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Hellblazer: One-shots
Hellblazer: Pandemonium
When an alluring Muslim woman catches John Constantine's eye, she also brings trouble clattering to his doorstep: a bombing in a London museum, mysterious ancient Sumerian artifacts, a terrifying creature running rampant with renegade intentions…
To save his life and freedom, Constantine embarks on a desperate trail blazing from the back streets of London to the detainment centers and battlegrounds of contemporary Iraq – where the man who's seen everything will witness a modern-day horror unlike anything he could ever have imagined. HELLBLAZER: PANDEMONIUM brings original HELLBLAZER writer Jamie Delano together with fan-favorite artist Jock to tell a tale about war and terror in a horror story tailor-made for the 21st century.
To save his life and freedom, Constantine embarks on a desperate trail blazing from the back streets of London to the detainment centers and battlegrounds of contemporary Iraq – where the man who's seen everything will witness a modern-day horror unlike anything he could ever have imagined. HELLBLAZER: PANDEMONIUM brings original HELLBLAZER writer Jamie Delano together with fan-favorite artist Jock to tell a tale about war and terror in a horror story tailor-made for the 21st century.
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2008
3 people are currently reading
344 people want to read
About the author
Jamie Delano
462 books348 followersJamie Delano aka A. William James began writing comics professionally in the early 1980s. Latterly he has been writing prose fiction with "BOOK THIRTEEN" published by his own LEPUS BOOKS imprint (http://www.lepusbooks.co.uk) in 2012, "Leepus | DIZZY" in April 2014, and "Leepus | THE RIVER" in 2017.
Jamie lives in semi-rural Northamptonshire with his partner, Sue. They have three adult children and a considerable distraction of grandchildren.
Jamie lives in semi-rural Northamptonshire with his partner, Sue. They have three adult children and a considerable distraction of grandchildren.
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April 18, 2011Jamie Delano didn't invent Constantine, but he invented him. He didn't invent him, because Alan Moore did, but he invented him the way the first person to play a character in a Broadway show invents the character, fills it with life. Sure Constantine appeared in Swamp Thing before he had his own series, but he was a mystery in Swamp Thing. In Hellblazer he's a cypher -- we know him but only so much as to know we don't fully know him. It's not that he has countless tricks up his sleeves, it's that he has countless sleeves.
There's enough back story packed into the first single issue of Hellblazer to play out for decades, and that has proved to be the truth. Numerous writers took on Constantine after Delano left the series, and here he returns with a standalone volume. In it, Constantine enters the vortex of the war on terror. Enticed by a hijab honeypot, he ends up deep in the Middle East, forced by NATO (well, at least by the U.S. and Britain) to interrogate what turns out to be -- this is Constantine -- not a terrorist, but terror itself: an ancient demon who's entered our plane, feeding off the death and fear and violence of modern warfare.
The art is by Jock, who also drew the Green Arrow graphic novel I read recently and didn't think much of (the retold origin story, Year One, one written by Andy Diggle). Here, it's as if he's a different artist. I have no knowledge of the direction he was given or the conditions under which he worked, but if Green Arrow is all loosely constructed poster pages that are the comic equivalent of a movie filmed on an inexpensive multi-use set, Hellblazer: Pandemonium is a powerfully rendered graphic story, moving easily from public to private spaces, from the West to the Middle East, from Earth to Hell. Every other page has some stark image that you'll want to stare at for a moment before moving on.
Constantine is Constantine here, older, wearier, less in control of himself, and still able to surprise. Despite the change of scenery and the adopted gravitas of an ongoing, real-life situation, the structure is familiar. There's a third act that goes a little too quickly, and a brief fourth one that provides some easy if rewarding comeuppance.
What it isn't is fun. One thing the story lacks is humor. There was a wryness to Delano's Constantine at its best. Much of it was parody: of class, of convention, of superheroes, of yuppies (it was of its moment), of fantasy, of religion. There's no parody here, no laughs, not even dark ones. Perhaps humor was a casualty of war.
There's enough back story packed into the first single issue of Hellblazer to play out for decades, and that has proved to be the truth. Numerous writers took on Constantine after Delano left the series, and here he returns with a standalone volume. In it, Constantine enters the vortex of the war on terror. Enticed by a hijab honeypot, he ends up deep in the Middle East, forced by NATO (well, at least by the U.S. and Britain) to interrogate what turns out to be -- this is Constantine -- not a terrorist, but terror itself: an ancient demon who's entered our plane, feeding off the death and fear and violence of modern warfare.
