Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #116-118

 

The reason why I've delayed writing reviews for these specific issues was because I have no idea where to even begin due to my dwindling interest. Even writing this now is dreadful when I know that in the end my enthusiasm for doing it would just fizzle out somehow. I need to say it: the last three had been a dullard. Sure, I could see a few good stuff in the scenes for each but there's nothing very special about them either. I'd say issue #18 was the best from the three but only because the bar is set so low for Paul Jenkins's era of Hellblazer at the moment. 

With the exception of the very first arc that was Critical Mass, the subsequent stories went downhill from there because there's just not enough compelling conflict nor intrigue in either the standalones or major arcs. The biggest, most important criticism I have too is that the character development regarding John Constantine himself has reached a stagnancy that borders on grating. As awful as it seems, I'd rather have the old John back because what he used to be--as well as the choices he made--gave this series a lot of engaging and suspenseful macabre pieces. Hellblazer had weight, even if that was leveled with grief and angst. The series packed punches.

And for a Vertigo titles like this one that's supposed to be a horror fest whether that's in a paranormal, psychological, or visceral level, these storylines Jenkins have come up with fell short and hollow since Last Man Standing. Yes, reading the bulk of what I had during this supposedly spooky month had been so underwhelming. I'm not surprised if people back then just stopped reading this era of Hellblazer and turned to other titles in the similar vein thematically. I'm almost tempted myself to skip over the next issues that bear Paul Jenkins's authorship altogether if I'm not so much of a completist who likes to stick with chronology. 

I have to wonder, however, if Jenkins put himself in this position on accident after he deliberately altered John's character after the events in Critical Mass, or if this was the intended effect after all. Regardless of my lukewarm reception to his concepts, I won't insult his intelligence as an author and just go with the latter. These events in his issues have to be premeditated because that's just how writing works. Whether it's good writing, however, is a matter of opinion and I personally would say they cease to be my cup of tea.

Anyway, the two-parter short arc (116-117) entitled Widdershins honestly could have been one issue. The plot was simple enough in which ghosts from a certain cemetery became restless and started possessing people. One of them was a guy visiting John's mates to help out with refurbishing the house. He almost killed a child, Chas intervened. I barely recall other details of the narrative because it's all just one big filler that stretched for two issues. The so-called big reveal was that the wife of a jogger who was going around the cemetery didn't follow an old Irish superstition which sounded a lot like the Filipino one called 'pagpag'. And that's why...the ghosts...attached themselves...to random characters who got their own page time when we never meet them again later? I don't fucking know. It's just shite. John resolved the issue easily enough too by changing signs in the cemetery so that the ghosts don't lose their way again. It's so dumb it's not worth discussing further.

NOT RECOMMENDED: 4/10

Now the next issue was actually a substantial one compared to the last two that was disastrously bland. In this slice-of-life story, Rich's wife Michelle is finally going on labor. John is beside himself, much to Dani's amusement. Chas makes a dash for the hospital, being an experienced cab driver and all when it comes to stressful situations, but Michelle's labor was taking the longst time, much to John's agonizing chagrin because he's apparently bollocks with stuff like that. Meanwhile, Straff--another one of John's mates who lives with them (I forgot to mention that they have a flatmates situation, Rich/Michelle, John/Dani. It's been a thing)--is bemoaning his essentially catatonic mum whom he wished he could pull the plug from, or at least figuratively since she wasn't hooked to machines but she is close to expiring.

I enjoyed this issue if I imagine for a moment that John is just another bloke, and from what I've seen so far in Jenkins's run, that's exactly who he has become nowadays. Occult cases are no longer at the center of his preoccupations. And you know what, good for him; I'm glad he's in a stable relationship, surrounded by friends who accept his quirks and do not expect too much from him anymore. But, at the same time with no other chaotic driving force outside such domestic arrangement to keep the narrative afloat and rife with interesting conflicts, all these quaint scenes in John's life come off emotionally hollow to me. And I don't like that because I for one want John to be happy, but is the price of such contentment means we get boring shitty issues like this in a storytelling perspective? Maybe so.

