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Hellblazer #6
Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits
John Constantine, the main character in Hellblazer, was originally a very minor character in DC Comics' Swamp Thing. Next came his only series, in which this hard-smoking, hard-drinking, all around manipulator walked the thin line of magic between this world and hell. So when Irishman Garth Ennis was asked to write this comic book, he had asked himself, "What could I possibly do to John Constantine that hadn't been done before? And one course of action suddenly stood out above all others: Kill him." The result is a tense supernatural drama that begins with Constantine being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Though this book only hints at the freeform casualness and over-the-top vulgarity that became Ennis's trademark in the Preacher series, this is an immensely enjoyable read with strong characters and dynamite plot twists. --Jim Pascoe
Collects Hellblazer #41-46.
Collects Hellblazer #41-46.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
13 people are currently reading
4,188 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,533 books3,090 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
October 20, 2020
Garth Ennis comes in like a crack of thunder and bolt of lightning. This might as well be the start of the series. Ennis bring Constantine back to his smart-ass, snarky con man roots who knows a bit of magic. He's back to the character Alan Moore created back in his Swamp Thing run. Even in the face of the news that he has cancer and will die soon. We get this cathartic look at John going around making amends to his friends while showing flashes of his old self. There's just some brilliant moments in this.
It was during Ennis's run that I started picking up Hellblazer in single issues and I still think it's the best run on the character. It's also some of Ennis's best work of his career. It's right up there with Preacher. If you like Ennis and haven't read this yet, son, you are missing out.
It was during Ennis's run that I started picking up Hellblazer in single issues and I still think it's the best run on the character. It's also some of Ennis's best work of his career. It's right up there with Preacher. If you like Ennis and haven't read this yet, son, you are missing out.
October 10, 2020
I liked Jamie Delano's take on Constantine a lot, so for me, it was always going to be difficult for Garth Ennis' Hellblazer to live up to the hype he has as most fans' favourite writer. As I already said in a comment on my review of vol 1, I was expecting a thriller-like efficient muscularity in Ennis's writing. It's not quite that. (And there are panels with a lot of words in them, so I don't know what people mean when they say Delano is so much wordier. It sounds like reputation superseding fact.) But I do have quibbles.
Dangerous Habits is undoubtedly a bloody good story, especially in outline. It's often seen as the definitive John Constantine arc and it was the basis for the 2005 film that had the still-controversial casting choice of Keanu Reeves as a character who, everywhere else, is a cynical blond Brit.
It has an aura of legend about it - and indeed it could be placed it under an Aarne-Thompson folklore morphology type. (Sorry, I still can't get used to adding Uther). "Man Outwits the Devil" for the main story, and for the lead-up featuring Constantine's old mate Brendan, "Souls Saved from the Devil". A few months ago I read an early modern tale of this type, Belphegor by Machiavelli, in which again, a clever peasant beats the devil. (Phrase deliberately chosen in honour of Carter Beats the Devil, a novel I read over a decade ago but which, I assume, has Constantine in its DNA.) This also got me wondering how many storylines in Hellblazer, and comics more generally, would fit these folklore classifications. However, I think Hellblazer might be a particularly good fit, more so than superheroes with Golden Age origins, because Constantine, coming from a poor working class background, and being a con-artist as well as a magician, often tallies with clever peasant archetypes of folktales. (Often he's that, but sometimes he's the wise man or magician the folktale protagonist goes to for help. I wish I knew the index well enough, or had enough time, to check every story in the series against it.) And like that clever peasant archetype - though somehow more emphatically because Constantine is a star of multiple stories, he is also a consummate trickster. Phylogenetic/linguistic research from 2016 suggested that the oldest surviving European fairytale type may be one on this theme, 'The Smith and the Devil', going back c.6000 years to the Bronze age. (Some recorded variants include that the Smith may be admitted neither to heaven nor hell.) So the 'Dangerous Habits' storyline taps into ancient currents, even more so than many of the other HB stories so far - and because it's a new complete arc, unlike the resolution of Newcastle in vol. 2 which is also about cheating a devil, it has a greater impact.
It maps particularly closely to the Irish tale of Jack o'Lantern / Stingy Jack, which I'd guess Ennis was familiar with (is it in any old interviews?), and which also features tripling. (It's taken a while to chase down an article that cites old books, not just other internet articles, and this is still unsatisfactory on the international versions of the tale.) To that the writer has added the modern bogeyman of cancer - lung cancer, which remains difficult to treat. Constantine has plenty of forebears making occasional appearances in the comics - someone really should have written in this ornery Irish blacksmith as one.
But. But. I've forgiven a lot of bloopers in Delano's HB writing. So perhaps raising this following point isn't even fair, but when something is supposed to be the best story across 300 issues, I expect superlative writing.
At no point do we ever hear what Constantine said to the Second of the Fallen and Third of the Fallen (two of the three chief devils of hell in the DC cosmology) to persuade them that a slippery bastard like John Constantine was actually selling his soul to them. It's a hell of a thing to have managed (pun intended) with a reputation like his. The absence of this feels to me like one of those gaps that happen when writing; you plan to go back later to finish that scene or that conversation, because it isn't flowing right now. And there are bits that are really difficult to fill in and get left till last - but Ennis didn't find anything for this one in time, so it was still there when the thing was published. Fair enough, that's going to happen sometimes, especially with stories on a tight schedule - but it's not what I expect of the alleged best storyline ever in a series that was running for over twenty years. The only justification I can think of is that it's actually a metafictional exercise in which the writer has pulled one over on the readership (as Constantine has on so many other characters), persuading them of something despite lack of detailed evidence. If so, it's worked brilliantly on the fandom as a whole.
My other quibble with Ennis, and a less transitory one (at time of writing I've just finished vol. 6) is the personality change he has made to Constantine. This became apparent from the first page of #42, when hungover, seasick, and pissed off at a lorry driver who ends up bringing a greasy fryup to his table on a ferry, Constantine punctures the lorry's tyres, snickering about petty revenge. I can't imagine Delano's JC doing that to a "little guy" with such minimal justification. Though as this was my first experience of really disliking something JC did, perhaps it stuck out. (I wouldn't have had an issue with him telling the bloke to fuck off or saying "Yeah, actually I do mind" when he asked to sit down.)
At the point I'm currently up to, JC hasn't been that malicious and callous again to any character for no good reason. (I'd love to see the readers' letters about #42.) The likes of Gary Lester were victims of the trolley problem which JC so often has to face - there was a reason. But Ennis's Constantine is more uncomplicatedly laddish and with it, less reflective and less emotionally articulate than Delano's. He's more classically hardboiled, but compared to Raymond Chandler, who in fairness had a lot more words to work with, I don't think Ennis effectively transmits as much sense of an interesting and unique mind at work within that carapace.
I simply don't think this change makes sense for the character. At the time Ennis took over, JC had just been on a big psychological integration headtrip where he encountered, in some parallel plane, the man his stillborn twin brother would have been had he lived: an arrogant, brilliant cult leader whom parents and schoolteachers loved in a way they never did JC - and JC realises this Golden Boy wasn't actually as 'good' as he'd been built up to be. One can imagine Constantine acquiring increased confidence from this integration (and that he might have changed a bit just at this point when the new writer took over) but not that he would come out of it with his personality this particular different shape. I feel like some emotional /reflective component of him, that was previously present, has been removed. There are experiences - usually lasting a long period of time - that might effect what I'm seeing (some of which tallies with becoming more dismissing in a formal psychological sense), but not this, I don't think.