The art is by Jock, who also drew the Green Arrow graphic novel I read recently and didn't think much of (the retold origin story, Year One, one written by Andy Diggle). Here, it's as if he's a different artist. I have no knowledge of the direction he was given or the conditions under which he worked, but if Green Arrow is all loosely constructed poster pages that are the comic equivalent of a movie filmed on an inexpensive multi-use set, Hellblazer: Pandemonium is a powerfully rendered graphic story, moving easily from public to private spaces, from the West to the Middle East, from Earth to Hell. Every other page has some stark image that you'll want to stare at for a moment before moving on.
Constantine is Constantine here, older, wearier, less in control of himself, and still able to surprise. Despite the change of scenery and the adopted gravitas of an ongoing, real-life situation, the structure is familiar. There's a third act that goes a little too quickly, and a brief fourth one that provides some easy if rewarding comeuppance.
What it isn't is fun. One thing the story lacks is humor. There was a wryness to Delano's Constantine at its best. Much of it was parody: of class, of convention, of superheroes, of yuppies (it was of its moment), of fantasy, of religion. There's no parody here, no laughs, not even dark ones. Perhaps humor was a casualty of war.
June 30, 2019
(This review was originally published by GraphicNovelReporter on March 1, 2011)
John Constantine has made deals with the devil, fought back the apocalypse, survived death itself, and been to the depths of hell and back again. In Pandemonium, he finds himself in the center of a hell unlike any other he's had the displeasure of facing—the frontlines of the Iraq war.
After a chance meeting with a Muslim woman, Aseera al-Aswari, and a bombing at the British Museum of Arts, Constantine finds himself conscripted by the British government to help interrogate a captive hostile. The hostile is a demonic scavenger caught rooting through the carnage following a car bombing, stealing the last bits of energy from the dying wounded. His interrogators are cursed with supernatural afflictions that drive them insane, leaving it up to Constantine and al-Aswari to unravel his secrets.
Snarky and distrusting, not to mention manipulative, Constantine is a strong anti-hero with a habit of playing both sides against one another in order to ensure he always comes out ahead. Equal parts sorcerer and scam artist, he is uncannily lucky, highly skilled at reading people, and oftentimes just a step or two ahead of everybody else. He's a bit of a supernatural detective built from the staples of hard-boiled crime fiction gumshoes like Philip Marlowe, clad in PI-standard trench coat with cigarettes at the ready.
Jamie Delano has a strong grip on the character, and makes Constantine effortlessly charming and relatable, despite his flaws. Having been the first writer on Vertigo's monthly Hellblazer comic book, he penned several years' worth of stories back in the 1980s. In a series that will soon be closing in on its 300-issue milestone, he set the stage for writers such as Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, and Brian Azzarello to come and play. Returning to the character for this original graphic novel, Delano is instantly familiar and comfortable with his old stomping grounds and wastes no time before shoving Constantine into a new environment to face familiar problems.
Joining Delano is Jock, an illustrator best known for his work on another Vertigo title, The Losers. His work is highly stylized, but not always consistent. His imagery of Iraq and London are both well-handled, each surprisingly beautiful in their own ways. The sunrises and sunsets of each locale both give the reader an instant familiarity of life in those locales, and his imagery of Iraq brings forth clear reminders of the damage that has been inflicted upon both the country and its people. His scenery is incredibly well constructed and his page and panel layouts are easy to follow, but his portraiture is occasionally messy and inconsistent. Although it's easy to discern characters, details oftentimes become muddied and the geometrics of his characters undergo odd changes. Constantine is variably depicted as having a lean look with a strong jaw line, while at other times he appears more angular and sharply pointed, or rounder and softer.
Given that the lead character, writer, and artist are all British, it seems a no-brainer that Pandemonium has a very British sensibility to it and is immediately different from most American comics. Although it starts off with a bang, much of the story is more subdued, only briefly punctuated by big action scenes. There are moments of horror and violence, but the story itself is deliberately paced and wordy. This is not a bad thing by any means, but it is a book that requires attention and effort and it will reward those with the initiative. It is a mystery story with overtones and glimpses of horror and supernatural fare. It is also highly political. The story being told here functions on several levels beyond just mere entertainment. Delano is crafting a careful parable, presenting war itself as a high-stakes poker game in which human life is bet and wagered upon, drawing very strong parallels between the demons who thrive on mankind's follies and the politically powerful who make warfare possible.
