Item Biography
Features "Invisibles: Hexy", an original Invisibles whose only comic form release is in this issue. Also includes 3-4 page previews of Vertigo Voices: The Eaters #1, Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such" #1, Preacher #1, Ghostdancing #1, Hellblazer #89, and Goddess #1 and an "Artists' Jam".
Since this issue was released before Preacher #1, it is also considered the first appearances of Preacher (Jesse Custer), Tulip O'Hare, and Proinsias Cassidy.
*"The Eaters"
Meet the Quills. They're just your average middle class suburban family... who happen to consume human flesh. Mom, Pop, and son Rocky are preparing for a cross-country journey in their new Winnebago to eat their wa across America. Meanwhile, daughter Cassy has fallen in love (again), but will her new boyfriend end up in the pot (again?) A black comedy that starts off as an amusing sitcom about cannibals soon descends into a dark morass of terrifying consequences that will leave you a vegetarian for life... The Eaters is a palatable one-shot cooked up by Peter Milligan and appetizingly drawn by Dean Ormston. *Source: Inside Cover
"Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such"
Singing cowboys, dumb-as-dirt bounty hunters, man-eating grubs from beneath the earth... looks like Jonah Hex, the most hard-bitten, horribly scarred gunfighter of the Old West, is back. Joe R. Lansdale, Timothy Truman, and Sam Glanzman -- the creative team behind last year's Hex miniseries, Two-Gun Mojo -- return with another 5 issues' worth of troubles for old Jonah, who survives attacks by armored outlaws and giant worms only to find horror and romance at a ranch inspired by the teachings of (gasp) Oscar Wilde. So step right up, now -- welcome to the "Wilde West Ranch and Music and Culture Emporium!"
"Preacher"
Jesse Custer was a young, small-town preacher slowly losing his faith... until he merged with a supernatural being called Genesis. Now, endowed with a strange persuasive ability, Jesse sets out on the biggest mission a preacher could imagine: to find God -- literally. His companions are a would-be killer ex-girlfriend, an Irish vampire drunk on blood and whiskey, and the strange images inside his head that propel him onward. In this new ongoing series, the creative team of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon embark on a fast-paced ride through the dark side of America, where violence is unpredictable and the only stops are for cheap meals at a roadside diner...
"Ghostdancing"
Twenty-five years ago the Love Generation tried to change the world with music. They failed. Now the dream is back and the drums are beating again. But this time Native American Power-Beings, ancient animal creatures of myth, set events in motion to bring about the Fifth World -- a world where man can coexist with nature. But there are other forces at work that want to prevent the arrival of the new world. When these two factions collide, the resulting cataclysm threatens to change the face of the planet forever. Ghostdancing is an apocalyptic 6-issue tale for the millennium written by Jamie Delano and drawn by Richard Case.
"Aritsts' Jam"
They may live thousands of miles apart, but all of the artists who worked on the Absolute got together -- figuratively speaking, that is -- for the rare opportunity to let loose without annoying the presence of an editor looking over their shoulders. We sent around this double-page spread from one artist to the next, until finally, after having traveled from the outskirts of England to the outlaws of Texas, we got a chance to peek at what those devilish artists had been up to. Here's the finished product...
"Hellblazer"
Playing Satan for a sucker is a tough act to follow, but that won't keep John Constantine -- or regular writer Paul Jenkins and artist Sean Phillips -- from trying. With issue #89 (available in March), the world's best-known/least-like chain-smoking sorcerer finds himself a world away from his London pub home turf: the Australian outback. Trading his signature trench coat for native body paint, Constantine plunges into an ancient ritual and crosses into The Aboriginal Dreamtime -- the magical landscape where the spirits of all living things reside, and unknown dangers await.
"Goddess"
This is Rosie's story. She's just gone from being a zoo keeper to being stalked by the CIA. Causing the land mass of Scotland to break off from England tends to attract that kind of attention. Rosie's also attracted the lovesick Jeff and some old radical environmentalist pals: sensible Samantha Flint and less sensible Mudhawk, on the run after feeding a rock star to a shark (his music was *banned*). Goddess is an 8-issue miniseries written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Phil Winslade.
"The Invisibles: Hexy"
A secret society of occultists dedicated to subversion in all its forms, the Invisibles are bound together only by their shared mision: the ongoing struggle against all forces that retard human progress. King Mob, master assassin, leads a secret cell of diverse Invisibles operatives against the powers of authority and oppression... but sometimes, as in this new story by Grant Morrison and Duncan Fegredo, his most dangerous battles are fought alone... *Source: Inside Cover