The pay-off for this issues come when Michelle gives birth to her daughter Ivy at the same time Straff's mum croaks. A few days later while they're at church to mourn said old woman's passing, there was a very blatant hint that her soul was now transferred to the baby. That's the point of this story, something I've already predicted five pages into the issue. 

Will this subplot be a crucial one for the next issues? It could be. Do I really care? Definitely fucking not.

RECOMMENDED: 6/10

Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #115

Since Dani's character has been introduced in Paul Jenkins's run, I've stressed that I wanted to get to know her a little better and not just as John's newest girlfriend, and for this issue, I got exactly what I hoped for and more which pleased me. 

As for the story itself, I found it utterly compelling, especially since it forced me to put myself in John's shoes again. It's something of a little quirk of mine ever since I started reading  Hellblazer. I had stressed time and time again that this man is my closest fictional counterpart. 

Therefore, I strive to see things from his perspective, which doesn't take that much effort, honestly, because we are--in many uncomfortable respects--the same man. I think the only main and deal-breaking difference was that I was raised as a woman, so there were restrictions associated to said gender that I've been unfortunately subjected to. But if I had been born as the man I was always meant to be, I would certainly walk a dark path too like John did just because I'm reckless and prideful at heart, driven by alienation and trauma. We certainly have the same bad habits and coping styles regarding relationships.

So John decides to stay with Dani after his mini Arthurian misadventure that span five meandering issues with glimmers of sustainable suspense (issues 110-114). However, the relationship was experiencing some understandable growing pains especially now that the secret is out about his life and work as an occultist. John brought up Kit again in the context of how that last serious relationship ended, which was essentially because Kit cannot love this side of the man, a very large part of who he is as a person, while Dani simply wants to know more about the truth of how he lives and why he must walk the paths he had. That implies Dani will probably never ask John to turn away from his lifestyle, unlike Kit, but what she demands was more challenging to a man who only knew how to shut down and depend on no one but his smarts and intuition for the longest time.

See, for men like John Constantine, vulnerability has proven to result in serious repercussions. His world is not for the weak stomach or the faint at heart, and after so many experiences of losing friends over betrayals, untimely sacrifices, and his inherent selfishness and resistance to change, he simply didn't want to risk jeopardizing the close bonds he formed recently. What happened with Merlin and the box was a close call yet again, so even though he's with Dani, hoping to make it work, the pragmatic cynic in Johnny Boy just wouldn't quiet down. Luckily (well, so to speak), he finds out that he's not the only one with a heavy emotional baggage. Dani, too, was undergoing something, a story that's relatable to so many women who are courageous and independent all the more so because their autonomy had been threatened once by very insecure and twisted men.

'In the Red Corner' is a very satisfying and insightful oneshot that explored the intimate horrors and aftershocks of an abusive, manipulative romantic relationship, which was something I've undergone too at the tender age of fifteen with an older woman. Regardless of age, anyone can be abused by someone they thought was trustworthy during the course of said romance. This iswhat happened to Dani. Bright, promising and daring as a journalist, she couldn't have known that such qualities will wound the ego of a boyfriend she had in the past, years before she met John. This piece of shit who shall remain nameless was also a fellow writer, who was envious of how much she flourished in their field and therefore found it only necessary to clip her wings. What outsiders don't often get about abuse is that it's often systematic, a slow process of chipping down parts of a person's dignity through constant verbal put-downs and emotional manipulation until they start believing they are not worthy of love, or at least glamorize that the idea that love must always come with pain and drama.

There's a world of difference between fighting with your loved one because you want to resolve a conflict or settle an argument and fighting with them ONLY so you can destroy their self-respect and in turn impose dominance on them during their weakest moments. That's abuse.