John Constantine has made deals with the devil, fought back the apocalypse, survived death itself, and been to the depths of hell and back again. In Pandemonium, he finds himself in the center of a hell unlike any other he's had the displeasure of facing—the frontlines of the Iraq war.
After a chance meeting with a Muslim woman, Aseera al-Aswari, and a bombing at the British Museum of Arts, Constantine finds himself conscripted by the British government to help interrogate a captive hostile. The hostile is a demonic scavenger caught rooting through the carnage following a car bombing, stealing the last bits of energy from the dying wounded. His interrogators are cursed with supernatural afflictions that drive them insane, leaving it up to Constantine and al-Aswari to unravel his secrets.
Snarky and distrusting, not to mention manipulative, Constantine is a strong anti-hero with a habit of playing both sides against one another in order to ensure he always comes out ahead. Equal parts sorcerer and scam artist, he is uncannily lucky, highly skilled at reading people, and oftentimes just a step or two ahead of everybody else. He's a bit of a supernatural detective built from the staples of hard-boiled crime fiction gumshoes like Philip Marlowe, clad in PI-standard trench coat with cigarettes at the ready.
Jamie Delano has a strong grip on the character, and makes Constantine effortlessly charming and relatable, despite his flaws. Having been the first writer on Vertigo's monthly Hellblazer comic book, he penned several years' worth of stories back in the 1980s. In a series that will soon be closing in on its 300-issue milestone, he set the stage for writers such as Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, and Brian Azzarello to come and play. Returning to the character for this original graphic novel, Delano is instantly familiar and comfortable with his old stomping grounds and wastes no time before shoving Constantine into a new environment to face familiar problems.
Joining Delano is Jock, an illustrator best known for his work on another Vertigo title, The Losers. His work is highly stylized, but not always consistent. His imagery of Iraq and London are both well-handled, each surprisingly beautiful in their own ways. The sunrises and sunsets of each locale both give the reader an instant familiarity of life in those locales, and his imagery of Iraq brings forth clear reminders of the damage that has been inflicted upon both the country and its people. His scenery is incredibly well constructed and his page and panel layouts are easy to follow, but his portraiture is occasionally messy and inconsistent. Although it's easy to discern characters, details oftentimes become muddied and the geometrics of his characters undergo odd changes. Constantine is variably depicted as having a lean look with a strong jaw line, while at other times he appears more angular and sharply pointed, or rounder and softer.
Given that the lead character, writer, and artist are all British, it seems a no-brainer that Pandemonium has a very British sensibility to it and is immediately different from most American comics. Although it starts off with a bang, much of the story is more subdued, only briefly punctuated by big action scenes. There are moments of horror and violence, but the story itself is deliberately paced and wordy. This is not a bad thing by any means, but it is a book that requires attention and effort and it will reward those with the initiative. It is a mystery story with overtones and glimpses of horror and supernatural fare. It is also highly political. The story being told here functions on several levels beyond just mere entertainment. Delano is crafting a careful parable, presenting war itself as a high-stakes poker game in which human life is bet and wagered upon, drawing very strong parallels between the demons who thrive on mankind's follies and the politically powerful who make warfare possible.
October 12, 2023
Being a huge fan of the Hellblazer title and Dealno's work on it, it was imperative that I got hold of this graphic novel. Delano's run remains one of my favorites because of his masterfull and balanced portrail of Constantine. Delano deftly writes the character as both someone who is, on the surface, an absolute bastard but who really is ultimetly a man who operates within a specific and actually very laudable moral code. He is characterized by Delano as someone with considerable flaws and addicitons (be it compulsive smoking and drinking, an unresistable urge to poke his nose into the weirdness the world exhibits on occasion and to adrenaline rushes) but that ultimetly does the "right thing". He has a keen disregard for autoritive figures and is completly unprejudiced against everyone except those who impose their wills upon others, regardless of the consequences. Delano's characterization of Constantine is not the only thing that makes his work on the title stand-out, however. His stories often display a humorous sardonic wit and sharp political satire and criticism. "Pandemonium" is no exception.
