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Priest Vol. 9

Creative Team: Min-woo Hyung

Reviewed by Rob Manuel

For the last six volumes, we have delved deep into Ivan Isaacs’ past. We watched unrequited love turn into aggravation and despair.  We watched him take the first steps which would ultimately turn him into the cold blooded killer.... the loss of his true love.... the hope for revenge.Though Ivan may be the main character, we were taken further back into the days of Betheal as he talked with the mighty fallen angel, Temozarela.  We watched as the priest sacrificed his own life, his own soul, to imprison Temozarela and become his twelfth and final disciple.  Further back, we saw Temozarela, not as the fallen angel but at God’s right side battling Satan.  We watched as Temozarela became disenchanted with God’s love for man until finally making his descent during the Inquisitions. It’s 9 volumes later in the Priest series.  The time for watching is over.  Now is the time for action.

From the very beginning, Priest gives you more action than you could possibly handle.  I’m talking about demons on runaway stage coaches wielding chainsaw swords. With one disciple down, Ivan’s basic math skills quickly tell him that he has eleven more disciples to go.  Each of the disciples have their own way of creating a world in their image.  Achmode believes in giving humans what he himself has lost--wings. With a steady hand and a bloody knife, Achmode creates horrific winged abominations out of the local village to take out Ivan.  The story contains a small flashback to the time of angels and a more forward role for Belial.  Other than the few pages devoted to story, the rest of it is all glorious action.

I’ve been reading this series for quite awhile.  After picking up on the “back from the dead for love” theme, I immediately thought of Spawn goes to the wild west. While I’m sure Todd McFarland could make a killing by glueing little cowboy hats to Spawn action figures, Priest is much more than that.  There’s a depth to Ivan’s character that’s not apparent at first glance.  The story itself goes far beyond even that of Ivan, spanning hundreds of years.  Min-woo Hyung does an excellent job of developing the situation.  Instead of something that happens over days, Min-woo takes the time to weave in a whole mythology with angels and demons over the beautiful and sometimes deadly desert landscape.  The artistic style is very unique as well, depending on angles and deep shading rather than curved lines.

While Volume 9 is an excellent addition to the series by going back to its action roots, you should look at the series as a whole instead of one book.  While some people may be drawn in by the rich story, they may turn away at the violence. Likewise, some would rather skip the back story and get right down to the chainsaw swords.  Either way, I think most everyone will find something to enjoy in this fresh and creative series.

Rating: (3 1/2 out of 4 stars)