I really enjoyed reading this issue because not only was it an inevitable one that should peel more layers about Dani as a character of her own, it was also a showcase just to how Paul Jenkins can deliver gravitas where nuanced character arcs are concerned. Granted, the story was still told in John's point of view because he's our lead guy, but it doesn't take away from Dani's experiences either. I just hope that next time she gets her own POV like Kit did during Ennis's era; that is if Jenkins intends for Dani to stick around. However, just think of how powerful this story's impact might have been if we saw the events unfold more in her point of view. Sure, were a few pages that gave us an expository flashback about how her boyfriend abused her, but it was still laden in John's voice. I suppose it can't be helped, because the issue's focal point was his desire to help Dani cut ties with this asshole once and for all, but he can only do it in the shadows and with the aid of a witch named Jamma whose expertise was vengeful voodoo. It just wouldn't be Hellblazer without that supernatural twist.

The most ridiculous and frustrating part about this ruse was the fact that Jamma's voodoo revolves around Dani's period, and in order for her work to be effective, Constantine must increase the tension between himself and Dani as her time approaches. Ignoring the sexist stereotype that women are so damn hormonal during menstruation that they manifest as cranky moods in general, it seems to do the trick just fine so that the ex-boyfriend was suffering from the same mental problems as well. Jamma designed the curse so that said man can bleed between his legs too and share symptoms of what Dani undergoes as she's having her period and related crisis hereto. 

It's weird and provocative, and by for the latter I meant a little insensitive, but that's possibly only because I'm reading this in the politically correct lenses of 2021. Even if you can bypass that nitpick about the plot, this issue was still hilarious because the abusive ex got his due. His worst nightmare was that Dani can physically overpower him and further decimate what little was left from his male ego. In the end, he was the one running scared and telling Dani to stay away. And so the issue ends that way, with a self-satisfied John protecting his girl from a creep.

The only reason this issue doesn't get a higher rating was because of the choice in POV and the resolution that didn't involve Dani's participation at all. It was a personal story about her trauma, and yet she acted as a bystander while John was the one who orchestrated this scheme in the shadows. Though his heart was in the right place, it was still pretty skivvy of him to interfere on something that he should have been better off taking on a supporting role for. I can't help but criticize this framework in the narrative now that we should all be reading this in a more enlightened time where women can confront their abusers both in real-life after the MeToo movement, and the consequent fiction being told about it are shared through the fresh eyes of a generation less tolerant of sexist views.

As much as I appreciated the sensitive subject of this issue, In the Red Corner was still servicing the male-dominated voice in comics back in that day where a man can play hero every time his woman is in distress, therefore unconsciously or actively removing her say in the matter which is what John irrecoverably did. Not to mention the fact that he was a complete ass to Dani the entire time, even if he was only doing it to aggravate the effects of the curse. Dani didn't know any of that, so it was mind-boggling she'll even stay with John after his abysmal behavior. There was also the harmful implication that she could be reliving her trauma again through John; which will be unfair to either of them because inattentive jerk doesn't equal abuser, which John was for this issue. I would also add as a disclaimer, however, that this was a dated work, a product of its times, and so the stories were understandably filtered through the male lead. So I'm not expecting it to be feminist or ahead of its time, but I'll still grade it based on the criticisms that outweighed the content. Nice effort though to Jenkins and co.

RECOMMENDED:  7/10

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

Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #111

Okay. Now this is more like it.

The last issue ended with one of the knights of King Arthur visiting John Constantine while he's alone in bed, presumably because Dani was at work. It was early morning, and he just woke up to some stranger in a suit talking about a doomsday prophesy with medieval contexts. John hasn't even put on pants or have a ciggie, and this knight named Sandda (or Sanddef, I believe) urges him to help them find Arthur's rightful heir in this modern era. Much like John, I myself wonder why they appointed him this task. 

Just on the merit that he's a Constantine? We all know that he's a descendant from a long line of occultists and mages. And a lot of of the supernatural folks had employed him before. Still, I'd understand if it's a demon or an angel who wanted to seek his aid, or even a jilted vengeful ghost--but noble knights of legends? Especially when these knights seem to uphold John as an honorable man. Well, if you want to get super technical about his track record, then he ain't exactly living up to chivalrous standards of ol' Albion's time. Also, it's not as if he's demonstrated that much stellar work from his more recent cases like the Mendw and Yorkshire werewolves. He's also enjoying domesticity right now, ya know. Can't be arsed to play squire.

