It debuted in the Judge Dredd Megazine in May 1993 with the introductory 7-page story "Salvation at the Last Chance Saloon", illustrated by Frank Quitely.

It established that tall Preacher Cain rides the Cursed Earth performing "special sermons" in the radiation-poisoned towns, tutoring the damned with a bible and his guns.

In this first outing, having educated and decimated a table of gambling mutant heavyweights he rides into the sunset, tossing a bible at the surviving townspeople - which contains a thermonuclear explosive.

All written by Gordon Rennie: The character also makes a cameo appearance in the Judge Dredd novel Cursed Earth Asylum, by David Bishop (Virgin Books, December 1993, ISBN 0-352-32893-2).

Some of the stories have been collected into a number of trade paperbacks: