Hey, the first season of Preacher's over and I have thoughts.
First off, Preacher was and continues to be one of my favorite graphic novel series of all time. I think I loved it a bit more back then (early 2000s) than I would right now but that's the thing about enjoying art as it's being produced - if it registers with you in the moment it's probably because you're in a unique moment to begin with.
The original Preacher comic was a product and reflection of the 90s in America. It's hard to understand the comic in any other way. The hyper-literate media references, the profane but somehow sincere working of Judeo-Christian mythology, and the generally hilarious mayhem inflicted on the high and mighty seemed like a pretty good summation of a time period enthralled with Garth Brooks, X-Files, Nine Inch Nails, Clinton sex scandals, and Gingrich's Contract on America. This was right before cell phones started sprouting in every one's hands and computers were for nerds.
I think I'm going to have to write a follow-up article where I go deep on the differences and similarities between the show and source material but for now I will say, I liked this show. Not all of it and certainly not all of the time. The show veered constantly between messy distractions that didn't advance the story much and gloriously weird spectacles that didn't advance the story much. Essentially the entire first season of this show took place in between the first and final pages of the first issue of the original comic. I find that to be a curiously uplifting realization.
The important thing is that when all was said and done, Preacher wound up right where I wanted it - three awesomely flawed individuals sitting together in a bad-ass car right before they set off on one of the all-time great road trips.
***
I guess this wouldn't be a bad moment to point out that Preacher was one of my influences in writing "Agent Shield and Spaceman." I love how Garth Ennis used his basic set-up to spin out a great web of anarchic mythology and damaged heroes. In my own clumsy fashion, that's a piece of my aspiration here. For your enjoyment, I offer the next chapter of the story.
First off, Preacher was and continues to be one of my favorite graphic novel series of all time. I think I loved it a bit more back then (early 2000s) than I would right now but that's the thing about enjoying art as it's being produced - if it registers with you in the moment it's probably because you're in a unique moment to begin with.
The original Preacher comic was a product and reflection of the 90s in America. It's hard to understand the comic in any other way. The hyper-literate media references, the profane but somehow sincere working of Judeo-Christian mythology, and the generally hilarious mayhem inflicted on the high and mighty seemed like a pretty good summation of a time period enthralled with Garth Brooks, X-Files, Nine Inch Nails, Clinton sex scandals, and Gingrich's Contract on America. This was right before cell phones started sprouting in every one's hands and computers were for nerds.
I think I'm going to have to write a follow-up article where I go deep on the differences and similarities between the show and source material but for now I will say, I liked this show. Not all of it and certainly not all of the time. The show veered constantly between messy distractions that didn't advance the story much and gloriously weird spectacles that didn't advance the story much. Essentially the entire first season of this show took place in between the first and final pages of the first issue of the original comic. I find that to be a curiously uplifting realization.
The important thing is that when all was said and done, Preacher wound up right where I wanted it - three awesomely flawed individuals sitting together in a bad-ass car right before they set off on one of the all-time great road trips.
***
I guess this wouldn't be a bad moment to point out that Preacher was one of my influences in writing "Agent Shield and Spaceman." I love how Garth Ennis used his basic set-up to spin out a great web of anarchic mythology and damaged heroes. In my own clumsy fashion, that's a piece of my aspiration here. For your enjoyment, I offer the next chapter of the story.
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