But when a higher calling wants John, it's best he at least checks it out if only to give himself a peace of mind that the risks aren't too detrimental. A guy named Dez, who's a 'nethead' (this was written during the early days of the internet so people like him are still considered weirdos for liking the internet so much), helped John discover a certain government building bypasses through every sacred site in Britain, disrupting the ley line energy that runs throughout the country. It's why supernatural creatures are being brought to the surface. 

When John meets the Court of Arthur for a rendezvous later on to inform them of what's happeing, he doesn't get much further with the knights when they were brutally gunned down by goons working for no other than Myrddin who did show up since the last issue. It's Merlin, the same wizard who taught King Arthur a lot of the big stuff, as legends have it. (We find out that the knights can't die, but they can be killed temporarily, so we will be definitel seeing them again).

John finds out (after Myrddin and his goons take him for a car ride) that the two had a big argument long ago which Myrddin prefaced by telling a story about the 'Eternals' whom I would assume are...angels? Because they were the first beings created by God before humans, and when the humans came--flawed with no powers and only free will--God neglected this Eternals. I don't remember how that ties up to Myrddin's problem except for the fact he was one of the Eternals, known as the Dragon. He's looking for a box. This box contained a power he wants for himself. It's all vague at the moment, but it is most definitely what we have come to know as the Holy Grail, this fucking box.

But before all this plot progression, John spent some time with his girlfriend Dani and his pal Rich first to appreciate about how good he's had it with them for a while. Now Rich and his family made an appearance in an earlier arc in which their son was kidnapped because of John. I would have to go back myself to read my reviews of that since I read it almost five years ago, so for your own recap, just read my reviews about that arc HERE. I don't know anything else about Dani since she was introduced a couple issues back, and I certainly hope Jenkins will flesh her out at some point much like Ennis did with the incomparable Kit Ryan who has a rich personality and was not just defined by her relationship with John. So far, Dani seems happy with him, so I can only surmise he was good to her in all the ways he's forgotten to be when he and Kit started fighting in the past. I wonder how Dani would feel once she learns what John does, since I get the sense she might not entirely know all the sordid details of John Constantine, but we'll see if Jenkins would devote some time for that in the next issues.

Myrddin soon drops off John but not after imparting him with the severed hand of his nethead friend Dez for intimidation purposes and it worked. John was unhappy that another friend had to die again just so an enemy could prove his nefarious point and get him to do something in return. While grieving in a remote park that same night,  Jack (an elemental from Abaton) visits him to give hand him this revelation:

There's another cliffhanger, of course, regarding the identity of Arthur's heir, which comes to a shock to John. I think I'll be revealing that in my review for the next issue instead. I like where this is heading, honestly, because the story is certainly nothing like I had read in Hellblazer before. There's not much gore and doom either, and everything seems straightforward enough. It has more fantasy elements too and not just horror, which I feel would suit this new version of John Constantine for Jenkins' nineties run. 

I don't want to get ahead of myself since there are three more issues to go, but I'm interested to keep going based on what I've seen. I also want to curb my expectations because already Jenkins' tonality for his stories has been a well-balanced combination from Delano and Ennis's previous styles while I feel he's beginning to cement his own signature for this arc in particular.

RECOMMENDED: 8/10

Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #110

Jenkins gives us another story arc that will span for five issues, and just as I predicted, the weird shit that took place from the previous two was only a set-up for this newest major event in Hellblazer a hundred issues since Jamie Delano developed the character created by Alan Moore. 

Though the case is supernatural in nature, this story is not going to be about either angels or demons; at least in the strictest sense of the terminology, because there are still a few allusions to God (Judeo-Christian version). That's still for the next issue which I'll soon touch upon.

In the meantime, let's talk about the rising action that occurred for this first installment. It's an update of what John has done after finding out that business with the werewolves by the Yorkshire countryside--which was diddly squat. He just got drunk and visited this American reporter from that same issue and presumably slept with her. 

