John Custer

John Custer is the father of preacher Jesse Custer in Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher. A Vietnam veteran whose values and memory profoundly shape Jesse's moral code, John represents an idealized, hardscrabble American masculinity that echoes throughout his son's journey.

Few characters leave such a lasting shadow over a story despite so few appearances — John Custer haunts the pages of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's landmark Preacher with a weight far exceeding his page count. Debuting in 1995 as part of DC's Vertigo-era masterwork, he exists at the dark, complicated heart of a saga that also features Jesse Custer, Tulip O'Hare, and the menacing Jody and T.C. — company that tells you everything about the brutal, mythic world he inhabits. Collected across prestige editions including the Absolute Preacher and the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Omnibus, his handful of appearances have clearly resonated with fans and editors alike as essential to the story's foundation. If you're diving deep into one of the Modern Age's most celebrated and uncompromising series, John Custer is a name you'll want to know.