Preacher Vol. 1: Gone to Texas (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Here's a book guaranteed to offend a bunch of people, not only because of its profuse profanity and graphic violence, but because it's the epitome of iconoclasm. Like a brutal accident, you can't watch but you can't turn away. The story follows an ex-preacher man, Jesse, who has become disgusted with God's abandoning of His responsibilities. So Jesse starts off into the wilds of Texas with his hitman girlfriend and new best friend (a vampire) to find God so that he can give Him a piece of his mind. Despite its superficial perversity, this book contains what may be the most moral character in mainstream comics. A cult hit in the making. Fans of Quentin Tarantino take note.

Product Description

Here's a book guaranteed to offend a bunch of people, not only because of its profuse profanity and graphic violence, but because it's the epitome of iconoclasm. Like a brutal accident, you can't watch but you can't turn away. The story follows an ex-preacher man, Jesse, who has become disgusted with God's abandoning of His responsibilities. So Jesse starts off into the wilds of Texas with his hitman girlfriend and new best friend (a vampire) to find God so that he can give Him a piece of his mind. Despite its superficial perversity, this book contains what may be the most moral character in mainstream comics. A cult hit in the making. Fans of Quentin Tarantino take note.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo; illustrated edition edition (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563892618
• ISBN-13: 978-1563892615
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,013 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Preacher Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Texas, by God, August 19, 2001

By	Sam Thursday (APO, AE United States) - See all my reviews

This is an extremely difficult review for me to write. I'm an evangelical Christian, and, hard to believe as I'm sure it seems to a lot of people, I still think it's the best (and only) way. Preacher was going to be the enemy for a long time - that strange, pretentious book about a man of the cloth taking on God. And then I read Gone to Texas. And the next day, I read Until the End of the World. And the next day, I read Proud Americans. In case the pattern had escaped you, I had a very hard time putting these down. More to the point, I did not put them down, and have just finished Alamo. Did the book shake my faith? No. It made me think a great deal, and a great deal harder about things that had not previouly occurred to me. Was I offended by it? Sure. Find me someone who wasn't. Did I love every single page? You bet. The book has so much going for it that I probably won't be able to fit it in here - Ennis and Dillon did every single issue - that's NEVER been done before, as far as I know. You can start with Gone to Texas, and finish up at Alamo with a clear understanding of how each of them became better at what they do. It was smart without being pretentious, which put it head and shoulders above most of DC's Vertigo line - anyone can read it, anyone can understand it. Most importantly to me, though, the characters were as real as you or me. Ennis peppers the story with horrific violence and some incredibly disturbed images, but I wouldn't have batted an eyelash if I hadn't known that it was Tulip at gunpoint, or Jesse hanging out of the plane. No matter what the characters go through or do to each other, you still love them - Cassidy is one of the most well-written and complex characters to ever grace the pages of a comic book, and Jesse, in the midst of all the incredibly debauchery, is one of the most moral. For those reasons, I enjoyed the slower stories more; Salvation is at the top of my list, followed closely by All Hell's A-Comin. And let's not forget the humor - there were times when I was laughing so hard I couldn't turn the page. Give it a shot. It's new, it's innovative, and someone thought about it. That alone should be worth the prive of admission. You'll like it, and if you don't like it, you'll read it anyway.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars sick, funny violence, and twisted religion, March 12, 2001

By	Diana Nier (Ithaca, NY, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My God, this is sick! It's also funny as hell, even though I still feel slightly disturbed that I actually laughed at some of the things that happen.

"Preacher: Gone to Texas," is the first of the trade paperback collections of the comics series. I haven't read any of the others, so I really have no idea what happens later, but after reading this first volume, I plan to buy the next ones in the very near future, and continue to not believe I'm laughing. This stuff is addictive.

From what I can tell so far, "Preacher" is the story of preacher Jesse Custer, his ex-girlfriend Tulip, and Cassidy, an Irish vampire. At some point, an angel and a demon had a child named Genesis. Genesis was a new idea, as powerful as God Almighty; it has escaped its heavenly prison and bonded with Jesse. Now Jesse, a moral person despite his many flaws, is searching for God. He plans to ask some serious questions.

"Gone to Texas" falls roughly into two parts. First there's the introduction, where we meet the three main characters, and others, such as the Saint of Killers. Then the three hitchhike to New York City, where they start looking for God and get involved in a serial murder case.

There are times when the gore and cursing get too thick, so they're tiresome instead of funny; that's why I'm not giving this five stars. Still, "Preacher" is one of the best comics I've read in a while, and I'm looking forward to the next collected volumes.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "More fun than going to the movies" - Kevin Smith quote., June 25, 2005

By	Nick Morales "Phantastic" (L-town, PA USA) - See all my reviews

I had a friend who had told me for years that I had to read Preacher, because it was one of the best comics he had ever read. I always just shrugged and said "Yeah, someday I will." So I finally got around to buying a copy of 'Gone to Texas' and I was simply blown away. I've always considered my self to be a comic book fan, not a hardcore collector of any sort, but a fan. When I began reading Preacher I could not bring myself to stop. So day after day I went to the local comic shop, picked up the next volume, and read it cover to cover. It is simply the best comic I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I wish I could forget all of it, just to read it and experience it all again. When I got to the last page, I felt a sense of completion but more of sadness, because I'd finished it. Immediately I began searching for more of Ennis and Dillon's work, and I've never, ever, done that before. I couldn't even name more than a handful of other comic book writers, but these two guys know how to do what everyone else in the business strives to do everyday: Get an idea across and get you to love it. But enough of my ranting, if you've read all the way through this review, then you're obviously interested, so do yourself a favor and get a copy of 'Gone to Texas', you won't regret it.