Preacher Vol. 8: All Hell's A-Coming (Paperback)

~ (Author), Steve Dillon (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's trite but true: you can't keep a good man down. Holier-than-anyone Jesse Custer comes back from the dead--or wherever--in the eighth collection of Preacher, All Hell's A-Coming. Garth Ennis's knack for developing characters slowly and almost effortlessly pays off more and more with each issue, and by now Custer, his lover Tulip, and his vampire friend Cassidy are as complex as anyone you're likely to meet. The story arc focuses on Tulip's own resurrection from her unlife of booze, drugs, and Cassidy as she reunites with the Preacher, and this powerful tale doesn't require any superheroic conflict to affect the readers. (Fans of the Voice will be disappointed to learn that it's only used once, in an amusing throwaway scene.) As this develops, the nefarious Grail suffers from internal struggle, and poor Arseface finds himself on the backside of fame, setting the stage for plenty of future weirdness. In addition to the regular collected issues, All Hell's A-Coming includes the one-shot "Tall in the Saddle," a fast-moving story from Jesse, Amy, and Tulip's younger days. If you've never met the Preacher, isn't it about time you found the fear of God? --Rob Lightner

Product Description

It's trite but true: you can't keep a good man down. Holier-than-anyone Jesse Custer comes back from the dead--or wherever--in the eighth collection of Preacher, All Hell's A-Coming. Garth Ennis's knack for developing characters slowly and almost effortlessly pays off more and more with each issue, and by now Custer, his lover Tulip, and his vampire friend Cassidy are as complex as anyone you're likely to meet. The story arc focuses on Tulip's own resurrection from her unlife of booze, drugs, and Cassidy as she reunites with the Preacher, and this powerful tale doesn't require any superheroic conflict to affect the readers. (Fans of the Voice will be disappointed to learn that it's only used once, in an amusing throwaway scene.) As this develops, the nefarious Grail suffers from internal struggle, and poor Arseface finds himself on the backside of fame, setting the stage for plenty of future weirdness. In addition to the regular collected issues, All Hell's A-Coming includes the one-shot "Tall in the Saddle," a fast-moving story from Jesse, Amy, and Tulip's younger days. If you've never met the Preacher, isn't it about time you found the fear of God? --Rob Lightner

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563896176
• ISBN-13: 978-1563896170
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,628 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 8 in The Preacher Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Latest Edition is Full of Romance, Vengeance, and History., May 31, 2000

By	yo go re "yo" (OAFEnet) - See all my reviews

In volume 8 of Ennis and Dillon's "Preacher" series, Jesse finally gets his act together enough to come find Tulip. Tulip seeks her own inner strength, and we learn more about the past of Cassidy, everyone's favorite Irish vampire. Many characters we haven't seen in ages (and most of us have forgotten about) resurface in "All Hell's A-Coming," and fit so beautifully into the story that it is as if they couldn't possibly be anywhere else at that moment.

Ennis continues to craft one of the best long-running stories in comics, giving us characters who are both flawed and heroic, in a classical sense. No, there are no cape-wearing supermen in these books, but we get treated to people who seem to love, and hate, and _feel_ the same way as the rest of us, if perhaps a bit more intensely.

"Preacher" the comicbook series is drawing to a close, and this trade paperback collects the stories leading up to the final story arc, "Alamo." The characters meet one another again, preparing for the final act of this story, and spend most of "AHA-C" reflecting on their own pasts and learning what each other have been up to in the intervening months. The characters have to accept where they've been before they can prepare for where they're going, and it's safe to say that a vast majority of the readers will be along for the ride.

Dillon's art in this book is on par with the rest of his efforts in "Preacher" thus far. Eight big books in and he still shows no sign of slipping. Even the superficial obscenity and violence come across well from his drafting table, making "All Hell's A-Coming" one beautiful book.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is really good., May 31, 2000

By	"mescher1" (Bloomington, Indiana) - See all my reviews

The eighth installment in the PREACHER library departs from much of what made the book so successful in the fisrt place. Blood and gore take a back seat, as Ennis and Dillon choose to concentrate more heavily on character development, most noticeable in the characters of Tulip and Cassidy. There is just enough blood to satisfy the gore-hounds, but also enough excellent dialogue and plot development to interest those who would never imagine a mere comic book could be this thought provoking. Jesse and Tulip's relationship is put to the ultimate test, which we glimpsed in the finale of WAR IN THE SUN (my personal favorite of the PREACHER collections) and the outcome is interesting to say the least. All in all, this book is an excellent prelude of the earth shaking events that will no doubt transpose at the conclusion of the current series-ending "Alamo" storyline. One more thing: Mark my words, Arseface will be remembered as one the great tragic characters, on par with Shakespeare's Hamlet and Tarantino's Mr. Orange.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Title says it all: "Hell" is "coming", so we wait..., August 7, 2000

By	Ernesto Moncada-Cota "septiembre" (Phoenix (Limboland), AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like all readers of this book, I've been following the Preacher Saga since "Gone To Texas", and for the first time I have to agree with the negative reviewers: this is not exactly the best Preacher chapter but that is not to say that is bad either,'cos it's pretty good.

Many feel that the "Salvation" storyline was just a waste of valuable time but I disagree. It was a needed pause after the "War in the Sun" fast and violent events and a cool sort of sequel to "Until the End of the World".

The problem with "All Hell's" is that it has slow plot development AFTER another kindda slow one. "Salvation" had suspense, weird enough characters and when Jesse eats the peyote and remembers his encounter with God... You are GLAD to have the trade in your possesion! "All Hell's" ties many loose ends but it lacks real movement until we see certain irish vampire again. The Starr parts are, as always, hilarious and the Jesse and Tulip "early days" story is okey. But I think we've hear enough about how they love each other and how America is so great that all hitchickers are extravagant and very American people. I found that part sort of preachy and repetitive.

Maybe the books before has been so great that we complain when they're only normal, maybe we're so anxious to read "Alamo" that everything else just doesn't seem to matter. Anyway, this is a must for any fan of the series and I bet the next book will be so shocking and memorable that we'll be talking about it from years to come.