Those Moments We Want to See in ‘Preacher’

The comic series Preacher tells the story of a fallen reverend named Jesse Custer, who is imbued with the voice of God. To get some answers to why this happened, Jesse goes looking for the Big Man himself. Doesn’t sound like that hard of an adaptation, does it? You could just hire a John Denver type and remake Oh, God!… call it Book 3, I guess. Preacher, however, walks a line between religious commentary and shocking violence. The comic has a particular feel to it, so here are some moments from the first comic collection, Preacher: Gone to Texas that we hope will appear on the TV show to make it truly, the time of the Preacher:

Pilo Wakes the Saint of Killers

Saint of Killers murders Pilo, from the Preacher comic books

As one of the Adephi, angels in charge of getting things done in Heaven, Pilo is sent to wake the Saint of Killers in a bid to round up the escaped Genesis entity. What Pilo gets for his troubles is a quick, brutal bit of violence that gives a good indication of just how ruthless the Saint of Killers is, and how the mayhem to come will be just as unflinching as he is.

Jesse’s Sunday Service

The congregation burns, in the Preacher: Gone to Texas comic books

Jesse is a reverend losing his faith, and his antics around the town of Annville lead to a big turnout at his church on Sunday. They’ve come not to hear an uplifting sermon, but to witness a trainwreck. Unfortunately for them, the Genesis entity makes its entrance, merges with the Reverend and burns his congregation to bones. This scene shows the real power of Genesis.

Deblanc’s Not So Glorious Arrival

Leblanc arrives, from the Preacher comic books

Looking to get someone from Heaven to give an explanation as to what is going on, Jesse uses the Word to force Deblanc, the first of the Adephi, to make an appearance. Broad humour is in short supply in the Preacher comics, and Deblanc’s arrival is played pretty funny.

Cop Shootout With the Saint of Killers

The Saint wades through the cops, from the Preacher comics

Wanton violence and bloodshed. Both are a hallmark of the Preacher series, and the Saint of Killers is more than willing to deliver them from the barrels of his revolvers. If the producers of the TV series want to do the Saint right, they need to show him as the killing machine that he is, and this scene typifies that.

Arseface

And then we have Sherriff Hugo Root’s son Eugene, who took the death of Kurt Cobain so hard that he tried to follow his idol’s footsteps by eating the barrel of a 12-guage shotgun and pulling the trigger. Surviving the incident but horribly disfigured, the events of the comic eventually prompt him to become the most unlikely of vigilante crusaders: Arseface! We know Arseface will make an appearance in the TV series; Ian Colletti is playing the part. An early still of the character posted to the Internet seems like a backpedal from the gruesome look of the character in the comics, but here’s hoping they stick with the dark humour of Arseface’s mumbling and subsequent subtitles.

Intro for the Reaver Cleaver

Enter the Reaver Cleaver, from the Preacher comics

A serial murderer subplot is shoe-horned into Preacher: Gone to Texas, and gets a resolution that seems kind of forced and contrived by the end. The intro for the Reaver Cleaver, however, is truly an effective and horrific scene.

Paul Bridges Shares Some Evidence

Speaking of which, Paul Bridges is one of the detectives on the Reaver Cleaver case, along with the unfortunately named ‘unluckiest cop in the world’ John Tool. This scene from the comic further demonstrates the type of gallows humour of Preacher, so here’s hoping that the producers over at AMC share the same kind of sensibilities. See you on May 22 on AMC.