The pages opened with him in bed with her, but then it was immediately revealed months had already passed. He's dating Dani now. All of his current friends know about her and approve of their relationship, and for the first time since Kit, John is once more enjoying domestic comforts. I knew it was only inevitable, and it's not as if he didn't earn this. 

John Constantine had grown up so much over the course of a hundred issues. We've seen him at his worst, rooted for him during his best moments, and witnessed genuine changes in his jaded perspectives about the world, his place in it and most importantly how he should treat those who care about him. Ergo, not push them away, or talk down to them just because they don't understand the darkness he's constantly battling, and--the most groundbreaking of all--never actively or indirectly get them killed or sacrificed just so he can outgun, outrun, or outwit his enemies.

Y'all, it's the dawn of a new era for Johnny, and all he had to do was to cleave his soul into half so that the one that carried his heavy baggage from those last hundred issues was damned instead to Hell while he gets a clean break (even if he's sort of watered down without the trauma). For the longest time, I remained at odds as to whether or not such a plot twist diminished his character growth. But what if...what if the only way John can move on and actually be happy and settled was to literally severe his trauma from his soul? Who of us would not even take that kind of deal if it's ever on the table? 

As an abuse and rape survivor myself, I often wonder how much of my trauma has held me back from making meaningful connections with people in the last thirty years. I'm learning day by day to come to terms that I do need to feel loved and secured by other people and not just rely on myself to solve my crises due to mistrust and this juvenile vendetta I had against a world which I felt has duped and used me that I dare not give it the satisfaction of seeing me beg; not for love or companionship or just genuine understanding. 

That's why I felt such an automatic affinity with John Constantine when I read the comics. We both prized solitude above everything else because it was easier than vulnerability. We also frequently tricked people in the past into caring about us by putting on the charm while trimming down and editing parts of ourselves until we became whatever we think was socially appealing or addictive to those we want to impress. John and I shared this nasty habit of assigning ourselves to solve people's problems so we can be seen as strong and wise but also far too proud to permit these same people to help us. And then we get angry when they leave or try to unmask us as well as blame the idea that there's is just something inherently broken and unlovable about us so our answer? Well, we must be better off alone.

An so maybe, just maybe, losing all that darkness from his previous self--was a gift. Five years ago before I took a hiatus from this blog (and even just in my last post for issues #108-109), I claimed that it's a bad move to separate the light and dark of John Constantine. I also claimed that the bad shit was what made him so compelling of a character to begin with anyway and that he's 'lost his edge' after all that sordid history was removed. But that would mean I must have believed his trauma defined who he was; that his damage was that too important to his person that he should always cling to it. BUT IT FUCKING ISN'T. That perpetuates the idea of self-annihilation.

Taliesin Jaffe, this voice actor I started considering a role model fairly recently after coming out trans, said that there's absolutely no growth in damage. We should never romanticize it, even in fictional characters we relate to. He also stated that instead of defining ourselves through the lenses of what broke us, we should focus on recovery. That's where growth is. In a way, John Constantine has been recovering in Jenkins' run after all the damage he's been put through by previous writers. Those were some of my favorite eras of Hellblazer, but those might as well have happened a hundred years ago--they're nothing but antiquated ruins recorded for the sake of posterity, as well as only meant to be studied much like what we do with history. It's so that we are not doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

"There's no growth in damage, only recovery." - Taliesin Jaffe

And so John is in recovery. Bit by bit, starting with staying in touch regularly with the new friends he's made, living with a woman whom he's allowed himself to get emotionally close to and dependent on (in ways his ex Kit would have been proud of him for), and recognizing that to heed his calling as an occultist doesn't mean he has to selfishly go through the motions while lying to the people he's close to.

My review of this issue may seem too personal and ultimately had nothing to do with the story, but a great bulk of my reviews for Hellblazer always delved on sensitive topics like this in relation to my personal experiences. After all, most of the time I don't just read this Vertigo title for the supernatural drama enclosed in each issue, written by a roster of insightful authors in the past hundred issues. I read this primarily because I saw myself represented in a character so viscerally, way before I had come to terms that I was a man born in the wrong body. Since 2014, when I began to this blog, I've religiously tuned in every issue and dissected what stood out to me in every review I posted. They gave voice to my inner demons that John Constantine reflected back to me tenfold. That's not going to change anytime soon.