In this graphic novel, Constantine has to contend with two very different kinds of authoritive forces- the govermment of the United States (who frame him for terrorist bombing in order to have Constantine handling for them a matter for which his particular set of skills are particularly suited) and a demon king that feeds the furnaces of Hell with the death, hatred and fear that fuel the war on Iraq. Constantine is thus taken to the middle of the EUA-Iraq conflict, much to his dislike. Constantine, forced to comply with a govermment he loathes, plays everybody and every "thing" in order to attain an end that serves his moral paramemters which, as I have written, are hardly something to frown upon.
"Pandemonium" is a graphic novel that is writen with sharp and humorous dialogue that serve a well plotted story that is filled to the brim with the sardonic wit, cynicism and political satire one has come to expect of Jamie Delano's work on Hellblazer.
In this graphic novel, Constantine has to contend with two very different kinds of authoritive forces- the govermment of the United States (who frame him for terrorist bombing in order to have Constantine handling for them a matter for which his particular set of skills are particularly suited) and a demon king that feeds the furnaces of Hell with the death, hatred and fear that fuel the war on Iraq. Constantine is thus taken to the middle of the EUA-Iraq conflict, much to his dislike. Constantine, forced to comply with a govermment he loathes, plays everybody and every "thing" in order to attain an end that serves his moral paramemters which, as I have written, are hardly something to frown upon.
"Pandemonium" is a graphic novel that is writen with sharp and humorous dialogue that serve a well plotted story that is filled to the brim with the sardonic wit, cynicism and political satire one has come to expect of Jamie Delano's work on Hellblazer.
September 17, 2015
Oh, This was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Anytime Jamie Delano writes Constantine, you know it's going to be pretty epic. And it's double the fun with PANDEMONIUM, with Jock doing the pencils. Both talents are unrivalled. And they deliver a rich, and unprecedented body of work. Jamie Delano writes consciously about subjects that no one in the Comic Book Industry can write with equal cojones and impartial perspective. In the first Hellblazer issues it was about Thatcher, with Pandemonium he's written about the War in Iraq, the war on terror, and at first you feel like going, "C'mon, not another one of those," but it's Jamie Delano for chrissakes. It's going to be poetic and objective and smack you right in the face with its bluntness and truth.
In Pandemonium, Constantine is aged, he seems, not much more mature, but a lot more rundown, worn out. It's a cool thing to see him, not just apathetic, but capable of great compassion as well. He's still selfish. Yes, but at least he's being cruel, just to be kind. Aseera was a cool character, not cliche--strong and opinionated but capable of right judgement. Would love to see more of her.
All in all, an awesome book.
In Pandemonium, Constantine is aged, he seems, not much more mature, but a lot more rundown, worn out. It's a cool thing to see him, not just apathetic, but capable of great compassion as well. He's still selfish. Yes, but at least he's being cruel, just to be kind. Aseera was a cool character, not cliche--strong and opinionated but capable of right judgement. Would love to see more of her.
All in all, an awesome book.
March 19, 2021
War is Hell. So they say. Unless you are part of the military industrial complex, in which case war is a paycheck and a steady job. Fuck the soldiers and the innocents who pay the real price.
In 2010, writer Jamie Delano penned a stand-alone Hellblazer graphic novel entitled “Pandemonium”, illustrated by Jock. In 127 pages, it is perhaps the most surprisingly caustic and inflammatory castigation of the Iraq War that I have ever read. I say “surprising” only because I did not expect such a forthright examination of war in the pages of a comic book. Especially in a Hellblazer comic. Then again, it kind of makes perfect sense.
In this issue, Constantine is “recruited” (i.e. tricked into, against his will) by military intelligence to investigate an Iraqi prisoner of war, one that seems to have an unusual effect on his captors and torturers. This prisoner exudes some kind of supernatural force that makes his torturers and prison guards want to harm themselves: the torturer becomes the tortured.
When dark forces attack the base, Constantine and a young Iraqi woman named Aseema, working (also against her will) with the military, escape into the desert. They are captured by the enemy and killed. From there, they go to Hell.
For most people, this would be traumatic, to say the least. But Constantine’s already been to Hell, several times. Death, for him, is a minor inconvenience. Being the Con-man that he is, he decides to make a gamble: a game of poker with the Lords of the Underworld. The stakes? His and Aseema’s eternal souls. If you can’t guess how this game ends, you don’t know Constantine.
