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Hellblazer (Single Issues)
Hellblazer #76
Direct sales edition comic book published by DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint. An influential horror comic that stars John Constantine, a man at war with infernal powers. The basis for the movie Constantine.
29 pages, Comic
Published January 1, 1994
22 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,625 books3,172 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 of 1 review
August 20, 2015
I think Ennis means well whenever he writes break issues like this one. I would never consider them as meaningless fillers squeezed between major story arcs because I think these standalones really showcase the emotional depth and insight that he is very capable of in his writing. I maintain that he should write more stories like this as a guest writer as oppose to heard writer because, quite frankly, Dangerous Habits was the only excellent contribution he had for Hellblazer. That's not a harsh assessment at all. I just think Ennis tends to either write John Constantine stories as either slightly superfluous or too extreme. He can also be gratingly predictable his resolutions.
Like I said in another review, my overall reaction to Ennis as a Hellblazer writer is that of mild amusement; I'm not thoroughly excited when I read his issues nor am I completely bored. I'm in a safe place where there are no risks or disappointments (that was until issue #75 which was absolute bollocks). Not everything I have to say about Ennis is negative, of course. I truly must credit him for creating the character of Kit Ryan. She's the only female character in the series so far whom I felt was justly characterized. She was well-developed and sympathetic, and she wasn't simply there to suit a chauvinistic purpose for the plot (which is Delano's problem with the female characters he had written in his run; a few of them were really flat *coughs-Marj-coughs*).
This standalone issue is a follow-up to that bonus story from #75 which was a flashback scene concerning John's friendship with the then-couple Brendan and Kit. For this issue, John is visited by the ghost of Brendan who passed away in Dangerous Habits arc previously. Much like Constantine's 40th birthday issue, this was a simple tale about recounting the past and listing hopes for the future. It was honest enough to consider a strong and decent narrative even if the pacing was slow and uneventful in some places. This has become a pattern for Ennis' standalone. They serve as a checkpoint to measure the current status of John's psyche after going through a stressful ordeal. It's also a period of relaxation for readers that allows them to explore the other facets of John's complex layers.
In that sense, stories like this are necessary.
There's not much to say, though because at this point in the series with Ennis, I'm growing weary of his repetitive stylistic and storytelling choices. Some days I wish Delano was still writing the series although I much appreciate the lightness of Ennis' approach. The only problem is the depth becomes only skin-deep for his stories. Delano might be a goddamn motherfucker who hurts me emotionally and mentally with his gritty and highly tense stories, but he always has a meaningful and resonant message at the core of it all. With Ennis, there's always something missing. It's almost like he's prepared a perfectly acceptable main course, but forgets a key ingredient that makes all the difference in my appreciation for his stories. He leaves me feeling incomplete after finishing a story of his, particularly in his major arc. For standalones like this one, I can understand.
I don't know what to say anymore because I feel like I keep repeating my criticisms and compliments about him as a writer so I'm just going to stop here and say no more of it.
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
DO READ MY REVIEW AT:
Like I said in another review, my overall reaction to Ennis as a Hellblazer writer is that of mild amusement; I'm not thoroughly excited when I read his issues nor am I completely bored. I'm in a safe place where there are no risks or disappointments (that was until issue #75 which was absolute bollocks). Not everything I have to say about Ennis is negative, of course. I truly must credit him for creating the character of Kit Ryan. She's the only female character in the series so far whom I felt was justly characterized. She was well-developed and sympathetic, and she wasn't simply there to suit a chauvinistic purpose for the plot (which is Delano's problem with the female characters he had written in his run; a few of them were really flat *coughs-Marj-coughs*).
This standalone issue is a follow-up to that bonus story from #75 which was a flashback scene concerning John's friendship with the then-couple Brendan and Kit. For this issue, John is visited by the ghost of Brendan who passed away in Dangerous Habits arc previously. Much like Constantine's 40th birthday issue, this was a simple tale about recounting the past and listing hopes for the future. It was honest enough to consider a strong and decent narrative even if the pacing was slow and uneventful in some places. This has become a pattern for Ennis' standalone. They serve as a checkpoint to measure the current status of John's psyche after going through a stressful ordeal. It's also a period of relaxation for readers that allows them to explore the other facets of John's complex layers.
In that sense, stories like this are necessary.
There's not much to say, though because at this point in the series with Ennis, I'm growing weary of his repetitive stylistic and storytelling choices. Some days I wish Delano was still writing the series although I much appreciate the lightness of Ennis' approach. The only problem is the depth becomes only skin-deep for his stories. Delano might be a goddamn motherfucker who hurts me emotionally and mentally with his gritty and highly tense stories, but he always has a meaningful and resonant message at the core of it all. With Ennis, there's always something missing. It's almost like he's prepared a perfectly acceptable main course, but forgets a key ingredient that makes all the difference in my appreciation for his stories. He leaves me feeling incomplete after finishing a story of his, particularly in his major arc. For standalones like this one, I can understand.
I don't know what to say anymore because I feel like I keep repeating my criticisms and compliments about him as a writer so I'm just going to stop here and say no more of it.
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
DO READ MY REVIEW AT:
Displaying 1 of 1 review