Some fans pick up books solely for the characters or creators they love, or a story they find promising, while others follow artists and art styles with the same enjoyment. The most recent Hellblazer book, which wrapped last week after 12 issues, is one of the titles that could easily draw from both groups, offering up stunningly adventurous art and a magnificently crafted story—both of which rely on the other to be fully complete. Writer Simon Spurrier’s take on the character is just as caustic and fundamentally cracked as he needs to be, but the book would have been very different without artists Aaron Campbell’s and Matias Bergara’s work.
Hellblazer #12 is a double-sized issue that Campbell and colorist Jordie Bellaire deliver with panache. Campbell’s style is thick with black, rough and chaotic, and Bellaire drenches it with blues. There are acidic yellow-greens and furious reds accenting the painful culminating scenes of this final issue, and the whole thing feels almost radioactive. Constantine is grappling with some profound trauma, both his own and what he’s inflicted on others, and the pain comes through in achingly raw art depicting John stretched past his limits physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Spurrier’s John is profoundly British, a disgruntled and broken man addicted to a wide variety of vices, but not so much so that readers can’t find something worth sympathizing with. Issue #12 is the culmination of a lot of very careful work, walking a fine line between the conflicting needs of servicing deep canon and appealing to new readers, with the book’s tension caused by themes that are both deeply personal to Constantine and traumatic on a larger cultural level. The team does all this gracefully, while stripping both John and our shared world down to component parts for a necessary dissection.
The intense Britishness of this run roots it in a particular time and place, which Spurrier leverages to build on ideas of toxic pride and the power of belief. John isn’t spared from any of this analysis, though; as usual, he likes to think himself above it all. He’s faced with avatars of both pure magic and intense xenophobic hatred, and this final issue forces him to more specifically acknowledge his role in all of it. It’s a masterful and deliberate piece of storytelling.
Sadly, Hellblazer was canceled short of the full anticipated run, but despite that, Spurrier, Campbell, Bergara, and Bellaire (as well as letterer Aditya Bidikar and cover artist John Paul Leon) have given readers something really special. Constantine’s legacy of chaos and pain is an important one to explore, and framing it in the context of Britain’s legacy of colonialism and hate is powerful. Bellaire’s colors—shifting from pastel watercolors on Bergara’s work to the intense contrast of Campbell’s—is an amazing demonstration of the important role colorists play on every book. Constantine has a deep backstory and rich history, and longtime fans will find a lot to enjoy in this run, but it’s also easily accessible for new readers. With self-contained arcs within a couple issues but a rich overarching plot that spans the whole run, Hellblazer is an excellent introductory book for readers who aren’t comics-literate. In the crown of jewels that make up the Sandman Universe titles, it’s a remarkable central gem. Fans of this book should definitely check out the rest of the Sandman Universe, as well as Spurrier and Bergara’s book Coda.
20 Comments
Aw crap, I didn’t realize this was the final issue.
I’ve heard nothing but good things about this book, It seems they finally got Constantine right after several misfires. It’s a shame this book got caught up in the DC implosion. My comic shop shut down last year before i ever even got to try it, hopefully the full run will be traded at some point
The first TPB (collecting issues 1-6 plus a couple of tie-in issues for the sake of continuity) is actually out already! https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/john-constantine-hellblazer-2019/john-constantine-hellblazer-vol-1-marks-of-woe
The second (and, AFAIK, final) TPB should come out in March, if memory serves. Sadly DC marketing really didn’t do this book any favors, even before the pandemic.
I just read the two last series, New 52 Constantine and John Constantine, Hellblazer, and both had a lot of issues. I trust Spurrier, and the art looks amazing. But it seems so hard to get him right these days.
I think the problem with JC, was that he really doesn’t belong with capes. Even though he was born of that world, back in Swamp Thing, really he works best in a more “real” world that is either devoid of superheros or just ignores that they exist. That’s not to say it not fun to see him interact with them on occation, but really that should be the exception not the rule.Also, he’s not Dr Strange lite, that’s not the way his magic works, so that stuff always bothered me.
I had no idea they brought back a new Constantine series. He’s easily one of my favorite characters, and I wish I didn’t live 600 miles away from my friend’s comic shop. OTOH, I suppose I could just order directly from him, right?
Having lost the Vertigo Hellblazer some time ago and not being interested in him cavorting with superheroes in his own book (and not the Waverider) I was resigned to never reading a new Constantine story. So even twelve issues was a lovely bonus. Well, twelve plus the crossover with Books of Magic and the DC Black mini-series. Hopefully this is just the start. Other writers can come in and do their own 3-issue Blacks, or 6-issue minies, or 12-issue maxis. Tell their story and leave rather that stretching into an ongoing.
As far as I’m concerned, this is what a true Hellblazer comic should be like.
Every time they have Constantine hang around with superheroes it always feels like a diluted version of both him and the kind of stories he should be involved in.
same way I feel about The Punisher–these are characters that should not be hanging around with Supes.
I couldn’t agree with this more. Hanging with capes should be exception not the rule
Although you had to love his run with the “antiheroes” Section 8. Ennis really likes to skewer DC when he can:
I have been reading the early Hellblazer run (circa Delano) and it’s not really my thing. Does the tone change when Ennis takes over? Does Constantine ever engage in any actual magic, or does he just keep standing on the sidelines watching the action and smoking?
Ennis’ version of John is very different and definitely worth reading.
The tone does change with every new writer. Ennis is much less political than Delano was. As far as John’s magic goes, he’s more of a conman than magician. he’s not Dr Strange or Zatanna casting incantations and having magic battles. John was more likely to try and manipulate someone/thing into a magical trap or that sort of thing.
Yes, totally. Delano’s run is pretty weak. IMO, Hellblazer doesn’t become Hellblazer until Ennis dials it up. After that… Carey, Warren Ellis, Azzarrello, Diggle, Milligan… so many good writers.
It takes off like a rocket with Ennis and Dillon.
But like Terry Pratchett’s witches, Constantine is more into playing with people’s heads and knowing more than they do, even if it’s about the supernatural, rather than being Dr. Strange. (Which is why the New 52 version was such a giant misfire.)
He’s basically Lex Luthor in a magical universe full of Supermen and being smarter and meaner than them is all that keeps him and those he loves (mostly) intact.
I find Delano’s run underrated, but you definitely should sample one of the myriad later runs (Ennis isn’t a bad place to start–it remains my fave of his work) before giving up completely.
It can’t be understated how fucking well this run nailed what made the Vertigo title special, Sandman Universe was nice conceptually, but without someone like Berger or Boyd running the show these pop-up imprints sadly feel doomed to being cancelled in their prime.
Hellblazer is awesome comic. I enjoyed reading the every word of it.I suggested it to my family and friends .
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I was incredibly disappointed that this was cancelled. For me this was Constantine at his best – the requisite Bastard-With-A-Conscience, but with the added satirical and political clout. It’s as much a comic about the decaying soul of England, as it is about magic, or our eternally compromised hero.
(I live in the UK, and it felt horribly accurate in its depiction of the state of poor old Albion.)
Here’s hoping Constantine finds a way to return – as he always does – and that he retains his relevance, his wit, and his swagger.