Everything about this graphic novel is classic Constantine: cynical, unrepentant, and fatalistic. To the soldiers and the innocents, war is evil. To the politicians and the warmongers, war is a lucrative business. Constantine, however, knows that war truly is hell, because he also knows that the inverse is a truism: Hell is war. For our souls.
In 2010, writer Jamie Delano penned a stand-alone Hellblazer graphic novel entitled “Pandemonium”, illustrated by Jock. In 127 pages, it is perhaps the most surprisingly caustic and inflammatory castigation of the Iraq War that I have ever read. I say “surprising” only because I did not expect such a forthright examination of war in the pages of a comic book. Especially in a Hellblazer comic. Then again, it kind of makes perfect sense.
In this issue, Constantine is “recruited” (i.e. tricked into, against his will) by military intelligence to investigate an Iraqi prisoner of war, one that seems to have an unusual effect on his captors and torturers. This prisoner exudes some kind of supernatural force that makes his torturers and prison guards want to harm themselves: the torturer becomes the tortured.
When dark forces attack the base, Constantine and a young Iraqi woman named Aseema, working (also against her will) with the military, escape into the desert. They are captured by the enemy and killed. From there, they go to Hell.
For most people, this would be traumatic, to say the least. But Constantine’s already been to Hell, several times. Death, for him, is a minor inconvenience. Being the Con-man that he is, he decides to make a gamble: a game of poker with the Lords of the Underworld. The stakes? His and Aseema’s eternal souls. If you can’t guess how this game ends, you don’t know Constantine.
Everything about this graphic novel is classic Constantine: cynical, unrepentant, and fatalistic. To the soldiers and the innocents, war is evil. To the politicians and the warmongers, war is a lucrative business. Constantine, however, knows that war truly is hell, because he also knows that the inverse is a truism: Hell is war. For our souls.
February 16, 2010
Was quite looking forward to this book. I've wanted to get into Hellblazer for quite sometime and I'm a huge fan of Jock's art (His current stuff on Detective Comics is awesome btw). However, i wasn't as entertained as I was expecting. I thought Jock's art at times evoked a feeling of suffocating heat and was pleased as always by it. I found the prose to be quite heavy and I found myself confused as to where the plot was going for the most part. I also thought the pacing was a little off as well. I'm going to give this book another read in the next few weeks and see what I think of it then.
November 13, 2010
With Jamie Delano at the helm, Constantine is in true form. The artwork is interesting and definitely evocative of the places portrayed.
But the plot is a bit muddled, the prose a bit thick, and the moral perhaps a bit heavy-handed.
All told, not a bad addition to the series, but far from my favorite.
But the plot is a bit muddled, the prose a bit thick, and the moral perhaps a bit heavy-handed.
All told, not a bad addition to the series, but far from my favorite.
August 8, 2010
too friggin wordy
July 18, 2010
Spectacular writing - incredibly imaginative use of language as metaphor and... Mental painting of imagery.
June 3, 2015
Road Trip! -- Constantine leaves dreary wet England for the dry desert of war-torn Iraq.
December 8, 2017
I don't get the hype with this comic. It was boring, pretentious and predictable. I hate the art but can easily see why someone would like it, but the text is simply pretentious. Constantine has none of his wittiness. The story is not original - spirits playing poker with souls as the metaphysical force behind war. Constantine had revolutionary ideas when it was created, like demons trading souls in a system akin to the stock market, this is just reinventing the wheel. The characters are flat, the sexual tension is basically one sided until the moment they have sex, and the story borders on racist sometimes. (it´s not a fully racist thing and I see the authors are certainly appreciative of middle eastern culture but.)
The moment of revelation when we are told the creature being held hostage by the USA is a Jinn does not come as a surprise at all. I wonder why Constantine, an experienced occultist who spent his life learning about the paranormal would call a Jinn a genie. What. The. Fuck. tbh.
The detail of the red eyes was nice since Jinns have eyes of fire.
Honestly I struggled to read it which rarely happens with any comic book, let alone a Constantine one.
The moment of revelation when we are told the creature being held hostage by the USA is a Jinn does not come as a surprise at all. I wonder why Constantine, an experienced occultist who spent his life learning about the paranormal would call a Jinn a genie. What. The. Fuck. tbh.
The detail of the red eyes was nice since Jinns have eyes of fire.
