Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #112-114

"What better way to conquer a man than bludgeon him over the head with his greatest fear? Examine the situation and you'll find it's everything I'm afraid of. The vicious old bastard's is going to kill my friends one by one, which is just what I was counting on."

(Once again, I decided to combine three issues for one review mainly because I want to save time since I'm a busy bloke with a full-time job and barely able to manage juggling several things a week. I wanted to take it easy too when I write these reviews too. Mentally speaking, I'm no longer as sprightly as I used to be, and fatigue can be quite the arsehole. But I digress.)

The five-issued arc Last Man Standing went better than I expected for its next three installments. It's not something I particularly got too invested in, true, but the writing was grounded enough that any small inconsistencies in between where the plot was concerned can be easily overlooked. Was I a tad disappointed that the storyline about the Eternals, King Arthur and Merlin didn't go anywhere that's refreshing and exciting? Maybe. But based on the bulk of content going back to issues #108-109 that are related to the main arc itself, I got the sense that the Arthurian plot was only secondary to the fact that this was a character-centric story that delved on how much John Constantine has become a better man than the miserable bastard we first got acquainted with during Jamie Delano's era and possibly even for Ennis's. 

If I could summarize Last Man Standing, I'd say foremost that it's a serviceable arc whose greatest strength was that it confirmed once and for all that although John Constantine is still surly and cynical for the most part, at least he's not completely a defeatist anymore who always has to manipulate and con himself out the worst situations he got himself into to begin with. I would recommend Jenkin's era so far to someone who became interested in the character because of, say, his adaptation for NBC or in the Arrowverse's spin-off Legends of Tomorrow, per se, since I feel the version played by Matt Ryan can easily fit into any of the issues written by said author so far.

++++++

ISSUE #112: The cliffhanger from the last issue revealed that Rich, one of John's more recent mates, was the reincarnation of King Arthur of Albion. This issue essentially felt like a filler to me in most ways, but only because it didn't center on John and more on Rich's journey to his former self as the rightful heir of a broken kingdom. I confess that since I took a very long hiatus from this title that I barely even remember Rich as a character, but he and John do seem very comfortable around each other as mates, and he even designated John to be the godfather to his second child once they're born. It's amusing to me that after Rich encounters Jack, the guardian of the forests in old lore, he begins to recall that he was indeed Arthur, and that the box, the so-called 'Holy Grail', possesses a secret whose heavy burden he wished he could relinquish soon. So Rich brings the box home and shows John what was inside while the rest of Merlin's party clamor to get to that box too. I won't bother spelling his other name here again because it's just Merlin, the 'Dragon'. Unlike the last two issues, Jenkins decided not to keep us hanging with another cliffhanger and instead reveals that the box contained no other than Bran the Blessed's decapitated head.

RECOMMENDED: 7/10

ISSUE #113: I'd consider it fair to say that the penultimate issue is the best of the five. Out of all of them, this one brought back the focus back on John, the titular hero of the series to begin with, and what really stood out to me was how much most of the narrative is plain exposition for this installment. At first, I thought it was just an editorial style for Jenkins, who would rather tell the readers what's going on instead of showing us through more action and dialogue-based panels. 

But as soon as I reached the last page, I realized that it was a trick so that we readers were also kept in the dark for the 'con' John is trying to pull here once Merlin got to all his friends and was getting ready to torture and kill them before John. I didn't mind the exposition since it gave me the two pages below which was revelatory of our antihero's state of mind. In my review of 111, I specified that I wanted to get to know Dani a little better, but so far she's still more or less on the backseat of things with no definable traits save that she's devoted to John. 

It was notable that in that page below, she didn't seem frightened of John's past which I assume was what he revealed here, and it wasn't surprising because of her line of work. She's introduced herself as a 'journalist', when really it's for a tabloid about conspiracy theories and weird stuff, and I guess maybe a part of her believes in the paranormal because of that? It's all speculation on my part as a reader, honestly, until Jenkins decided to go somewhere with this so-called serious relationship he's hitched John with.