However, the reason why I talked about my realizations this much in the context of John's character growth during Jenkins' run was because this issue didn't have enough meat as far as the overall arc of the five-part instalment goes, so I didn't feel like discussing them much. It's a serviceable premise, however. Basically, we're getting an Arthurian legend-driven plot. And as someone who likes that myth, particularly T.H White's The Once and Future King, I'm very interested to see how Jenkins plans to flesh out the narrative while employing both the popular and obscure details concerning King Arthur, his Knights' Table and the Holy Grail. 

I will say that the scenes and gradual unveiling of key elements were well-paced and intriguing in this issue. John was written more as a bystander at first but with that cliffhanger, he's about to be thrust into some freaky shit in no time. Hopefully my reviews for the next four issues would put the story's development as the central piece just to make up for my self-indulgent talk here.

RECOMMENDED: 7/10

Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #108-109

I think it's rather endearing that the issue I come back to after being absent from this blog for so long would be an issue entitled, "Days of Wine and Roses," featuring John Constantine pulling a con at a glamorous 'buggery party'. That was his fancy term. In layman's terms, we just call it a good old-fashioned orgy. It's on brand for a man with quirky habits like ol' Johnny boy.

But I'm getting ahead of this issue. What readers get introduced to first was a small-town anorexic girl with an abusive stage father who wants to get her into the Olympics. The story is divided between John's hijinks during the orgy and the all-too-real horror of a teenage girl experiencing an eating disorder as she tries to please her overbearing father. Given the scope that Hellblazer treads in its 100-issue run I've reviewed so far, this plot point was comparably mild.

Not to take away from the inherently vile nature of the side character's miserable circumstances, but this remained a very serviceable issue in general. There's nothing to get too invested on deeply, but the amusing scenes with John trying to con the partygoers with his so-called 'nonorthogenital fertility ritual' at least provided levity. That was until he 'accidentally' summons 'sinister beings' known as a Mendw. It's bound to happen.

I could be mistaken, especially since it's been ages since I picked up this title, but I think John encountered a character from this race before? Or was I misremembering? Anyway, they seem like rip-offs of the Swamp Thing and are hell-bent on...world cleansing/domination? Something to that effect. I was far too distracted chuckling at John performing a non-existent ritual by muttering gibberish. Only that it wasn't? Because the Mendw are here? That being said, I still feel like they were bullshitting after they declared that it was John summoned them, because that would have been such a rookie mistake for the master of the dark arts. He's not some petty dabbler.

In any case, the two stories in this issue are connected flimsily by a character named Laura, an ex-Olympic gymnast who happens to be the anorexic girl's mentor and a regular at the buggering party. It's also in the same town, apparently, because a Mendw-possessed Laura tracked down the abusive Dad to have a harsh word with him, only to take over the daughter and have her killed the lecherous old man. It's poetic justice. But nothing really gets fixed because the girl still has body dysmorphia and now a dead father. She's most likely going into the system as a juvenile offender, unless she fesses up to the attempted rape. It's just been a quick grim issue, which is on-brand for Hellblazer.

Now, I've been rereading my reviews here since yesterday which led me to pick up this title again on a whim, actually. Much like in my recent disclaimer on my Batman and X-Men blogs, I make no promises my reviews will be regular and consistent like back in the old days of 2014-16. However, it's a spooky season, and I wanted to do something special for my Johnny boy, so I hope I can read at least ten more issues and review them before the month ends. It's a promising start so far; that is to say these two issues weren't anything as meaty but serviceable enough for me to discuss easily. I'm still on Paul Jenkins's run, and I've been impressed on some of his earlier issues, based on the content I reread here on my blog. Here's to hoping he pulls off more gems in the next stories.