Honestly I struggled to read it which rarely happens with any comic book, let alone a Constantine one.
Read
July 8, 2024Jamie Delano returned to Hellblazer a few times after his run ended at issue 40 in 1991. This, a standalone story published in 2010 right before the New 52 wiped away the original series, is up there with his best work. It’s a thoughtful and unsettling saga that takes John to war-torn Iraq. Delano’s writing loses none of its intelligence and political bite, while his characterization of John as a bastard of the purest order is spot on. I love how Delano writes him. The story is about those who leech off war, both demons and humans, with John reacting to it all exactly as you'd expect him to. An evocative, poetic, and entertaining read.
October 31, 2018
Maybe I was too tired when I read this or maybe the subject doesn't agree with me. The whole graphic novel hinges on an unsavory aspect and it isn't one that I would associate with most Hellblazer work. I honestly did not like the fact that a woman was used as bait for John. Everything that radiates from this plot lynchpin has a bad smell to it. It may have tainted my whole reading of the book and interpretation of what was going on.
I didn't feel good reading it. It felt voyeuristic in a negative way.
I didn't feel good reading it. It felt voyeuristic in a negative way.
June 21, 2021
Jamie Delano writes the best Hellblazer stories, giving John Constantine just enough heart, but also flicking out barbs & razorblades, mostly where needed, but also knowing that some innocent blood will inevitably be spilled even with the (almost) best of intentions. This tale is Iraqi-set and even 11 years on from when it was first released, the sun, sand, gunshells & horrors of war still ring true...with the added spice of demons and ancient gods restlessly eager to claim the souls of combatants and civilians alike...
October 20, 2020
The author of classic tales of John Constantine such as The Fear Machine, The Family Man, & Dead Boy's Heart gives his last great statement on the character. To say nothing of the career best art from Jock
November 26, 2017
3.5* - felt like old-school Hellblazer, which is always a plus.
July 7, 2018
It's a Really good Comic and It's fun to watch them play Cards in Hell
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2019
This was a cool Hellblazer tale set in Iraq. I may be bias but I think John Shirley's Warlord is a much cooler Hellblazer in Iraq story.
March 6, 2020
Constantine goes to war. You wing be surpluses that he finds a terror or 3.
September 21, 2020
Satisfyingly political.
November 1, 2020
I really loved this - great language - both visually and in the writing. A perfect blend.
January 18, 2021
I loved it!
July 23, 2021
Great tale - I recommend it!
February 9, 2023
Constantine is tricked into handling a djinn ring held as a POW. Funky story and Jock’s art for the first few pages is really off for me- not my favorite story, overly wordy
March 5, 2024
The only problem I have with this is Delano's dialogue. It's too flowery. A tangle of words that people never actually speak. Other than that - great stuff.
And Jock's art us always worth a look.
And Jock's art us always worth a look.
March 21, 2024
The story was pretty cool, the art didn't reel me in as much though.
November 15, 2025
Re-read this today. Bought and originally read it when it came out. It's excellent stuff: no one gets Constantine's voice quite like Delano. The subject is war, specifically the various Gulf Wars, and the Djinn and Nergal make an appearance. John ends up in Hell (or a version of it) - again and has to play a game of poker using weird cards, with the stakes being his and his companion's return to life versus eternal damnation. So, a typical Tuesday for John Constantine, Hellblazer. Delano adds his usual political commentary and all in all it's a whole lot of awful fun.
May 5, 2017
This is fantastic. I read it right on the heels of Original Sins, the first John Constantine book written decades before by the same author. The maturity gained in between by the writer and by the character is evident and welcome. Constantine the character is even twenty years older in this book than his first, and the years look much better on him than did his youth, which didn't really fit the tone of the book.
Furthermore, I appreciate greatly how the story transcends the boundaries of judeo-christian typical spirituality. One of the major weaknesses I saw in the earlier Constantine stories was the choking of the broad fantasy roots in which Alan Moore had planted the character in Swamp Thing, back to a thin an immature sort of upside-down sendup of Christian demonology. In contrast, this book finds Constantine in the Middle East, still among monotheistic people of the book, but definitely in a much broader and older spiritual world, one in which the reader cannot assume the rules of the Bible to always apply.