It makes him further from RL occultists - and the point of the character is to be less like the usual super-powered comic magicians; we know JC studied for years, and does a lot of his magic by looking stuff up and casting circles, even if he does have formidable inherited powers. *And* this is less like RL, clever, streetwise, yet not-great-in-a-fight working class guys of my acquaintance, who would embrace blokeishness on some counts and define themselves against it on others, and with deliberate inconsistency: basically use it to suit themselves. The contradictions to popular stereotypes are fascinating and appealing. (Though these are people born in the late 70s or the 80s, young enough to be JC's sons.) Ennis's Constantine is basically an intelligent and tricksy but otherwise average bloke who happens to do this magic stuff. I'm not getting the echo of someone with years of meditation and mysticism in his training, and who's done the astral travel stuff that was in the Delano run.
Delano's Constantine would have been more eloquent than this, in a note written when he had every reason to believe he was dying. Many men are capable of more than this, regardless of what media might have you believe.
"I'm writing this on the train from Liverpool 'cause I'd feel like a prat saying it face to face -- but it's been great knowing you Chas and I'm proud to call you my mate. I'm glad we parted as friends.
Chin up, son.
John"
This bit isn't bad: " I know it with the cold certainty of a man condemned to hang. Tonight the cancer will kill me. Tonight I die. But overall in the way Ennis's Constantine confronts these events, I still get that sense of something having disappeared in the character, and that Delano would have been more eloquent.
When I - or anyone else - gets too hung up on lack of psychological verisimilitude in a fictional character (especially one in a fantastical universe like this) I try to remember that, being fictional, perhaps they don't actually always have to correspond to real psychology. Perhaps they can have traits rarely seen together in reality, or they are inconsistent: Constantine sometimes acts as if he doesn't have a conscience, and at other times is severely burdened by conscience - near the end of Dangerous Habits so much so that it nearly drives him mad again. (Even if he doesn't see his similarities to the politicians he despises in such scenes, I wish the writers or artists would draw the parallel using an ambient news story.) Maybe it's more a question of whether the character feels coherent in a storytelling sense. Garth Ennis's Constantine makes sense off the back of Alan Moore's original version of JC in Swamp Thing - one of his characteristics was keeping his cards close to his chest, and it was comparatively rare the reader got a window into his thoughts. But I don't think he makes sense psychologically as a continuation of Delano's, and that disappoints me. One could just cut down on the New Age scenarios, without cutting out part of his personality - as I see it, something that the writer did to suit himself. (Yet he was ultimately successful with this: many other fans have decided it makes Ennis 'a better fit for the character'.)
Constantine's anti-authoritarian streak is to the fore here. In front of the Houses of Parliament he rails: All I ever wanted was for the world to be free of your kind, whether you were here in parliament or in senate or junta or hell or heaven … Maybe the people are too small and scared to be free… But like a salesman who's only too eager to sew up his market and stitch up his customers, you're happy enough to exploit that.
(Yet one line about politics, in a different scene, even managed to shock me: "a country he didn't know any more because all the money was spent getting a whore into office every four years". I've seen early modern diatribes against Elizabeth I (whom it's even more of a category error to call a whore), and allsorts in online political discussions with low moderation. And - though it stood to reason that people would have said similar about Thatcher, e.g. pissed off ex-miners in pubs - because she was of a time when all news was through mainstream media, and because people I've encountered who wanted to swear at Thatcher were more logical in their choice of words, I'd never ever seen this in over thirty years of reading about British politics.)
The earthly political and supernatural establishments are linked in Ennis' Hellblazer, as Constantine goes to find "the Snob" (the Archangel Gabriel), in a London gentleman's club, where he is hob-nobbing unwittingly with a far-right activist. (Who started this modern fantasy motif of Gabriel as rule-bound and insensitive? Was it Ennis? He's in evidence in the Good Omens TV series as an officious executive, though he only gets one mention in the novel.)
Constantine has probably the most cynical description of heaven I've ever heard, "to condemn everything that's ever lived to the slavery of the angels." (IRL, if you're that negative about it, you almost certainly don't believe in it.) This is the result of a character with an atheist mentality (and, I'd guess, an atheist writer) having tangible evidence that an approximation of Christian cosmology is true, and taking a defiant, late 20th century attitude to it. As he says to Gabriel:
"The ten commandments? I don't believe I'm hearing this. Jesus Christ…
You're the sodding problem, not us! You're the ones that make the frigging rules for us, and you don't even understand us! No wonder we're so screwed up!!"
In the longer run, his response to the reality of this is trying to change it, rather than defer to it: the character has said elsewhere (in Delano's run, I think) that he wants to reduce the power heaven and hell have over humanity. (And because of that I'm not convinced JC would sound so surprised by what Gabriel says here.) It's an interesting thought experiment, and reminds me that the New Atheists were often motivated by religion as a symbol for other personal or social forces. (Especially noticeable with Hitchens, IMO.)
(This post continues in comment field below. Review of Delano's #34-40 is under the new collection.)
(read Aug 2020, review Sept 2020)
Dangerous Habits is undoubtedly a bloody good story, especially in outline. It's often seen as the definitive John Constantine arc and it was the basis for the 2005 film that had the still-controversial casting choice of Keanu Reeves as a character who, everywhere else, is a cynical blond Brit.
It has an aura of legend about it - and indeed it could be placed it under an Aarne-Thompson folklore morphology type. (Sorry, I still can't get used to adding Uther). "Man Outwits the Devil" for the main story, and for the lead-up featuring Constantine's old mate Brendan, "Souls Saved from the Devil". A few months ago I read an early modern tale of this type, Belphegor by Machiavelli, in which again, a clever peasant beats the devil. (Phrase deliberately chosen in honour of Carter Beats the Devil, a novel I read over a decade ago but which, I assume, has Constantine in its DNA.) This also got me wondering how many storylines in Hellblazer, and comics more generally, would fit these folklore classifications. However, I think Hellblazer might be a particularly good fit, more so than superheroes with Golden Age origins, because Constantine, coming from a poor working class background, and being a con-artist as well as a magician, often tallies with clever peasant archetypes of folktales. (Often he's that, but sometimes he's the wise man or magician the folktale protagonist goes to for help. I wish I knew the index well enough, or had enough time, to check every story in the series against it.) And like that clever peasant archetype - though somehow more emphatically because Constantine is a star of multiple stories, he is also a consummate trickster. Phylogenetic/linguistic research from 2016 suggested that the oldest surviving European fairytale type may be one on this theme, 'The Smith and the Devil', going back c.6000 years to the Bronze age. (Some recorded variants include that the Smith may be admitted neither to heaven nor hell.) So the 'Dangerous Habits' storyline taps into ancient currents, even more so than many of the other HB stories so far - and because it's a new complete arc, unlike the resolution of Newcastle in vol. 2 which is also about cheating a devil, it has a greater impact.
It maps particularly closely to the Irish tale of Jack o'Lantern / Stingy Jack, which I'd guess Ennis was familiar with (is it in any old interviews?), and which also features tripling. (It's taken a while to chase down an article that cites old books, not just other internet articles, and this is still unsatisfactory on the international versions of the tale.) To that the writer has added the modern bogeyman of cancer - lung cancer, which remains difficult to treat. Constantine has plenty of forebears making occasional appearances in the comics - someone really should have written in this ornery Irish blacksmith as one.
But. But. I've forgiven a lot of bloopers in Delano's HB writing. So perhaps raising this following point isn't even fair, but when something is supposed to be the best story across 300 issues, I expect superlative writing.
