Me and Joe Priest

Me and Joe Priest
by Greg Potter (story) and Ron Randall (art)
DC Graphic Novel No. 5, 1985

'Me and Joe Priest' (48 pp) was DC Comics Graphic Novel No. 5, published in 1985.

The story is set in the USA, ca. 2193; its premise is that disease, pollution, and radiation have combined to render every man sterile. 'The Great Drying' has left the country a neglected wasteland, where gangs both of bikers and citizens roam the roads in existential anomie, searching for the next 'Experience' to counter their depression as the human race slowly dies out. 

Lummox is one of the 'Desert Rangers' motorcycle gang roaming Arizona. He and the gang stumble across a farmer whose attractive blonde daughter is receiving a special rite from a priest.....

The priest, as it turns out, is..........Joe Priest:

 .......and Joe Priest, it seems, is the only man in the world who is fertile.

When Joe Priest insists that his holy mission consists of impregnating shapely young women across America, Lummox and his crew are less than reverential, beating Joe up before moving on to their next 'Experience.'

But, bored and possessed of a warped sense of humor, Lummox agrees to squire Joe Priest across the Southwest.

In so doing, he comes into conflict with bands of cultists who are out to eliminate Joe Priest. These cultists have been sent by a deranged cleric, a man from Priest's past named Cardinal Baylin.

Despite his initial mocking amusement at Joe Priests' behavior, as the two travel together, Lummox comes to realize that Joe Priest is genuinely convinced of the validity of his holy mission.....and Lummox finds himself risking life and limb, as Joe Priest moves towards his final confrontation with Baylin....

'Me and Joe Priest' is one of those graphic novels / comic books that tries to straddle the genres of action and comedy. Ron Randall's artwork is very good, but Greg Potter's script - which tries to meld episodes of smarmy humor with post-apocalyptic action- reveals the major plot point quite early on in the story, making much of the intervening narrative simple filler.

Summing up, 'Me and Joe Priest' is yet another DC Graphic Novel that is not a must-have. But if you do see it on the shelves for just a couple of bucks, it may be worth picking up.