The Pandemonium Of The Sun

I’ve decided to lump the lat 9 books of my quest to read 52 books in a year together because they are all tied together. At times, I didn’t think I would be able to complete this quest, especially after spending a month with Infinite Jest this past summer and only getting halfway through (I do plan to get back to it). But here on New Year’s Eve at 9:15 pm I finished book 52, volume 9 of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Preacher series. I’ll state up front that I am not a big graphic novel guy. I tried reading Watchmen earlier this year, got about halfway through, and lost interest. But, after many recommendations from Matt, I decided to give it a spin. It was worth the ride. Preacher tells the story of Jesse Custer, a small town minister who is possessed by Genesis, the offspring of an angel and a demon. Along for the ride is his girlfriend, ulip, and a sidekick, Cassidy, who happens to be a vampire. After the main storyline is set up, about two thirds of the rest of it is spent filling in the backgrounds of all the characters, and what led them to the present. That’s where the beauty of this series lies. And there’s a huge bonus for hitting all sorts of cultural touchstones for me….Yeats, McSorley’s, Blood Meridian. Most Highly recommended.