At no point do we ever hear what Constantine said to the Second of the Fallen and Third of the Fallen (two of the three chief devils of hell in the DC cosmology) to persuade them that a slippery bastard like John Constantine was actually selling his soul to them. It's a hell of a thing to have managed (pun intended) with a reputation like his. The absence of this feels to me like one of those gaps that happen when writing; you plan to go back later to finish that scene or that conversation, because it isn't flowing right now. And there are bits that are really difficult to fill in and get left till last - but Ennis didn't find anything for this one in time, so it was still there when the thing was published. Fair enough, that's going to happen sometimes, especially with stories on a tight schedule - but it's not what I expect of the alleged best storyline ever in a series that was running for over twenty years. The only justification I can think of is that it's actually a metafictional exercise in which the writer has pulled one over on the readership (as Constantine has on so many other characters), persuading them of something despite lack of detailed evidence. If so, it's worked brilliantly on the fandom as a whole.
My other quibble with Ennis, and a less transitory one (at time of writing I've just finished vol. 6) is the personality change he has made to Constantine. This became apparent from the first page of #42, when hungover, seasick, and pissed off at a lorry driver who ends up bringing a greasy fryup to his table on a ferry, Constantine punctures the lorry's tyres, snickering about petty revenge. I can't imagine Delano's JC doing that to a "little guy" with such minimal justification. Though as this was my first experience of really disliking something JC did, perhaps it stuck out. (I wouldn't have had an issue with him telling the bloke to fuck off or saying "Yeah, actually I do mind" when he asked to sit down.)
At the point I'm currently up to, JC hasn't been that malicious and callous again to any character for no good reason. (I'd love to see the readers' letters about #42.) The likes of Gary Lester were victims of the trolley problem which JC so often has to face - there was a reason. But Ennis's Constantine is more uncomplicatedly laddish and with it, less reflective and less emotionally articulate than Delano's. He's more classically hardboiled, but compared to Raymond Chandler, who in fairness had a lot more words to work with, I don't think Ennis effectively transmits as much sense of an interesting and unique mind at work within that carapace.
I simply don't think this change makes sense for the character. At the time Ennis took over, JC had just been on a big psychological integration headtrip where he encountered, in some parallel plane, the man his stillborn twin brother would have been had he lived: an arrogant, brilliant cult leader whom parents and schoolteachers loved in a way they never did JC - and JC realises this Golden Boy wasn't actually as 'good' as he'd been built up to be. One can imagine Constantine acquiring increased confidence from this integration (and that he might have changed a bit just at this point when the new writer took over) but not that he would come out of it with his personality this particular different shape. I feel like some emotional /reflective component of him, that was previously present, has been removed. There are experiences - usually lasting a long period of time - that might effect what I'm seeing (some of which tallies with becoming more dismissing in a formal psychological sense), but not this, I don't think.
It makes him further from RL occultists - and the point of the character is to be less like the usual super-powered comic magicians; we know JC studied for years, and does a lot of his magic by looking stuff up and casting circles, even if he does have formidable inherited powers. *And* this is less like RL, clever, streetwise, yet not-great-in-a-fight working class guys of my acquaintance, who would embrace blokeishness on some counts and define themselves against it on others, and with deliberate inconsistency: basically use it to suit themselves. The contradictions to popular stereotypes are fascinating and appealing. (Though these are people born in the late 70s or the 80s, young enough to be JC's sons.) Ennis's Constantine is basically an intelligent and tricksy but otherwise average bloke who happens to do this magic stuff. I'm not getting the echo of someone with years of meditation and mysticism in his training, and who's done the astral travel stuff that was in the Delano run.
Delano's Constantine would have been more eloquent than this, in a note written when he had every reason to believe he was dying. Many men are capable of more than this, regardless of what media might have you believe.
"I'm writing this on the train from Liverpool 'cause I'd feel like a prat saying it face to face -- but it's been great knowing you Chas and I'm proud to call you my mate. I'm glad we parted as friends.
Chin up, son.
John"
This bit isn't bad: " I know it with the cold certainty of a man condemned to hang. Tonight the cancer will kill me. Tonight I die. But overall in the way Ennis's Constantine confronts these events, I still get that sense of something having disappeared in the character, and that Delano would have been more eloquent.
When I - or anyone else - gets too hung up on lack of psychological verisimilitude in a fictional character (especially one in a fantastical universe like this) I try to remember that, being fictional, perhaps they don't actually always have to correspond to real psychology. Perhaps they can have traits rarely seen together in reality, or they are inconsistent: Constantine sometimes acts as if he doesn't have a conscience, and at other times is severely burdened by conscience - near the end of Dangerous Habits so much so that it nearly drives him mad again. (Even if he doesn't see his similarities to the politicians he despises in such scenes, I wish the writers or artists would draw the parallel using an ambient news story.) Maybe it's more a question of whether the character feels coherent in a storytelling sense. Garth Ennis's Constantine makes sense off the back of Alan Moore's original version of JC in Swamp Thing - one of his characteristics was keeping his cards close to his chest, and it was comparatively rare the reader got a window into his thoughts. But I don't think he makes sense psychologically as a continuation of Delano's, and that disappoints me. One could just cut down on the New Age scenarios, without cutting out part of his personality - as I see it, something that the writer did to suit himself. (Yet he was ultimately successful with this: many other fans have decided it makes Ennis 'a better fit for the character'.)
Constantine's anti-authoritarian streak is to the fore here. In front of the Houses of Parliament he rails: All I ever wanted was for the world to be free of your kind, whether you were here in parliament or in senate or junta or hell or heaven … Maybe the people are too small and scared to be free… But like a salesman who's only too eager to sew up his market and stitch up his customers, you're happy enough to exploit that.
(Yet one line about politics, in a different scene, even managed to shock me: "a country he didn't know any more because all the money was spent getting a whore into office every four years". I've seen early modern diatribes against Elizabeth I (whom it's even more of a category error to call a whore), and allsorts in online political discussions with low moderation. And - though it stood to reason that people would have said similar about Thatcher, e.g. pissed off ex-miners in pubs - because she was of a time when all news was through mainstream media, and because people I've encountered who wanted to swear at Thatcher were more logical in their choice of words, I'd never ever seen this in over thirty years of reading about British politics.)
The earthly political and supernatural establishments are linked in Ennis' Hellblazer, as Constantine goes to find "the Snob" (the Archangel Gabriel), in a London gentleman's club, where he is hob-nobbing unwittingly with a far-right activist. (Who started this modern fantasy motif of Gabriel as rule-bound and insensitive? Was it Ennis? He's in evidence in the Good Omens TV series as an officious executive, though he only gets one mention in the novel.)
Constantine has probably the most cynical description of heaven I've ever heard, "to condemn everything that's ever lived to the slavery of the angels." (IRL, if you're that negative about it, you almost certainly don't believe in it.) This is the result of a character with an atheist mentality (and, I'd guess, an atheist writer) having tangible evidence that an approximation of Christian cosmology is true, and taking a defiant, late 20th century attitude to it. As he says to Gabriel:
"The ten commandments? I don't believe I'm hearing this. Jesus Christ…
You're the sodding problem, not us! You're the ones that make the frigging rules for us, and you don't even understand us! No wonder we're so screwed up!!"
In the longer run, his response to the reality of this is trying to change it, rather than defer to it: the character has said elsewhere (in Delano's run, I think) that he wants to reduce the power heaven and hell have over humanity. (And because of that I'm not convinced JC would sound so surprised by what Gabriel says here.) It's an interesting thought experiment, and reminds me that the New Atheists were often motivated by religion as a symbol for other personal or social forces. (Especially noticeable with Hitchens, IMO.)
