. After I was done, my friends insisted I leave the book there so that they might read it as well. Cheez, three fans created by one purchase, so far.

The comic is very well done. The amount of sheer, graphic violence and disturbing subject matter (especially the forced sodomy and beastiality) will make this story difficult for "sensitive" readers. Many parts of this book were hard for me to stomach, and I think they were meant to be funny. This is *not* a comic for anyone under the age of 18, I think - these scenes are enough for an adult to handle.

So, disturbing matter aside, this is a damn fine story. You will find yourself dreaming about the heroic Custer and his love, the very bad-@$$ Tulip, hoping that they make it. I understand that the storyline is currently winding to a close. This is almost a relief to me, as I know that I now have to start collecting the entire series - I won't be stuck in a never-ending cycle of collection! (Like it's not bad enough that I own a collection of bagged-n-boarded comics in the first place. A friend comes over and looks at them, and I wring my hands over the darn things like they are sickly children.)

This book *will* make you re-think your concept of God, Jesus, the Afterlife, and everything in-between. It slips into your psyche like a spirit, and you begin to truly *care* about the characters. It takes a rare kind of artists to create people so complete that they are seem obviously real anytime one opens up a book. From what I have experienced in the comic industry, it's even more difficult to *draw* them, continue an engaging storyline, and make the reader *think*, all at the same time. "Preacher" manages to do all three, and I commend its creators, who breathe life into an idea, and allow us to live it as well. A storyline like this could either flop or succeed . In this case - well, you already know what I think, doncha? : ) Enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Whoa, this one's a killer April 13, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I first read Preacher while I was doing my military service and immediately got hooked. Although I read the books in a pretty out-of-order fashion, I still followed the plot and found it interesting. Happily in reserve now and money to buy the albums and read them with more thought. Until the end of the World is probably the biggest shocker in the series. First you see Custer's disgusting family and you can only guess how many times I went "Oww gross, what next!?". I also found it pretty interesting that IMO the story in Vol.2 seemed to get a bit lighter in mood as the story progressed. Cassidy and the cat, Starr getting more he bargained for and the strange orgy at the end. I was rolling on the floor laughing as I watched this bizarre story unfold. I'll get my head examined next... Anyway, the story is as solid you can expect from Ennis with plenty of story driven bloodshed and some nice 'slaps on the cheek' in the form of some unexpected headshots. Unfortunately, the Saint of Killers is seen only once in the this book, but expect to catch this menacing figure in the next book doing what he does best ;->

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Heavenly May 24, 1998

By James Wilkinson ([e-mail])

Format:Paperback

This, the second Preacher collection is vile, depraved, revolting, disgusting and morally dubious. Up to the usual Ennis standards, then. The general plot, for those who don't know, is this: Jesse Custer, a small town Texas Preacher, has his soul bonded with Genesis, a creature born of a demon and an angel, giving him the power to command people to do his bidding. He meets up with his hit-woman ex-girlfriend, Tulip and an Irish (that's IRISH, not AUSTRALIAN) alcoholic vampire called Cassidy. Soon, this trio find themselves on the run from the FBI, the Texas state police, a super-secret conspiracy known as the Grail, an immortal cowboy and a hideously disfigured (yet strangely upbeat) teenager. If you thought that Reservoir Dogs needed a bit more blood and that Pulp Fiction was wholesome family entertainment, then you really need to buy this book, I can't reccommend it enough. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a brainless shoot-em-up suerhero comic,however, - it is a carefully characterised well written story which deserves to be read from start to finish and then over again. In it's time, Preacher has presented moral stories on alcoholism, drug-abuse, child-abuse, love, friendship and what to do when everything you belive in has fallen down around you. BE WARNED, though - this comic don't pull any punches.