List of Preacher story arcs
This article is a list of story arcs in the Vertigo comic book series Preacher.
Main series
"Gone to Texas" (issues 1–7)
Reverend Jesse Custer, a tough Texas preacher who has lost his faith, is possessed by a mysterious entity called Genesis — a conscienceless force whose power may rival that of God Himself. Through insight granted him by Genesis, now lodged in Jesse's mind in a sort of supernatural symbiosis, Jesse learns that the Lord God has left Heaven and abandoned His responsibilities. Moreover, Jesse becomes aware that he has been given the power of The Word Of God, depicted in the comic through the use of red text (a reference to the printing method often used for indicating Jesus' speech in the Bible), allowing him to deliver irresistible commands to any being, including God Himself (e.g. "Eat your gun" or "Count three million grains of sand", whereupon the commandee cannot help but to comply fully. This power bears somewhat ironic linguistic and physical limitations, explored occasionally throughout the series). Armed with these newfound attributes, he sets out on a quest to find God and make Him answer for His dereliction of duty.
Accompanying Jesse on his journey are Tulip O'Hare, Jesse's former girlfriend who has long thought that he abandoned her, and Cassidy, a 100-year-old Irish vampire who often seems to prefer a pint in the pub to the blood of the innocent — though his unavoidable, unnatural hunger is something of a sticky point for the ethical Preacher.
Meanwhile, in Heaven, a quorum of angels, trying desperately to keep things from falling apart, decides to send the Saint of Killers — an immortal, unstoppable killing machine — to Earth with orders to recapture Genesis at any cost.
"Until the End of the World" (issues 8–17)
- In "All in the Family", Jesse's secret past is revealed as he is forced to confront his family, and the horrible childhood he's been running from his entire life.
- In "Hunters", Jesse and Co. travel west to San Francisco, where they run afoul of a pair of 'sexual investigators'; an armadillo-sodomizing, lifelong-partying aesthete by the name of Jesus de Sade; and The Grail — an ancient and immensely powerful religious conspiracy that wants to use Jesse's power to bring about Armageddon. The Grail is personified by a clever and ambitious German military expert known only as 'Herr Starr' (who, along with God, serves as the series' primary villain).
"Proud Americans" (issues 18–26)
Jesse and Tulip journey to France to rescue Cassidy from the Grail's heavily-guarded secret fortress ('Masada'), where Cassidy (pretending to be Custer) is being held by Herr Starr and tortured by a gelded, sadistic Mafioso named Frankie the Eunuch (who tortures Cassidy by shooting him multiple times with a Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifle). The Saint of Killers follows them, and all Hell breaks loose.
Upon their return to the States, a grateful Cassidy tells Jesse his life's story: how he fought in the Irish War of Independence, how he was assaulted by a bog-hag outside of Dublin and turned into a vampire, and how he began his long love affair with New York City.
"Dixie Fried" (issues 27–33)
Our heroes arrive in New Orleans, where an old friend of Cassidy's — who just happens to be a voodoo priest — may be able to help Jesse unlock the secrets locked deep within Genesis. Unfortunately, a dark aspect of Cassidy's past (shown in Blood and Whiskey) threatens to confound this attempt and kill everyone involved.
"War in the Sun" (issues 34–40)
Starr's lust for power reaches its peak with a massive military assault in Monument Valley, Utah. Starr comes prepared with an entire tank battalion and even a nuke, but is all that hardware really enough to stop the Saint of Killers? (The answer, of course, is 'not enough gun.')
"Salvation" (issues 41–50)
Presumed dead and feeling betrayed by both his true love and his best friend, Jesse abandons his quest and takes a job as a lawman in the tiny town of Salvation, Texas — where a figure from his past suddenly re-emerges, even as Jesse (along with beautiful Deputy Cindy Dagget) deals with domestic disputes, the KKK, and the robber-baron of the town, the disgustingly psychotic Odin Quincannon. Also, Jesse is kidnapped by Miss Oatlash, Odin Quincannon's Lawyer, who is a mad Nazi Fetishist hellbent on making him her 'Führer of Love'. He later ingests peyote which causes him to remember his climactic confrontation with God (including a symbolic injury which may be an allusion to the Nordic namesake of the series' most recent villain figure), following the events in Monument Valley.
"All Hell's A-Coming" (issues 51–58)
Tulip finally escapes from the self-destructive spiral she's been in since Jesse's 'death'. Jesse and Tulip are reunited, and Jesse learns just how much of a bastard Cassidy really is.
"Alamo" (issues 59–66)
A crescendo is reached, deep in the heart of Texas: Jesse hatches an ingenious scheme to finally put an end to his quest; Starr gives up on his plans for Jesse, and decides to just kill him instead; Jesse has his final confrontation with Cassidy outside the walls of the Alamo; Tulip shows everyone exactly what she's made of; and the Saint finally finds what he's been looking for. The series ends with The Saint taking the place of the abdicate God, and Jesse, Tulip, and a "cured" Cassidy riding off into the sunset.
Spin-offs
Saint of Killers
We learn who the Saint was before he died, and why he was given the job of Angel of Death. Also, hell freezes over. (art by Steve Pugh and Carlos Ezquerra)
The Story of You-Know-Who
The Story of You-Know-Who (so called because DC would not allow the word "arse" to be used on the cover) recounts the events that led up to and followed Arseface's attempted suicide. (art by Richard Case)
The Good Old Boys
The Good Old Boys is a twisted satire of 1980s action movies, starring none other than Jody and T.C. from the "All in the Family" storyline. (art by Carlos Ezquerra)
Blood and Whiskey
Blood and Whiskey is a tale of Cassidy's past; the story of the New Orleans-based gothic cult 'Les Enfants du Sang' and the only time Cassidy ever met another vampire.
One Man's War
We learn exactly what kind of man Herr Starr is, where he came from, and how he got involved in the Grail conspiracy. (art by Peter Snejberg)
Tall in the Saddle
A tale of Jesse and Tulip's wild early experiments in car theft.