(This post continues in comment field below. Review of Delano's #34-40 is under the new collection.)
(read Aug 2020, review Sept 2020)
Read
October 9, 2010I can't tell whether or not Hellblazer is a good thing to read while trying to quit smoking (okay okay cutting back on smoking) or a bad thing. On the one hand, John Constantine gets lung cancer from smoking 20-30 cigarettes a day since he was 17. I don't know how old Mr. Constantine is, but he looks to me to be at the most in his mid 30's. That's pretty scary. On the other hand, he smokes like a chimney in nearly every panel, which is quite vicariously appealing, and he cheats death by getting his cancer cured by tricking Satan, which leads me to believe (falsely, I'm aware) that there is some hope left.
The Hellblazer universe seems like a pretty depressing place. Devil denizens are "arseholes," sure, but even the angels seem to be snotty jerks. At first I found this a bit offensive, as I'm generally a religious sort and like my angels to be cryptic, not outright snobs. But then I realized that this is a story taking place in a world where Heaven and Hell are known to be real, and if it's going to keep its existential edge it's going to need to have both ends of the morality spectrum seem a bit sinister and terrible.
Nonetheless, it seems like life's a little too tough on our man Constantine, and he's got a chip on his shoulder the size of a tortilla chip the size of Texas. I don't know much on his backstory, but I sense the world's been rough on this weary little guy, and he needs to give himself a break. He seems to mean well and everything, though I guess what they say about the road paved with good intentions is even more true in the Hellblazer universe than it is in our own.
The Hellblazer universe seems like a pretty depressing place. Devil denizens are "arseholes," sure, but even the angels seem to be snotty jerks. At first I found this a bit offensive, as I'm generally a religious sort and like my angels to be cryptic, not outright snobs. But then I realized that this is a story taking place in a world where Heaven and Hell are known to be real, and if it's going to keep its existential edge it's going to need to have both ends of the morality spectrum seem a bit sinister and terrible.
Nonetheless, it seems like life's a little too tough on our man Constantine, and he's got a chip on his shoulder the size of a tortilla chip the size of Texas. I don't know much on his backstory, but I sense the world's been rough on this weary little guy, and he needs to give himself a break. He seems to mean well and everything, though I guess what they say about the road paved with good intentions is even more true in the Hellblazer universe than it is in our own.
April 14, 2013
for me, this is the best thing garth ennis ever wrote. nothing has measured up since, frankly, but at least there's this: a wonderfully frightening story about john constantine coming face to face with his mortality in a way that doesn't feel cheap or merely a device for plotting with the devil.
if they had just made this book into a movie instead of borrowing the tiniest kernel of the idea and turning it into such rubbish, it could have been epic. constantine goes up against the devil and wins ~ not once, but twice. and it's genuinely clever how he does it.
and everything around that is nicely done: john's evasion of his problem while simultaneously trying to reconcile himself to die is a terribly/wonderful tug-of-war. and he doesn't become some dying saint through all of this ~ he's still the lonely selfish bastard with a heart of glass. he doesn't have some great epiphany and mend his ways; he just falls back into his arsey old self and maybe he's even a little worse off ~ after all, the devil can't touch him now.
some people want to compare this to preacher, but jesse custer is just a thin pale shadow of the complexity that is john constantine. if you ever only read one hellblazer story, this is the one to read.
if they had just made this book into a movie instead of borrowing the tiniest kernel of the idea and turning it into such rubbish, it could have been epic. constantine goes up against the devil and wins ~ not once, but twice. and it's genuinely clever how he does it.
and everything around that is nicely done: john's evasion of his problem while simultaneously trying to reconcile himself to die is a terribly/wonderful tug-of-war. and he doesn't become some dying saint through all of this ~ he's still the lonely selfish bastard with a heart of glass. he doesn't have some great epiphany and mend his ways; he just falls back into his arsey old self and maybe he's even a little worse off ~ after all, the devil can't touch him now.
some people want to compare this to preacher, but jesse custer is just a thin pale shadow of the complexity that is john constantine. if you ever only read one hellblazer story, this is the one to read.
June 26, 2009
The all-time classic John Constatine story against which all others must be measured.
April 1, 2020
L'inizio della gestinoe Ennis.
Non poteva essere migliore.
Bello e doloroso e cupo e romantico e ...
Non poteva essere migliore.
Bello e doloroso e cupo e romantico e ...
September 27, 2013
This is where it really begins.
If you ever want to introduce someone to John Constantine, give him/her this book. -One can go back to the earlier Delano - Stories, once one is already addicted to the character. I recently reread all those volumes and can only say that even when Delano get's more and more the hang of the character to the end of his run, it's Garth Ennis' story that is really defining.
All basic elements of John are highlited here, the trickster/punk, the jinx, the friend, the selfloathing/selfdestroying wimp etc.
The scene where John saves his drinking-buddys soul and the ramifications of his action are the founding stone on which the world of Hellblazer is built. I cannot praise this storyline enough - it one of Ennis' strongest pieces troughout the medium.
If you ever want to introduce someone to John Constantine, give him/her this book. -One can go back to the earlier Delano - Stories, once one is already addicted to the character. I recently reread all those volumes and can only say that even when Delano get's more and more the hang of the character to the end of his run, it's Garth Ennis' story that is really defining.
All basic elements of John are highlited here, the trickster/punk, the jinx, the friend, the selfloathing/selfdestroying wimp etc.
The scene where John saves his drinking-buddys soul and the ramifications of his action are the founding stone on which the world of Hellblazer is built. I cannot praise this storyline enough - it one of Ennis' strongest pieces troughout the medium.
October 21, 2013
I think I just don't *like* John Constantine. (Or Garth Ennis.) He's kind of an unlikeable bastard. But at least he's sort of aware of that.
November 28, 2019
41-45# compile in Dangerous Habits, exhibits Garth Ennis’ first foray into the Hellblazer mythos. Festering at the sores of the inner rather than the outer world, the plotine contained within is decidedly bleak, bathed with self loathing toward that bleak event horizon of mortality we must all face. Irregardless, this take will be best received by fans and mostly likely fans alone.
With glints and gleams of the demon fighter we all know and love as John Constantine as manifested in a few charming instances, the rest of this compendium finds itself hunkered down with a chunky level of verbosity albeit via a bevy of demonically influenced legalese largesse that leaves unable to connect the dots ourselves. Instead, a continual series of supernatural and supra-mundane happenstances get us from beginning to end.
Based upon a word in which actual conversations between real people, whether at the local coffee shop or even during the ever random running into one another mattered, compared to our social media saturated world, everything here feels dated at worst and trite at best. Indeed, when shorn of the word based warmth that has clearly lost its power and charms over the decades, crude illustrations that never veer toward anything more than slightly more than basic details, other than a relatively small smattering of action, there’s little to be savored here for anyone other than a true blue fan.
With glints and gleams of the demon fighter we all know and love as John Constantine as manifested in a few charming instances, the rest of this compendium finds itself hunkered down with a chunky level of verbosity albeit via a bevy of demonically influenced legalese largesse that leaves unable to connect the dots ourselves. Instead, a continual series of supernatural and supra-mundane happenstances get us from beginning to end.
Based upon a word in which actual conversations between real people, whether at the local coffee shop or even during the ever random running into one another mattered, compared to our social media saturated world, everything here feels dated at worst and trite at best. Indeed, when shorn of the word based warmth that has clearly lost its power and charms over the decades, crude illustrations that never veer toward anything more than slightly more than basic details, other than a relatively small smattering of action, there’s little to be savored here for anyone other than a true blue fan.
