Customer Reviews

Preacher Vol. 6: War in the Sun

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most welcome in this volume was a first person chronicling of Herr Starr's meteoric rise within the ranks of the Grail - an omnipotent, ubiquitous organization enjoying worldwide political influence (fans of Michael Moore's `Fahrenheit 9/11' may recognize elements of The Carlyle Group at play here). Herr Starr's unique psychological profile is also explored, explaining much of the otherwise bizarre behaviour that surfaced in previous volumes.

To add some Southern spice, Ennis throws in some wonderfully off-kilter characters in the mix: a failed wannabe astronaut with a rather substantial chip on his shoulder, a creepy hillbilly trio living in an abandoned mineshaft with particularly disturbing culinary tastes (and possible knowledge of Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance). And, considering the motley crew of characters that regularly grace the pages of Preacher, I use the adjective `bizarre' fully aware that `normal' in Ennis' world equates to Jerry Springer territory in ours.

Anyways, Ennis is fully back on track here with a captivating storyline that is wonderfully broken up with little subplots. There's a huge revelation at the end of this book that completely changes the dynamic among the `good guys' (and girl) that ought to leave you looking forward to the next book. There's some other - literally- earth-shattering stuff that goes on here, propelling the cataclysmic ending.

Six volumes in, Ennis continues to shock and awe with his unique blend of humour, violence, and pathos. There's really nothing like Preacher out there, and `War in the Sun' further bolsters Ennis' elevated standing in the graphic novel pantheon.

Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon have created another masterpiece with this sixth collected installment of the Preacher series. The beginning is the one shot back story called "One Man's War" and delves into the past of Herr Star as we learn his secrets and his unyielding motivation to get the job done. This explains quite a bit about Herr Star's intentions and you can almost sympathize with him. From that point on we catch up with Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidey as they wind up in the desert along with Herr Star and the entire army thrown into the mix, and the Saint of Killers not far behind. This is undoubtadly the most action packed of the series and contains all of the blood curdling violence and very dark humor that the series is famous for. Ennis' storytelling is great as always, although some of Dillon's art seems to get a bit scratchy towards the end of the book, War in the Sun is still a great read. All in all, this is possibly the best in the Preacher series, and next to Until the End of the World, is my favorite of the series.

War in the Sun is easily one of the best Preacher stories. From beginning to end, this is also one of the most action packed Preacher story arcs as well. From the battle in the desert between the Saint of Killers with Starr and his men to Jesse falling out of an airplane, this truly is an exciting story, and of course is filled with all the violence and humour the series is known for. This is definately recommended reading for anyone who is either a fan of the series of is juist getting into it as it realy gives a feal of what the series is all about.

Damn. Not only does this book offer an incredible look into the past of Starr (the German Grail member who became Allfather in book 3), it also shows an incredible showdown between Starr's forces and the Saint. Yet another incredible episode in the Preacher series.

I own and have read every PREACHER graphic novel to come out. They are all A-MAZ-ING!!! I love all of them. This may sound a little obsesive, but these books deserve more praise then I can give. In War in the Sun, the life of Herr Starr is revealed to you, the Saint destroys an entire army and makes up with Jesse, Cassidy is given a last chance by Tulip...and so much more, I really don't want to spoil the excitement that each new novel bestowes upon people. All I can say is that PREACHER is brilliant and Ennis and Dillon are great at doing what they do. A wonderful 5 stars for everything!

Ennis and Dillon did it again. And it's about time.

After 2 and a half dissapointing TPBs, we finally get back on track with War in the Sun. We start out with the Herr Starr special, which was extremely well done. If only we'd been given this info earlier in the series, maybe some of Starr's motivations actully would've made sense. Arrgh!

There's a little bit of set up and character development here, but not much. We basically dive right into the big climax, where Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy take on Herr Starr, The Saint of Killers, and a whole buncha tanks! And all of their lives are changed forever!

The resolution to this climax takes up the second half of the book, and is one of the best story resolutions a comic has ever had. What happened to Herr Starr? Where's Jesse? What about Cassidy? Tulip? Nearly all of your questions are answered by the end.

In conclusion, this is easily one of the best TPBs of the series.

As the Preacher series draws to an end, it has been realized that this story is a masterful parody of America itself. It is not just religious commentary or a collection of shock value events. Garth Ennis has woven a series of various interlinking themes and characters and has managed to bring them together seamlessly. Even initally, when there was more reliance on shock value, Garth proved he could tell a solid story to back it up. If this series relied only on vulgarity and violence, it would not last 66 issues. The characters' motivations are defined. Every character introduced, even walk-ons or throwaways, have a cleanly defined personality. This is further complemented with Steve Dillion's pencils. Though Steve draws some of the throwaway characters in similar fashion, he is a master of drawing facial expressions like no one else. The diolouge is well chosen; the reader would barely notice there are no thought balloons in the whole story. And Dillion's minimalist art includes backgrounds with a few yet solid details. When he draws a scene with no background, the human face he draws will be beautiful and powerfully expressive. This particular volume is rounded off with a story focusing on Herr Starr, the villian, which sheds some light on his background. The events in this book have been buliding for awhile and will lead to further building of later events. The conclusion of the series is hotly anticipated, as is the pair's work on the new Punisher series.

I haven't seen this much blood since the "Preacher:Proud Americans" collection (That's volume # 3 in case you're wise enough to buy all 8 volumes) But more than just a high body count, we also get to find out more about Herr Starr, and how he became involved in The Grail, and we witness Cassidy's betrayal when he is asked by Tulip what Jesse's last words to him were. On a lighter note, I cracked up over the entire Chunt Brothers/Herr Starr sections, especially where Starr gave Cyrus a hand! (too funny!) And no Preacher volume is complete without Arseface, who is visited by his fairy arsemother. I'm cracking up just thinking about that story.

After getting my hands on the War in the Sun I couldn't wait to start reading it. A lot of stuff was left unfinished since Dixie Fried and here Ennish solves some plots, but lefts more to be wanted in a good and real way. This is probably the most touching and most action filled preacher compilation ever and there's not much ill things found. The dialogue is excellent and certain transcripts are really thoughtfully planned and drawn. The album also includes the "one man's war" which is a pretty good story about Starr and the person who he is. And Custer's 'word of god' comes into play pretty unexpectedly ;)

"War in the Sun" is one of the better Preacher books. It gets things--as the saying goes--cooking with gas. Some of the story lines that have been left to simmer indefinitely finally come to a boil here in book six.

With two best friends and a beautiful girl between them, you knew it was only a matter of time until trouble reared its head. At the end of book six, with Jesse presumed dead and Cassidy left alone to make his designs on Tulip, trouble's knocking loud and hard.

There are only three more Preacher books after "War in the Sun" and it's obvious that the end is near and the stakes are high. You've got the feeling that you've just crested the last big hill and all the lights of home are spread out ahead of you.