It makes sense now

[trinityvixen]

I just finished Preacher--liked it less towards the end. Not to be punny or nothing, but it felt like it was slouching towards Gomorrah rather than running at the end, teeth bared and bloody, like it had been up until, oh, say the middle-to-late issues. I still liked it on the whole, mind you. I was amazed that, for a series about a guy with the ability to command anyone to do anything, very little of that sort of thing happened. Similarly, Cassidy is the least bloody-and-gutty vampire I ever met in fiction. I liked him immensely up until the story went soft around him. It was a nice change of pace from all the goddamned modern vampires. I love me some six feet of Eric Northman, mind you, but give it a bloody rest. (Ew, pun again.) I even liked Tulip, though she was a tad pathetic at times. Wish more could have been done with her, like what was done.

Anyway, I went to look up Garth Ennis to see what all else he's written. Apparently, some Hellblazer, which figures--his sense of humor and John Constantine's are nearly a perfect match. He also wrote the first six issues of The Darkness, as well as another corker of a miniseries, "Heart of Darkness," which !!!! I have the trades and I re-read 'em not infrequently. Say what you will about other Top Cow series--hell, say what you want about The Darkness--but they at least had style. And Garth Ennis literally wrote the best stories of that entire franchise, far as I'm concerned. Jackie worked best as the literal and figurative bastard he was before he was re-written to be more, I dunno, gritty or sympathetic. Ennis' Jackie was never a hero. He wasn't even saintly enough to be an antihero. He was an absolute asshole, with a streak of violence a mile wide with only his scant-few but bone-deep loyalties to redeem him as a character. He was also whip-smart and creative, which you should be, if you can help it, when you control a power that allows anything you dream to be. If they ever do get a Darkness movie off the ground, I'd love to see them go with Ennis' take on it.

But hot damn! He writes really well. I've got to check out more of his stuff!

Comments

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

You didn't finish Sandman? Wow, I thought I was the last hold out. You should, of course. I can give you the digital Preacher stuff, too.

It's funny: as convenient as digital comics and trade paperbacks are--and as reliant as I am on them, I'd never go back--I still miss comics by the issue. It hits me as I read all these trades and digital comics how much I miss out on the weekly trips we used to make and the thumbing through issues on the stand. Sadness.

[xannoside.livejournal.com]

And then you look at the sticker price and say, "!@#$ that!"?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I haven't got that money.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

I got through the first three volumes and liked it, but then had to return the comics to a friend. Years later I started buying my own copies and re-read them and made it about as far before I stopped for whatever reason. So now I have copies of vols. 1-6, and feiran has the whole set of the original release, and I can't decide if I should bother completing my collection :)

I still buy a few monthly comics, but I should probably stop because I'm behind on reading most of them. I'm only current on Darkwing Duck, but I am still getting Fables, and The Unwritten, and Buffy just finished.