July 18, 2012
The first Hellblazer book by Garth Ennis isn't as good as previous writer Jamie Delano's best, but it is far, far better than Delano's worst. As pretty much anything can be.
I like Constantine's solution to his troubles, it was clever and in line with his character. As much as I loathed some of the events from past books, I was glad to see them continually referenced. Continuity is good (although I am gratefully thanking whoever decided to NOT collect the apparent Constantine-in-the-womb-with-his-evil-twin story into a trade paperback).
I like Constantine's solution to his troubles, it was clever and in line with his character. As much as I loathed some of the events from past books, I was glad to see them continually referenced. Continuity is good (although I am gratefully thanking whoever decided to NOT collect the apparent Constantine-in-the-womb-with-his-evil-twin story into a trade paperback).
March 21, 2016
This.Is.Spectacular.
June 22, 2018
Damn! This Sodding Book!
I have been anticipating this book for so damn LONG now. I read Original Sins and pretty much loved it. I read The Devil You Know and really didn't like any of it EXCEPT the Newcastle issue of course. But this. This is really fucking good. First of all, if you are going from early Delano to Ennis like I did and are worried about the character changing, don't worry. I am living proof of the fact that you will have a smooth transition into the Constantine everyone knows and loves. The Bastard. Issue #9 of Hellblazer Shot to Hell is that character anyway. (PS: Please read Original Sins and Newcastle before this because there are so many characters and events referenced.)So why is this book so amazing and known to most as the best Hellblazer story of all time? Because it is so goddamn human, relatable, and fleshed out in every way. The first chapter illustrates this the best. This is a depressing and somewhat haunting first chapter. It shows you how truly awful cancer can be mentally. How John can't stop thinking about death every second. How he will soon never be able to see whats left of his friends, or just do everyday normal things you never think deeper about. This first chapter has one of the best dream sequences I have ever seen in a book because it actually freaked me out a little. Garth Ennis gives you everything John is thinking. Snap judgments, momentary lapses, and little bits of ridiculous hope. All of the narration is so damn well done. As of now the most relatable and compelling characters in comics to me are Bruce Wayne/Batman, Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Daniel Drieberg/Nightowl, Evey from V for Vendetta, and now Mr. Constantine. And of course, the Sodding British dialogue is so frickin good and as entertaining as always. The second chapter is probably my favourite because it gives me my favourite Constantine moment so far.
Constantine's relationship with this man named Matt is also a highlight of the story because it further emphasizes the human element to this story. John's scene with Cheryl is really emotionally potent and really gets ya in the heart dude. The last big thing John does did disappoint me at first because I didn't exactly understand it too well. After I cleared it up the idea is genius and very very satisfying. I as the reader felt a weight lift off my shoulders. And the epilogue issue is fantastic in every way. Something happens that is sad but feels like it needed to happen to bring everything full circle. And especially the last few pages which also hit me hard with emotion. This leads me to the few problems I have with the story.
At the end of issue #2 John gives a big issue ending line that basically makes it seem like shit is about to get real. But the pacing stays the same. Slow. And trust me I'm fine with a slow pace. But not after getting me excited for a pickup. After the "I don't dare to die" line I think a more fast-paced incident should have occurred and the scenes with Ellie and the snob should have taken place before. Problem 2: The art is definitely good. There are some absolutely gorgeous moments as well in particular with the drawings of Constantine himself, but at times it can be very inconsistent. Faces are morphing from panel to panel and it just seemed like it could have been cleaned up in that regard. Especially with the character of Matt. And problem 3: As much as I admire the whole concept of John's plan in the last part of the book, I didn't love the execution. What I mean is, I found it almost a chore to read 3 demons talking non-stop for 20 odd pages. This last scene could have been handled in a more exciting way. But I did, however, love John's smart-ass responses to everything the demons said.
In the end, I love this story already, and I only finished it today. This book, of course, has the mature readers label on it. I agree that the story is 100% written with maturity. But not like gory and edgy maturity but from a writing standpoint. Compelling characters, bad-ass moments of pure genius, British insults by the millions, and possibly the most relatable and hopefully not the most relatable book..........ever??? I dunno about that, but either way this was a short but beautiful/depressing story about the most normal thing to happen to the most abnormal man. And goddamn do I wish this was longer! I say that with mostly everything but I wanted more! I was gonna give this book an A but when I remembered how truly emotional and rewarding this magnum opus was I thought "Screw it"
Letter Grade: (A+)
I have been anticipating this book for so damn LONG now. I read Original Sins and pretty much loved it. I read The Devil You Know and really didn't like any of it EXCEPT the Newcastle issue of course. But this. This is really fucking good. First of all, if you are going from early Delano to Ennis like I did and are worried about the character changing, don't worry. I am living proof of the fact that you will have a smooth transition into the Constantine everyone knows and loves. The Bastard. Issue #9 of Hellblazer Shot to Hell is that character anyway. (PS: Please read Original Sins and Newcastle before this because there are so many characters and events referenced.)So why is this book so amazing and known to most as the best Hellblazer story of all time? Because it is so goddamn human, relatable, and fleshed out in every way. The first chapter illustrates this the best. This is a depressing and somewhat haunting first chapter. It shows you how truly awful cancer can be mentally. How John can't stop thinking about death every second. How he will soon never be able to see whats left of his friends, or just do everyday normal things you never think deeper about. This first chapter has one of the best dream sequences I have ever seen in a book because it actually freaked me out a little. Garth Ennis gives you everything John is thinking. Snap judgments, momentary lapses, and little bits of ridiculous hope. All of the narration is so damn well done. As of now the most relatable and compelling characters in comics to me are Bruce Wayne/Batman, Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Daniel Drieberg/Nightowl, Evey from V for Vendetta, and now Mr. Constantine. And of course, the Sodding British dialogue is so frickin good and as entertaining as always. The second chapter is probably my favourite because it gives me my favourite Constantine moment so far.
Constantine's relationship with this man named Matt is also a highlight of the story because it further emphasizes the human element to this story. John's scene with Cheryl is really emotionally potent and really gets ya in the heart dude. The last big thing John does did disappoint me at first because I didn't exactly understand it too well. After I cleared it up the idea is genius and very very satisfying. I as the reader felt a weight lift off my shoulders. And the epilogue issue is fantastic in every way. Something happens that is sad but feels like it needed to happen to bring everything full circle. And especially the last few pages which also hit me hard with emotion. This leads me to the few problems I have with the story.
At the end of issue #2 John gives a big issue ending line that basically makes it seem like shit is about to get real. But the pacing stays the same. Slow. And trust me I'm fine with a slow pace. But not after getting me excited for a pickup. After the "I don't dare to die" line I think a more fast-paced incident should have occurred and the scenes with Ellie and the snob should have taken place before. Problem 2: The art is definitely good. There are some absolutely gorgeous moments as well in particular with the drawings of Constantine himself, but at times it can be very inconsistent. Faces are morphing from panel to panel and it just seemed like it could have been cleaned up in that regard. Especially with the character of Matt. And problem 3: As much as I admire the whole concept of John's plan in the last part of the book, I didn't love the execution. What I mean is, I found it almost a chore to read 3 demons talking non-stop for 20 odd pages. This last scene could have been handled in a more exciting way. But I did, however, love John's smart-ass responses to everything the demons said.