The book is faithful to the character as it takes him into a war zone while maintaining his fierce autonomy. He's a bastard, but you love him. The political commentary is wickedly poignant. The writer's political beliefs were obvious in his first book, decades before, but clumsy. Here, he weaves the supernatural take deftly in service of the greater themes of real political human cruelty and violence and war.
My absolute favourite element was the femme fatale character, who is written unlike any other character of that type that I have ever read. Without giving much away, she is introduced in a burka, yet successfully manages to be a honeypot for our protagonist, while also giving her a strong, independent, feminine character and essential role in the story. This is not an easy feat by any means, and I love how beautifully third-wave feminist it is, so radically different while seeming so effortless, and serving the story perfectly.
And the art is gorgeous.
I highly recommend this book. I may buy it.
Furthermore, I appreciate greatly how the story transcends the boundaries of judeo-christian typical spirituality. One of the major weaknesses I saw in the earlier Constantine stories was the choking of the broad fantasy roots in which Alan Moore had planted the character in Swamp Thing, back to a thin an immature sort of upside-down sendup of Christian demonology. In contrast, this book finds Constantine in the Middle East, still among monotheistic people of the book, but definitely in a much broader and older spiritual world, one in which the reader cannot assume the rules of the Bible to always apply.
The book is faithful to the character as it takes him into a war zone while maintaining his fierce autonomy. He's a bastard, but you love him. The political commentary is wickedly poignant. The writer's political beliefs were obvious in his first book, decades before, but clumsy. Here, he weaves the supernatural take deftly in service of the greater themes of real political human cruelty and violence and war.
My absolute favourite element was the femme fatale character, who is written unlike any other character of that type that I have ever read. Without giving much away, she is introduced in a burka, yet successfully manages to be a honeypot for our protagonist, while also giving her a strong, independent, feminine character and essential role in the story. This is not an easy feat by any means, and I love how beautifully third-wave feminist it is, so radically different while seeming so effortless, and serving the story perfectly.
And the art is gorgeous.
I highly recommend this book. I may buy it.
February 17, 2016
I'd been wanting to read this for awhile and found it discounted in Forbidden Planet on Monday. It was pretty flawless.
I think the last comic I read that had CCTV in it was V for Vendetta. There it was a warning. Here it was a reality of life in Britain in the 21st century. This book, despite being a story about a magician fighting demons, was biting social commentary. It addressed the depressing way things are in Britain and the dangers of the US military, and the never ending war in Iraq. It was written 5 years ago and as such seemed a tiny bit dated but I believe things have only gotten worse since then.
The only thing that let this down was the card playing showdown with the demons. I felt something a bit more original would have been in keeping with the rest of the story. But it was gorgeous, beautifully written and terribly damning. The characterisation of an older Constantine worked very well. Bitter and trudging along. The Iraqi woman leading him on was mulit-layered and interesting, each development revealing more about who she was.
Definitely one I'd recommend.
I think the last comic I read that had CCTV in it was V for Vendetta. There it was a warning. Here it was a reality of life in Britain in the 21st century. This book, despite being a story about a magician fighting demons, was biting social commentary. It addressed the depressing way things are in Britain and the dangers of the US military, and the never ending war in Iraq. It was written 5 years ago and as such seemed a tiny bit dated but I believe things have only gotten worse since then.
The only thing that let this down was the card playing showdown with the demons. I felt something a bit more original would have been in keeping with the rest of the story. But it was gorgeous, beautifully written and terribly damning. The characterisation of an older Constantine worked very well. Bitter and trudging along. The Iraqi woman leading him on was mulit-layered and interesting, each development revealing more about who she was.
Definitely one I'd recommend.
June 7, 2015
John Constantine might be the product of Thatcher-era politics, but that doesn't stop him from meddling in current affairs in the Middle East. The theory that this book suggests is that the conflict in the area is stirred up by none other than Constantine's oldest demonic foe: Nergal. THe demon and his cohorts are knowns to be bastions of greed, pestilence, and most importantly violence, so this back story fits quite well. Constantine is brought unwillinging into the mix by British intelligence to sort out what looks to be a possessed insurgent - who happens to cause a sort of mania when not sedated. As per usual, Constantine gets out without a scratch on a lucky bet (demonic poker does not look like a very logical game), but he brings back the possessing-demon (actually a Djinn) to wreak havoc on the Home Office. Slight suggestion to keep their influence (and Constantine) on home soil, rather than the Middle East, eh?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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