Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9781563894053
ISBN: 156389405X
Label: Vertigo
Manufacturer: Vertigo
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 1998-03-01
Publisher: Vertigo
Release Date: 1998-03-01
Studio: Vertigo

While technically the fourth book in the Preacher series, Ancient History isn't part of the main Preacher story line and doesn't even use any of the main characters (Reverend Jesse Custer, his girlfriend, Tulip, and his vampire buddy Cassidy). Instead, this collection of side stories delves into the freakish, perverse, and downright mythic supporting characters. The main feature is the 106-page demonic Western featuring the "Saint of Killers." In many ways this guy--and the spirit of the ruthless frontier he represents--is the soul of the Preacher series. Writer Garth Ennis said, taking all of the characters of the series into account, "I felt one more character was needed to round out the cast: someone who would directly represent the Old West, who had walked straight out of history, and who brought with him the horror and terror of those times." If this is the soul of the book, then its heart is the "Story of You Know Who," a reference to the character Arseface, whose self-imposed shotgun wound to the face has left him rather disfigured. This boy's abusive family is so overblown, his tragedy so all-encompassing, that a lesser writer would let this swerve into complete silliness. Ennis's talent is to pull pathos out of such outrageousness. He succeeds here again. --Jim Pascoe

Customer Rating:
Summary: Graphic SF Reader
Comment: A Jesseless collection, pretty much. This is combination of other smaller sections that deal with the back story of some of the secondary characters in the Preacher Saga, the Saint of Killers, for example. There is no real need to have this is you are satisfied with the other story, but if you want more, or are a fan, you will enjoy it.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Stellar Series
Comment: The Preacher series is a "must have" for any collector of stories who likes a little extreme in their fantasy. Some of the greatest lines and characters are put forth by the incredible team of Ennis and Dillon. If one suspends disbelief on one's own feelings about God and the devil, one can enjoy lightheartedly this tale of servitude...or something.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Senses-Reeling Greatness
Comment: This book in the incredible "Preacher" series is a look at the backstory of some its side characters. The best one of the bunch? The origin of the Saint of Killers. One of the most brilliant origins ever written, and it fits perfectly.

I've given this book a five star review, despite it being the weakest of the series. That should tell you something right there. You can read the others without reading this, but then you aren't getting the full story -- not even close. It is the glue that holds it all together, and it deserves a place in your library.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Nowhere near on par with the rest of the series.
Comment: While I enjoyed the other books of the series, I found this title to be lacking.
Almost every aspect of the story seemed rushed, or not worthy of being written.

Origins that dont go deep enough to truly explain the charactors, storys that mearly show an event in the charactors lives, or storys that are pretty much exatcly as you would expect them to be without need for explanation (arseface).

I regret purchasing the title

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Low point of the series
Comment: Volume 4 of Garth Ennis' edgy postmodern comic western "Preacher" is for fans and completionists only. Chances are you are going to buy it, if you've read this far into the series, but this volume is BY NO MEANS ESSENTIAL to the series.

Basically this volume contains three stand alone stories "The Saint of Killers", "The Story of You Know Who" and "Good Old Boys" which fall outside the overall continuity of the "Preacher" series.

"The Saint of Killers" is the longest and most fulfilling of the three. It is a literal Western (as in actually taking place in The Old West), which provides the origin of the character of that name. The story of a cowboy's revenge mission, while a tad predictable at times - which may just be the price of loyalty to the genre - as well as over-the-top - also to be expected in a story from the great American "tall tale" tradition - it does have an epic feel that evokes both Faust and Sergio Leone style spaghetti westerns. It's worth the read, but not truly stellar.

Unfortunately, the book goes downhill from there. "The Story of You Know Who" is a pointless meandering backstory of another character out for revenge. But it's relatively flat, and uninteresting by comparison.

Then comes the third installment "Good Old Boys", a pointless action movie parody that doesn't feel like anything more than a throwaway to bring the page count up.

Worst of all, these stories show a disturbing trend away from solid storylines, and an increasing reliance on vulgarity, scatalogical references and other shock elements and a decreasing amount of substance.

As I stated earlier, chances are you are going to buy it, so I won't tell you not to - Hell, you may even enjoy it some - but just don't expect the quality you've come to expect from the rest of the series.

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