In the end, I love this story already, and I only finished it today. This book, of course, has the mature readers label on it. I agree that the story is 100% written with maturity. But not like gory and edgy maturity but from a writing standpoint. Compelling characters, bad-ass moments of pure genius, British insults by the millions, and possibly the most relatable and hopefully not the most relatable book..........ever??? I dunno about that, but either way this was a short but beautiful/depressing story about the most normal thing to happen to the most abnormal man. And goddamn do I wish this was longer! I say that with mostly everything but I wanted more! I was gonna give this book an A but when I remembered how truly emotional and rewarding this magnum opus was I thought "Screw it"
Letter Grade: (A+)
August 17, 2023
The story that served as a template for the movie with Keanu Reeves, except MUCH better. I jumped from Moore's version of Constatine to this one and it's pretty much like going from Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad to Jimmy McGill on Better Call Saul. The character's whole swagger is a shield for a pretty broken man who's constantly haunted by his decisions and the impact he had on the people who trusted him. A fitting end to this arc by having Constatine win but not feel victorious at all.
April 19, 2024
Qué locura! El mejor story arc de Constantine y pude leerla en formato físico gracias a OvniPress!
La verdad que Garth Ennis tiene una forma particular de escribir y acá me gustó mucho. El protagonista de Hellblazer tiene sus momentos de la mano de jamie delano pero al pasar la batuta al guionista ya mencionado se me hace de otro nivel.
El tema principal es bastante atrevido y como se va contando la historia una tremenda delicia de guión. Vamos a seguir apoyando la causa leyendo lo que sigue!
La verdad que Garth Ennis tiene una forma particular de escribir y acá me gustó mucho. El protagonista de Hellblazer tiene sus momentos de la mano de jamie delano pero al pasar la batuta al guionista ya mencionado se me hace de otro nivel.
El tema principal es bastante atrevido y como se va contando la historia una tremenda delicia de guión. Vamos a seguir apoyando la causa leyendo lo que sigue!
December 22, 2017
I have to say that Ennis is like fresh air after Delano. This is the Constantine I met in The Books of Magic. Delano's didn't feel like him at all.
June 9, 2020
Ima ona neka čuvena knjiga koja vam pomaže da ostavite pušenje, ali morate da pušite dok je čitate.
Savetujem da se čitate ovo dok pušite, možda efikasnije ostavite cigarete...
Savetujem da se čitate ovo dok pušite, možda efikasnije ostavite cigarete...
April 19, 2012
Hellblazer Book 6: "Dangerous Habits" collects Hellblazer issues 41-46 -- the first story from Garth Ennis' run on the title.
This is one of the very best Hellblazer books out there, and other than Book 1 (Hellblazer Original Sins), it's probably the best starting point for new readers. Along with Original Sins and Hellblazer The Fear Machine, this book is one of my favorites from the title. Not only that, but it really stands on its own pretty well; they really should make a movie about this one.
The only problem I have with this storyline at all is in how it relates to the issues that immediately preceded it. Rather than trying even a little bit to connect his story with Delano's last issues -- the choppy but mysterious and deeply interesting "The Hanged Man" (#39) and "The Magus" (#40) -- Ennis simply has John mention that his memories of the time since leaving the cave are fuzzy and indistinct. This works, given what happened in the caves, but feels a bit cheap, I find myself wanting to know more about what happened in there.
(FYI, qusoor.com puts forward the idea that it's during this foggy time, after the "Golden Boy" storyline but before "Dangerous Habits", that John meets Tim Hunter and helps initiate him onto the path of magick -- see The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman.)
Aside from that, however -- and that one little flaw is really not so much a problem with the "Dangerous Habits" book as it is a problem with integration into the larger whole -- this is a great book. Dark, exciting, funny as hell, well written, thrilling in concept and execution. This is about as good as comic books get, and for Hellblazer it's about as perfect a distillation as you'll find.
Next: Book 7 (Hellblazer Bloodlines, Ennis' second storyline)
This is one of the very best Hellblazer books out there, and other than Book 1 (Hellblazer Original Sins), it's probably the best starting point for new readers. Along with Original Sins and Hellblazer The Fear Machine, this book is one of my favorites from the title. Not only that, but it really stands on its own pretty well; they really should make a movie about this one.
The only problem I have with this storyline at all is in how it relates to the issues that immediately preceded it. Rather than trying even a little bit to connect his story with Delano's last issues -- the choppy but mysterious and deeply interesting "The Hanged Man" (#39) and "The Magus" (#40) -- Ennis simply has John mention that his memories of the time since leaving the cave are fuzzy and indistinct. This works, given what happened in the caves, but feels a bit cheap, I find myself wanting to know more about what happened in there.
(FYI, qusoor.com puts forward the idea that it's during this foggy time, after the "Golden Boy" storyline but before "Dangerous Habits", that John meets Tim Hunter and helps initiate him onto the path of magick -- see The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman.)
Aside from that, however -- and that one little flaw is really not so much a problem with the "Dangerous Habits" book as it is a problem with integration into the larger whole -- this is a great book. Dark, exciting, funny as hell, well written, thrilling in concept and execution. This is about as good as comic books get, and for Hellblazer it's about as perfect a distillation as you'll find.
Next: Book 7 (Hellblazer Bloodlines, Ennis' second storyline)
September 18, 2022
A little too cheerful for my tastes.
April 24, 2018
In occasione di un semi-blocco del lettore e in astinenza dalla serie tv "Constantine" - interpretato in maniera quantomai azzeccata da Matt Ryan - ho deciso di prendere due piccioni con una fava recuperando i fumetti di Hellblazer. C'è da dire che io non ho mai letto nulla del genere, a parte i Topolino, perciò in questo ambito sono una perfetta ignorante. Mi limito a parlare della storia e dell'intrattenimento perché non saprei a quali dettagli stilistici fare altrimenti attenzione.
"Abitudini pericolose" è il sesto volume della serie e comprende le issues 41-47, ma per qualche arcano motivo in Italia figura come primo.
John Constantine è ormai un semplice 39enne che deve fare i conti col tabagismo, responsabile di avergli procurato un cancro ai polmoni in fase terminale. Il paradosso è evidente: nonostante egli abbia trascorso molti anni a giocare con demoni e magia nera, alla fine la morte arriva per lui in maniera fin troppo ordinaria. Il pensiero di morire non sarebbe poi così malvagio se non fosse che il suo "lavoro" lo ha portato ad inimicarsi buona parte degli inquilini giù all'Inferno. In cerca di una soluzione per ingannare la morte iniziano quindi le sue peripezie: prima si rivolge all'amico Brendan, poi ad un'emissaria del diavolo, poi ai 3 fratelli caduti dell'Inferno (presumibilmente Baal, Diablo e Mephisto) ed infine al diavolo in persona. E neanche una volta giocherà pulito.
Devo ammettere che la lettura è stata abbastanza piacevole ma non particolarmente significativa. Mi aspettavo più azione, più folklore e - non so come dirlo - "più materiale". Me lo aspettavo un po' più sostanzioso, ecco. Sono rimasta a bocca asciutta.
"Abitudini pericolose" è il sesto volume della serie e comprende le issues 41-47, ma per qualche arcano motivo in Italia figura come primo.
John Constantine è ormai un semplice 39enne che deve fare i conti col tabagismo, responsabile di avergli procurato un cancro ai polmoni in fase terminale. Il paradosso è evidente: nonostante egli abbia trascorso molti anni a giocare con demoni e magia nera, alla fine la morte arriva per lui in maniera fin troppo ordinaria. Il pensiero di morire non sarebbe poi così malvagio se non fosse che il suo "lavoro" lo ha portato ad inimicarsi buona parte degli inquilini giù all'Inferno. In cerca di una soluzione per ingannare la morte iniziano quindi le sue peripezie: prima si rivolge all'amico Brendan, poi ad un'emissaria del diavolo, poi ai 3 fratelli caduti dell'Inferno (presumibilmente Baal, Diablo e Mephisto) ed infine al diavolo in persona. E neanche una volta giocherà pulito.
