Ranked #1844

Priest (Manhwa)

The manwha Priest is based around Father Isaacs a once faithful priest who turned his back on God after a God turned his back on him. The storyline, based in the west with a slice of the occult added to it to give it that extra bit of greatness is good, confusing at times, but as events unfold and history is revealed the story be comes intriguing and leaves you wanting more after each volume. Priest itself brings up religious questions that may seem blasphemous and dark, but to be fair, without it the manwha wouldn't be as good.

The art and characters are good, where as the art is sketchy and rough looking the characters have a very sad and hurtful past, which i think brings the manwha up to the standard it's at.

personally i enjoy reading priest and can't wait for the next installment, if you like westerns and the idea of a gun - slinging priest trying best to hold onto his soul as well as his humanity, Priest is for you. read more

After getting back into anime, manga and comics in general a few years back, Priest was one of the first titles I picked up. Even though this is a Manwha title, don't let this put you off, as we are lucky to have this translated and released in the west.

It is easy to dismiss Priest as a generic action title, with a cool gun slinging anti hero battling the undead. I nearly did. However the story goes much deeper after the volume 3 where we start to see the back story to why things are so screwed up in the old west!

As you would imagine from the title, the story is a very religious orientated affair, questioning the existence of God, faith and purpose of man. If you are easily offended by blasphemous comments then I would not recommend Priest at all. The concept of a fallen angel and his mission to prove to God that his creation of man is an inferior race is both compelling and understandable. Understandable in the sense when you see what happens to the lead characters, you can understand the reasoning behind his actions.

With the story going back and forth in time, keeps the story fresh and exciting. The action scenes play out like a storyboard for a movie, while remaining very clear due to the distinct art work. Stark, straight lines, sometimes minimalistic, but very effective in conveying emotion. Hyung Min-woo depicts some great symbolism in his work, for example, when a Father holds onto his prayer beads too tight they snap and fall, signifying that if you hold onto your faith too tightly, it will break - sometimes faith is not enough. There are some horific images which stay with you but also make you fill with rage and question your own faith. With the story panning over centuries right to present day, there is an epic feeling to Priest which makes it an appealing read.

As someone who believes in angels, demons and God, each volume was a heavy and intense read, but also made me want to read the next volume. If you like horror, action and the old west, with heavy dose of religious doubt then this series is highly recommended. Although ongoing - currently 16 volumes are out, with no news of volume 17 yet, it is still worth the investment.

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