Look, I have to raise an important observation I feel is worth discussing, and that is the fact that so much has changed about the tonality of Hellblazer that it's jarring only because the stories seem comparably bland to the earlier eras, and I believe that has a lot to do with John turning a new leaf. I'd hate to say that he's a boring character now because that would diminish the emotional growth he's experienced after all he's been through with Newcastle, Family Man, the Damnation Army, his back-and-forth courtship dance with First of the Fallen, his lung cancer, resolution of his daddy issues, and the demise of his relationship with the love of his life Kit Ryan. All I'm saying was those conflicts defined Hellblazer as a series  because we were shown who John is as a character, how and why his friends tend to die or leave him, as well as the reckless ways he'd cope and inflict more pain for himself. But for Jenkin's era, particularly this arc, he's just telling us how John changed, and we have to believe it for now because there were earlier issues that touched upon that this is the current direction for his characterization. 

As much as I like the idea that he has to literally severe his baggage and trauma so he can finally be happy, I'd like the caliber of the writing to much that poignant angle. Right now I'm still at odds as to whether or not Jenkins could really give me something worth sinking my teeth into so that when I come back here on this blog to share my insights, it just won't be me rehashing the same stuff I already touched upon in previous reviews. That's what's been happening at the moment. 

Take for example these new characters that surround John; they're all forgettable, especially Dani, which was a shame, because we've seen how a character like her--a girlfriend to John Constantine--can flourish in the hands of a capable writer. I am more likely to recall his other friends whom he sacrificed and got killed rather than this lot whom we are just told are good influences on John. Aside from Rich, I can't even distinguish the other blokes from one another. Who the fuck are they aside from fleeting side characters I don't even think about when they're not on page? I just want something more than hollow descriptions of characters and ones who influence the story. At least Johnny's old friends were memorable even if they did get the worst fates imaginable on the grounds they're connected to him. Maybe the problem with Jenkins' era was the lack of high stakes and character conflict.

Still, this issue, was the better of the other four. That is until I examined it too closely then picked it apart which is what I did just now.

RECOMMENDED:  7/10

ISSUE #114: At this point I'm probably more generous than I need to be with how I rated the last three issues of the Last Man Standing arc but only because I still want to give Paul Jenkins a chance. All the stories he's penned had potentials simmering under the surface, and I still think he's competent enough of a writer to flesh out these characters he created who now seem to be a permanent fixture in John's life. As for the main storyline about the Eternals Holy Grail--oh man, it's been so underwhelming and went nowhere but to be resolved peacefully after John pulled some clever trick that was impressive but nonetheless meh. I literally had seen him pull off better last-minute cons.

I must confess that while I was reading, it's been entertaining. I kept turning the page not so much because I'm excited and invested in the events but more so because I'm eager to see if the pay-off will be rewarding. It wasn't, but again, I'll overlook it. The thing about this arc was that it's not necessarily bad; it just didn't have enough build-up it could flourish from, and Jenkins spent too much on exposition instead of giving us more action sequences that whatever suspense that could be had was left to the reader's imagination. That's not a good thing for a visual medium like comics. I've also reached a point in which I'm starting to care less about John himself, and that is a horrifying cardinal sin. I think it's because--up until this plot twist about feeding Bran the Blessed's head to his friends in a stew (oh yeah, that was thrilling)--he seemed almost passive, far too...mellow? I guess I could chalk it up again to the fact he's missing his baggage which is why he's 'less' of the John we all know and love, but I already said I don't want to keep doing that because it's a disservice to a trauma survivor like myself. But yeah, I went there anyway. How else could I explain his behavior and characterization now?

If I discuss how the main story was resolved then there'll be no point reading this arc for yourself and make your own judgment. So I'll just bring up the closing scenes for this issue which would be about John and his new girlfriend Dani. He almost left her, after all the shite he put her through and his other mates to deceive Merlin. He literally told her, 'I can't do this anymore' and got on a bus. Classic Constantine. 

But then he starts mulling things over, complete with thought bubbles of the things other characters have told him, which was mostly King Arthur, as he looked at this pendant of some significance on the palm of his hand. And then just as Dani was cursing the day she's ever allowed the bastard a piece of her heart, said fucker was standing right there by the doorstep of her flat, saying that he changed his mind. She was angry but more relieved he came back and wants to stay with her. It was emotionally stirring in theory, but since I don't have enough to go by where their relationship was concerned except on what Jenkins told us, I wasn't as moved as I'd liked to be.

I'm not opposed to Constantine getting a serious girlfriend again, but Jenkins, you need to show me why I need to care about her and their relationship. But hey, John stayed for someone. That's progress too. Fingers crossed for the next issues. 

RECOMMENDED:  7/10