Devo ammettere che la lettura è stata abbastanza piacevole ma non particolarmente significativa. Mi aspettavo più azione, più folklore e - non so come dirlo - "più materiale". Me lo aspettavo un po' più sostanzioso, ecco. Sono rimasta a bocca asciutta.
July 18, 2010
my first venture into the world of John Constantine/hellblazer.
It was lame.
Garth Ennis wrote one of my favorite comics- The Preacher.
You may be familiar with the story of constantine via the keanu reeves sci fi horror movie of the same name. I loved the scifi action horror flick.
As far as this book goes, the smarmy english sodding, bollocks, blokey, pissing shite head that he is was laid on too thick for me. oh, he outsmarts the devil, not once, but twice! while he is pissed (drunk) out of his mind both times! wow, oh gosh, he would have gotten it good if the devil didn't have to follow some rules..
My other HUGE gripe is that the illustrator did not seem to care to put any effort into bringing this story to life. there are so many panels that it is apparent that this person was impatient, uninterested, or something! continuity was, no pun intended, sketchy. no depth, one of the devils was an inkblot, for goodness sake.
personally, i am not all that into christianity laced sci fi stuff.
i read it, i will sell it back, and i am not the wiser for reading this, except to be able to use uk curse slang and cursewords with some ease.
It was lame.
Garth Ennis wrote one of my favorite comics- The Preacher.
You may be familiar with the story of constantine via the keanu reeves sci fi horror movie of the same name. I loved the scifi action horror flick.
As far as this book goes, the smarmy english sodding, bollocks, blokey, pissing shite head that he is was laid on too thick for me. oh, he outsmarts the devil, not once, but twice! while he is pissed (drunk) out of his mind both times! wow, oh gosh, he would have gotten it good if the devil didn't have to follow some rules..
My other HUGE gripe is that the illustrator did not seem to care to put any effort into bringing this story to life. there are so many panels that it is apparent that this person was impatient, uninterested, or something! continuity was, no pun intended, sketchy. no depth, one of the devils was an inkblot, for goodness sake.
personally, i am not all that into christianity laced sci fi stuff.
i read it, i will sell it back, and i am not the wiser for reading this, except to be able to use uk curse slang and cursewords with some ease.
April 13, 2019
I am glad Jamie Delano left this series, I am also glad his final issues were not collected because Hellblazer was about to hit rock bottom before Garth Ennis arrive to save the day. This volume defines the modern character of Constantine and is indeed a great starting point for new readers.
The volume opens with John Constantine dying of lung cancer, we certainly know that he is going to cheat death again, we just don't know how yet. Most of the story goes about Constantine's attempts to find someone willing to "cut him a deal" or do some magic to keep him alive, he also meets and befriends a cancer patient at the hospital. All of these social interactions are very enjoyable and well written. and the ending is very satisfying. Although the final issue seemed disjoint, I haven't read beyond it yet, so perhaps it setting up the scene for the next volume.
Garth Ennis didn't build on top of where Delano left off, which is great because he left nothing but ruins behind him, but if you liked where Constantine was going, then you will probably be disappointed with what is coming next.
The volume opens with John Constantine dying of lung cancer, we certainly know that he is going to cheat death again, we just don't know how yet. Most of the story goes about Constantine's attempts to find someone willing to "cut him a deal" or do some magic to keep him alive, he also meets and befriends a cancer patient at the hospital. All of these social interactions are very enjoyable and well written. and the ending is very satisfying. Although the final issue seemed disjoint, I haven't read beyond it yet, so perhaps it setting up the scene for the next volume.
Garth Ennis didn't build on top of where Delano left off, which is great because he left nothing but ruins behind him, but if you liked where Constantine was going, then you will probably be disappointed with what is coming next.
June 26, 2012
I like how the writing goes into many levels and how John has to ties all of his loose ends. Yet he also meets a nice old man in hospital who gives him a brief Philosophy which Constantine takes in. As well as that I like the use of shadows and the colouring to set the tone of the graphic novel itself. It really sets the scene on many different levels.
I would recommend this to any one who is interested in starting the Hellblazer saga (like me) and great for those who ae a fan of the series who would like to revisit this tale.
I would recommend this to any one who is interested in starting the Hellblazer saga (like me) and great for those who ae a fan of the series who would like to revisit this tale.
October 12, 2015
Dangerous Habits (41-46). This remains a very definitive Constantine story. The polished and aloof John of the Swamp THing stories is long gone, but here we get an iconic characterization of John the trickster. Plunged into a realistic disaster, he fights back in the only way he can … and the result is terrific. As with so many Constantine writers, Ennis drops the previous supporting cast and creates his own, which I don't like … but seeing the first appearances of Ellie, the Snob, and Kit is nonetheless great [8/10].
January 24, 2016
If you are a fan of Mr. Enis or of John Constantine, then this is a great story arc for you. The movie was based loosely off this story and the comic shows why it is far superior. The ending to the story as clever as it is, still manages to show JC as the self-absorbed morally ambiguous character that he is. Well done Mr. Enis.
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July 29, 2015My Brief Bookshelf Overview: grim, likable-or-deep-characters, mature, steady-storytelling-style, story-not-intriguing-enough
Additional Notes: This collection contains Hellblazer issues #41-46.
John Constantine is dying, and for the first three issues, almost nothing comes out of it but talk. Even if it gets better, it couldn't be by enough to keep me reading.
Additional Notes: This collection contains Hellblazer issues #41-46.
John Constantine is dying, and for the first three issues, almost nothing comes out of it but talk. Even if it gets better, it couldn't be by enough to keep me reading.
November 5, 2014
Constantine gets his terminal cancer diagnosis and has to race the clock to find a way out of a ticket straight to hell. He's consummate Constantine here, wily and crafty, a caring utter bastard. Still can't believe how delightfully 80s these are.
February 18, 2018
I see some influence of this arc in the Keanu Reeves Constantine movie. It's damn good. Delano's run was hard to get through - too wordy, too preachy, and repeatedly got off track. Ennis on the other hand feels like the John Constantine I prefer.
September 14, 2018
Original Sins
The Devil you Know
The Fear Machine
The Family Man
And so we come to where it all began....
Okay not really, but for many people (probably myself include) this is where Hellblazer really comes into its own. It's where people truly begin to see John as what he is and what he is capable of doing. One thing you'll notice about each writer on Hellblazer is that their own interpretations of John Constantine are different in subtle small ways. Delano's run had a more poetic, introspective John, prone to philosophy and working alongside others. In addition, Delano's run ended on a weird metaphysical arc that - while explaining that John had a twin brother he killed in the womb - ended on a strange dreamlike issue that seemed a little too stuck up its own arse for my liking.
