Whatever the intent, it has the opposite effect for me. The edgy crap completely breaks me out of any immersion in the characters and story. Its so forced and formulaic, especially if you’re familiar with his work… “oh, here comes the Ennis shockjock garbage” is guaranteed to disengage me from the story. Its a crutch and its undermined what could have been one of the best writers in comics.
Tbh, I have to ignore the arseface stuff in Preacher for just that reason lol. I can handle the stuff with Starr because at least it falls into the story overall. But arseface is a total joke side character that doesn’t fit.
I also agree that if he even dialed it back a few notches instead of always wanting to crank it to 11, he’d have a way better rep as a writer. He’s obviously got the chops to navigate plot, dialogue, continuity, all the details of craft that the greats have. But the need to always paint with a big brush muddies all of that.
And I’m a fan. I’ve read almost everything he’s been involved in. But I’m still right with you on the underlying points you make.
Agreed. His prose is short and sweet, his social commentary is biting and relevant as ever, and his humor remains stunted at the level of a fifteen year old edgelord.
Whatever the intent, it has the opposite effect for me. The edgy crap completely breaks me out of any immersion in the characters and story. Its so forced and formulaic, especially if you’re familiar with his work… “oh, here comes the Ennis shockjock garbage” is guaranteed to disengage me from the story. Its a crutch and its undermined what could have been one of the best writers in comics.
Tbh, I have to ignore the arseface stuff in Preacher for just that reason lol. I can handle the stuff with Starr because at least it falls into the story overall. But arseface is a total joke side character that doesn’t fit.
I also agree that if he even dialed it back a few notches instead of always wanting to crank it to 11, he’d have a way better rep as a writer. He’s obviously got the chops to navigate plot, dialogue, continuity, all the details of craft that the greats have. But the need to always paint with a big brush muddies all of that.
And I’m a fan. I’ve read almost everything he’s been involved in. But I’m still right with you on the underlying points you make.
Agreed. His prose is short and sweet, his social commentary is biting and relevant as ever, and his humor remains stunted at the level of a fifteen year old edgelord.