WHAT?!?!? I'm back already?!?!? This is momentous folks. Not only do I have content for you two weeks straight for the first time EVER, we have our first returnee-review. Alex, from our first-ever column/outing, did not let a mediocre war comic strip him of his comic book lusts. He came back for more, and like a man on a wonderful rebound, found something sexier, dirtier, and better. This is a man with tenacity; this is a man of true grit and determination. This is a man holding a big cock proudly. (This is also a man deeply shaming me in Words with Friends.) Take it away!
Name: Alex Dubin
Age:33
Website/Project/twitter/whatever you'd like to plug: I'm the only man on Pinterest! http://pinterest.com/dubin123/
What sort of history do you have with comics? Did you ever read? Do you sometimes read? I've read a number of graphic novels and when I do read comics, I like waiting for the trade paperback to come out. That said, I'm a comic fan who hasn't actually read that many comics at all.
Place of Origin: Philly [Editor's note: still ewwwwwwww.]
Occupation: Digital Marketing Consultant
What comic did you choose? The first Preacher trade paperback.
Why did you choose it?
Because I was so disappointed with Sgt. Rock, and I wanted something that felt like more of a modern story with some fantasy and "comic book" elements. Plus people told me I'd enjoy it.
Now here is the meat of the piece, which I hope might involve some back-and-forth questioning. What did you like and what didn't you like about:
the story - I like it. I thought the central premise - that this mysterious preacher is searching for God to find out why he abandoned humanity - has a lot of potential. The forces arrayed against him were powerful (if poorly developed), and I want to know how his story ends. The micro story within the trade I was reading - about our heroes stopping a serial killer - was less great, but still fun and had a clever ending
the art - I've gotten it into my head based on no specific evidence that "90's comic art" is color saturated and uses tons of crosshatched lines to indicate shadow and age, and Preacher is a pretty good example of that kind of art. All of the characters, even the attractive ones, are ugly, and it feels like the book is working too hard to feel gritty by taking all the beauty out of the images. It got a little tiresome, but it was still an enormous step-up from Sgt. Rock. I could tell everyone apart, and the gore was certainly imaginative.
the format - It was formatted like a comic. I don't know what this means. The font was Arial Black. [Editor's DULY NOTED: OK, fine, that question sucks.]
the dialogue - I largely enjoyed the dialogue. The book was well-written
the characters - I thought that the Preacher himself was the least interesting character. I really enjoyed his sidekicks, especially the punk Irish vampire. I thought the whole "John Wayne as guardian angel" bit was pretty blatantly stolen from True Romance's "Elvis as guardian angel" conceit, and didn't add anything to the story. I thought the Saint of Killers wasn't all that interesting as a character, but I figure he might grow a bit in future trades. I also thought the Arseface character was a fun bit of villain-origin story satire. I wonder if they can make him seem dangerous, or if he'll always be comic relief, which seems a bit cruel
the concept - I guess I covered this under the story. The concept is probably the best part, and I'm excited for the Preacher to find God.
Would you want to read more from this writer? This artist? Of this book/story? Does this make you think of something else you'd want to try?
I'd be interested to see how Preacher's story plays out.
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And I have to say, I'm excited to see how Dubin reacts to the series as it progresses. I remember when I first started reading preacher ...it was around the year 2000, I believe. My at-the-time roommate and I were fresh college grads living in New York (well, Jersey City -- don't judge) and living the hard life of entry-level jobs and constant drinking. We devoured the series ...had to actually pace ourselves so as not to have to wait for the final two trades. Loved the book, but time has given me some questions about it. Hopefully we can talk more about this at another time.
As always folks, feel free to comment or give suggestions. We recently added another new member, and I'm in the midst of a project involving a high-profile superhero monthly as a party theme ...more to come.