When we last left our exciting tale, our three protagonists were on the run from the police as well as the menacing Saint of All Killers. Bad things were about to happen. Well, more bad things. Let's get right to it!
Preacher #2 "And Hell Followed With Him"
Garth Ennis - Writer. Steve Dillon - Artist. Matt Hollingsworth - Colorist. Clem Robins - Letterer. Julie Rottenberg - Assoc. Editor. Stuart Moore - Editor.
Again, this issue starts with some characters recounting what previously happened. This time, investigators are questioning Sheriff Root about just what happened with the whole Annville incident. Root explains the Saint showed up and shot and killed all of his men. Root was the only one to survive, aside from Jesse Custer, Tulip, and Cassidy who managed to drive away just before the Saint appeared.
We then learn the, well, unique story about Root's own son. He was a rebellious youth that drove Root up the wall with his disobedient antics. Turns out the kid's favorite band was Nirvana and his hero was Kurt Cobain. So when Cobain took a shotgun to his head, Root's son did the same. Except, unlike Cobain, Root's son survived, leading to a fairly shocking character reveal when he shows up in this issue for the first time (see Best Panel below).
Meanwhile, Tulip and Cassidy venture into some stores to find new clothes for Jesse that aren't all tattered from the Annville explosion. Waiting outside, Jesse is visited by a hallucination, or something, of John Wayne. It may be odd, but we'll learn more about it later. Afterward, with his new attire, Jesse and the gang stop at a bar and end up getting into a brawl with the locals. Here we discover a some new attributes of Cassidy: he can take a lot of physical punishment and he likes to bite people in the neck and drink their blood.
Yup, Cassidy is a vampire. But that's crazy talk, there's no such thing as vampires! So far in this story we've had angels, demons, a crossbreed of such celestial beings, and an unstoppable Saint of All Killers. Nope, a vampire doesn't seem out of place to me at all.
As for theological matters, there's not a whole lot in this issue. It's still setting up characterizations and the main players in this story. I suppose I could try to talk about the Saint of All Killers, but at this point we do not know too much about him. Lots of saints exist in the Christian tradition, especially the officially venerated and recognized saints within Catholicism. Many of them are ascribed attributes for which they become a face or symbol. Sometimes it seems there are patron saints for about everything. Isidore of Seville is the patron saint of the internet, for example. I'm not Catholic, but I am a nerd, so part of me wants a medallion with Isidore on it to wear as a surf the web and write about comics.
But why would there be a patron saint of killers? That sounds like a saint of sinful behavior. It makes as much sense as having a saint of adultery or stealing. These are not activities one is commended as being holy for engaging in. We don't know it in the story yet, but eventually we will come to find out, I think, that the past of the Saint of All Killers is a lot more complex than merely a good servant of the Lord being recognized by a church body.
Counts of Blasphemy: 10
Best Line: "Imagine that. The Patron Saint of Murderers and Assassins has been killing people. Fiore, I don't care if the bodycount reaches triple figures. We sent him because nothing'll stop him getting Genesis back." - Deblanc, an Adephi angel
Best Panel:
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