Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

The Hellblazer #2 comics review


By Leroy Douresseaux
October 3, 2016 - 21:33

hellblazer2016-02.jpg
The Hellblazer #2 cover image


Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

DC Comic's new publishing event/initiative (entitled “Rebirth”) offers the fourth John Constantine comic book series, The Hellblazer.  It is written by Simon Oliver; drawn by Moritat; colored by Andre Szymanowicz; and lettered by Sal Cipriano.

The Hellblazer #2 (“The Poison Truth” Part 2) opens with two old friends discussing the good, bad, and awful in the box of deplorable that is John Constantine.  Speaking of the devil, Constantine is being kicked out of his “temporary” shelter, but he has other things on his mind.  He is back in London, and his welcome-me-home gift to the city was bringing it to the edge of destruction.  So why hasn't anyone from the London Underworld contacted him any in manner?  He hopes to get answers from an old (old) friend, Clarice Sackville, but she is speaking the language of English romantic poets.

THE LOWDOWN:  First, I have to admit that I was and still am a big fan of Constantine: The Hellblazer simply because the 13-issue series brought John back to form, but had him hell-raising and -blazing in the good old U.S. of A.  So, it is not as if The Hellblazer is the return to some lost form, but returning John to his original stomping grounds makes The Hellblazer quite formidable.

I did read the one-shot The Hellblazer: Rebirth, and I pretended to like it a lot more than I really did.  I did not read The Hellblazer #1, but even reading only issue #2, it is clear to me that this could be a damn good read.  I say that because The Hellblazer #2 is a damn fine read.  Writer John Oliver's script recalls the best years of John, and artist Moritat's eclectic line work and  Andre Szymanowicz's watercolor-like hues infuse the story with supernatural atmospherics.

I think The Hellblazer will cast some old black magic on comic book readers.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of classic John Constantine will want to read The Hellblazer.

A-


Rating: A- /10


Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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