Meanwhile Garth Ennis's run however has a rougher version of John. Gone is the poetic prose. This John is more blunt, straightforward and blue collar, more prone to shit-stirring his enemies and pulling off crazy ballsy tricks. But Ennis's run doesn't start on a high note. Instead we have Dangerous Habits:
Part 1, The Beginning of the End: John is dying. Terminal lung cancer from a diet of 30 ciggys a day for 20 years. And he's stting there in Frank's cafe, thinking over how he got into this situation. Right out the gate, Ennis puts John's back up against the wall. There's no demons or ghosts here. The threat is very real and very human. And this first issue takes its time showing the horrors of the cancer and the reality of his mortality. One thing I'll say about this issue's art is that the style is very rough and minimalistic. The colours are washed out and drab. I'm not sure if this was intentional as a stylistic choice or it was just an artistic one, but I'm 50/50 on it. However I'll also give praise for Ennis's respect for continuity, with references to John's demon blood and the Golden Boy from Delano's run being referenced. Also as a quick note, I gotta give praise to Tom Canty's cover art from issues 41-50. I love this kind of surreal art.
Part 2, A Drop of the Hard Stuff: Looking for a way to cure his cancer, John travels up to Ireland to see his old mate Brendan Finn, a fellow magician and massive alcohol connossieur. But Brendan's got problems of his own and by midnight those problems will involve John. This is both a feel-good issue and a sad one. Ennis's penchant for exploring bloke friendships is on full display here as we get some long albeit warm-hearted explorations of John and Brendan's lives. We also get our introduction to Garth Ennis's first major villain to his run; The First of the Fallen. And how John deals with him and the satisfaction afterwards is like a cool beer on a hot afternoon.
Part 3, Friends in High Places: Brendan was a bust and John's getting worse. So after advice from a friend, he's going to appeal to higher powers. This is something of a breather issue, introducing us to a few new characters (Ellie, the Snob and Charlie Patterson) that will play out over the rest of Ennis run in some form or another. The art style looks a little cleaner here, a bit more polished. This issue also marks a turning point in the story, where John realises that if he's going to beat this, he needs to do it his way. It also clues the reader into the sort of Constantine we'll see out of Ennis going forward. The kind of bloke who always has to do things his way.
Part 4, My Way: John's gearing up for the end. He's getting his affairs in order. And he's ready for one final conjob. I like the buildup in this issue. It's a very sombre affair with John settling debts with all his friends and family. The letters are well written and very saddening. It all spirals down into the climax of the book which ends on a gripping cliffhanger. Overall a solid issue.
Part 5, The Sting: John is committing suicide. His soul is damned for hell and The First of the Fallen has come to claim his prize. Except John has a trick up his sleeve. Something that involve's the First's brothers. I really like this issue. First of all the art work is stark and nasty, a mix of black shadows, white blank spaces and other flat colours used sparingly. Dialogue spoken by the demons is written in different fonts to differentiate them and to characterize them and its done really well without being illegible. And of course, it has that one immortal scene. You know the one I'm talking about. And if you don't read this issue.
Part 6, Falling into Hell: Realising the implications of what he's done in part 5, John's gone on a bender for a bit. Until on the third day, he bumps into an old friend. And the reality of what he did and how it affected his friends comes back to haunt him. In this final issue of Dangerous Habits, we're introduced to Kit Ryan, John's first major girlfriend since issue 1 and Ennis does a good job of characterising her. She's friendly and likeable without being overbearing. But the issue is also a sad send off as we see through the death of a minor character what could have happened to John.
And that's the start of Ennis's run. A solid, memorable follow-up to Delano's weird confusing dreamlike final run.
Next up we have Bloodlines.
The Devil you Know
The Fear Machine
The Family Man
And so we come to where it all began....
Okay not really, but for many people (probably myself include) this is where Hellblazer really comes into its own. It's where people truly begin to see John as what he is and what he is capable of doing. One thing you'll notice about each writer on Hellblazer is that their own interpretations of John Constantine are different in subtle small ways. Delano's run had a more poetic, introspective John, prone to philosophy and working alongside others. In addition, Delano's run ended on a weird metaphysical arc that - while explaining that John had a twin brother he killed in the womb - ended on a strange dreamlike issue that seemed a little too stuck up its own arse for my liking.
Meanwhile Garth Ennis's run however has a rougher version of John. Gone is the poetic prose. This John is more blunt, straightforward and blue collar, more prone to shit-stirring his enemies and pulling off crazy ballsy tricks. But Ennis's run doesn't start on a high note. Instead we have Dangerous Habits:
Part 1, The Beginning of the End: John is dying. Terminal lung cancer from a diet of 30 ciggys a day for 20 years. And he's stting there in Frank's cafe, thinking over how he got into this situation. Right out the gate, Ennis puts John's back up against the wall. There's no demons or ghosts here. The threat is very real and very human. And this first issue takes its time showing the horrors of the cancer and the reality of his mortality. One thing I'll say about this issue's art is that the style is very rough and minimalistic. The colours are washed out and drab. I'm not sure if this was intentional as a stylistic choice or it was just an artistic one, but I'm 50/50 on it. However I'll also give praise for Ennis's respect for continuity, with references to John's demon blood and the Golden Boy from Delano's run being referenced. Also as a quick note, I gotta give praise to Tom Canty's cover art from issues 41-50. I love this kind of surreal art.
Part 2, A Drop of the Hard Stuff: Looking for a way to cure his cancer, John travels up to Ireland to see his old mate Brendan Finn, a fellow magician and massive alcohol connossieur. But Brendan's got problems of his own and by midnight those problems will involve John. This is both a feel-good issue and a sad one. Ennis's penchant for exploring bloke friendships is on full display here as we get some long albeit warm-hearted explorations of John and Brendan's lives. We also get our introduction to Garth Ennis's first major villain to his run; The First of the Fallen. And how John deals with him and the satisfaction afterwards is like a cool beer on a hot afternoon.
Part 3, Friends in High Places: Brendan was a bust and John's getting worse. So after advice from a friend, he's going to appeal to higher powers. This is something of a breather issue, introducing us to a few new characters (Ellie, the Snob and Charlie Patterson) that will play out over the rest of Ennis run in some form or another. The art style looks a little cleaner here, a bit more polished. This issue also marks a turning point in the story, where John realises that if he's going to beat this, he needs to do it his way. It also clues the reader into the sort of Constantine we'll see out of Ennis going forward. The kind of bloke who always has to do things his way.
Part 4, My Way: John's gearing up for the end. He's getting his affairs in order. And he's ready for one final conjob. I like the buildup in this issue. It's a very sombre affair with John settling debts with all his friends and family. The letters are well written and very saddening. It all spirals down into the climax of the book which ends on a gripping cliffhanger. Overall a solid issue.
Part 5, The Sting: John is committing suicide. His soul is damned for hell and The First of the Fallen has come to claim his prize. Except John has a trick up his sleeve. Something that involve's the First's brothers. I really like this issue. First of all the art work is stark and nasty, a mix of black shadows, white blank spaces and other flat colours used sparingly. Dialogue spoken by the demons is written in different fonts to differentiate them and to characterize them and its done really well without being illegible. And of course, it has that one immortal scene. You know the one I'm talking about. And if you don't read this issue.
Part 6, Falling into Hell: Realising the implications of what he's done in part 5, John's gone on a bender for a bit. Until on the third day, he bumps into an old friend. And the reality of what he did and how it affected his friends comes back to haunt him. In this final issue of Dangerous Habits, we're introduced to Kit Ryan, John's first major girlfriend since issue 1 and Ennis does a good job of characterising her. She's friendly and likeable without being overbearing. But the issue is also a sad send off as we see through the death of a minor character what could have happened to John.
And that's the start of Ennis's run. A solid, memorable follow-up to Delano's weird confusing dreamlike final run.
Next up we have Bloodlines.
July 11, 2012
Loved Ennis's take on Contantine's lung cancer!
March 26, 2015
smoking, cursing, devils and trickery - everything you want from John Constantine.
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