The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Preacher, Volume 9: Alamo by Garth Ennis

Garth Ennis’ Preacher, Volume 9: Alamo is a fitting crescendo to one of the most unflinching and philosophically charged graphic novel series in modern comics. In this climactic installment, Ennis brings his relentless meditation on morality, destiny, and the American mythos to a thunderous conclusion, blending pulpy Western aesthetics with theological nihilism and existential reckoning.

The Death of Destiny: A Deconstruction of the American Hero

At its core, Preacher has always been a revisionist Western, steeped in the iconography of the frontier—lawless landscapes, lone gunslingers, and the ultimate pursuit of justice. Jesse Custer, the preacher-turned-antihero, embodies the paradox of the American cowboy: both a harbinger of order and a reckless agent of chaos. In Alamo, Ennis strips Jesse of his illusions, forcing him to confront not just his past but the sheer futility of predestination. The final standoff at the titular Alamo—long foreshadowed throughout the series—becomes a metatextual battlefield where Ennis dismantles the very concept of fate, agency, and the hero’s journey.

This volume unflinchingly interrogates the Western mythos, particularly in Jesse’s final encounter with Starr, a grotesque figure of authoritarian power, and Cassidy, whose arc embodies the limits of redemption. Jesse’s rejection of Genesis—his godlike power—serves as Ennis’ ultimate repudiation of divine determinism. Unlike the traditional Western, where the hero’s fate is sealed in a blaze of glory, Jesse reclaims his own narrative, choosing an ambiguous, mortal future over the grandiosity of a tragic ending.

Theological Nihilism and the Absence of Justice

Ennis has never shied away from sacrilegious critique, and Alamo sees the thematic culmination of Preacher’s scathing deconstruction of organized religion. The God of Preacher is not merely absent—He is a coward, an entity who flees responsibility the moment He is confronted with His own moral failures. By the time Jesse and his allies reach their final confrontation, divine justice has been revealed as a farce.

This theological nihilism does not, however, descend into despair. Instead, Ennis offers a grim yet humanistic alternative: morality is not ordained from above but forged in the fire of human choice. Jesse’s final decision—to spare Cassidy despite his betrayal—underscores the ultimate theme of Preacher: that redemption is a choice, not a cosmic decree.

Narrative Catharsis and the Subversion of Expectations

The pacing of Alamo is relentless yet measured, striking a delicate balance between bombastic action and introspective closure. Steve Dillon’s artwork remains as expressive as ever, capturing both the visceral brutality of the climactic showdown and the quiet moments of resolution that follow. His character work—particularly in the final, weary expressions of Jesse and Tulip—lends an emotional gravity to Ennis’ storytelling.

Yet, true to Preacher’s ethos, Ennis refuses to deliver a neatly tied conclusion. Jesse and Tulip’s ambiguous future is neither triumphant nor tragic—it is, simply, theirs. Cassidy’s fate, simultaneously heartbreaking and poetic, embodies the book’s central question: can anyone truly escape the weight of their past?

The Final Testament of a Profane Epic

Preacher, Volume 9: Alamo is not just an ending; it is an obliteration of conventional storytelling expectations. Ennis delivers a finale that is equal parts cathartic and unsettling, affirming that, in a universe devoid of divine justice, human connection is the only salvation. In dismantling the myths of the Western, of destiny, and of religion, Ennis crafts an ending that is as blasphemous as it is profound.

It is, perhaps, the only ending Preacher could ever have had.