RECOMMENDED: 7/10

Much like the previous issue, this one seems like another simple standalone story that I have a suspicion is somewhat related to the bizarre events from #108. The Mendw appeared during a supposedly fake ritual John performed as a party trick for some orgy. This time, somewhere in Yorkshire, sheep was getting attacked, and a concerned Chas Chandler shared those incidents happening in his uncle's farm. John was dismissive at first, because such animal attacks occur frequently on the countryside. That was until he comes with his mate to investigate said attacks and he cheerily announces, "Congratulations, it's a werewolf."

I forget that this Johnny is not the same John Constantine ever since he relinquished the darkness in his soul in issue #96, otherwise known as one of his rejection schemes to the ongoing fucked-up courtship with First of the Fallen (or Fifs, as I'm going to start calling his gay ass from now on; it certainly beats 'Theo', which was his name as a Greek sailor).

The subsequent issues that followed meant our trench-coat-wearing chain-smoking badass had lost his edge, maybe even his nerve, because to give up his darkness meant that he had also gotten rid of what makes him so good at his job as an occultist, meaning how quick he was to pull the trigger (figuratively speaking) or make impossible choices at the drop of the hat when the worse comes to worst. The last few issues had John going on a spiritual quest to earn back his reputation. 

Along the way, he met a mystic or two who gave sound advice and led him to some serial-killer poser who took credit for murders he did not commit just to be a douchebag so that John can recognize that evil can take even the most mundane forms, so he better get back his edge lest he stops being a force of good; as flawed as he may be as one. So this John we saw going back three issues before this one is NOT the same guy who survived Newcastle, outwitted the rulers of Hell during Dangerous Habits, and hell, not even the same dude who loved and lost the incomparable Kit Ryan. 

He's just some bloke who is still Constantine but none of the heavier baggage that made him such a complex, multi-layered antihero to begin with. And it's not as if I don't like this Johnny; for the most part, he was more accessible and no longer the type to abandon or even sacrifice friends for the sake of survival. But the cases that he had been taking on post-spiritual quest so far aren't nearly as enticing or worth investing on. Case in point the main plot of this issue. Werewolves, much like the Mendw, are somewhat being summoned into the modern world, lost, confused, and maybe a little vengeful (as was the case with the latter). And apparently he is the man to fix it, mainly on default. I don't know, guys, I guess so long as it gives our titular anti-hero something to do instead of meandering like the half of a whole person he's become.

I checked the next issue, however, and it looks like I'm getting another major story arc by Jenkins again with multiple issues. I will curb my expectations for now, but I'm happy to be reading and reviewing Hellblazer again!

RECOMMENDED: 7/10

Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #107

The second and final installment of the story arc In Line of Fire was as simple as it can get as far as conclusions go. It's not a bad story, but it didn't offer anything much except a fluff piece that had a nice enough sentiment behind it.

I enjoyed it as it is although it does baffle me until now why this arc in particular became the titular one for the collected tenth volume. Because...the phrase 'in line of fire' sounded good on paper? I don't understand the editorial choice.

A short recap: John was in some pseudo-suburbs place to visit an old couple who are his friends from a while back, I'm guessing. I wasn't really given enough backstory about his exact relationship with them, so I'm just going to chalk this as, "John Constantine knows lots of folks from all walks of life" sort of thing. While making nice, he also stumbled upon a haunted flat where the tortured ghost of a World War 2 soldier resides. 

Telepathically, John became privy to this poor man's tragedy; that he survived the war only because of the promise of returning to his sweetheart one fateful day. That reunion never happened, and he ended up hanging himself in his dreary flat. Afterwards, some racist asshole landlord hands John an eviction notice for that haunted flat that used to be hidden away for decades. But thanks to John unveiling what's underneath the iron curtain, however, this same flat became visible now to ordinary humans. 

Typical Constantine stuff as always.

But John decided to take responsibility and approached the help of an overweight medium who was more than eager to help especially after being offered access to Alistair Crowley whom John previously condemned to Hell during his nifty trick to dupe the First of the Fallen. So John takes this medium with to the haunted flat so they can speak face-to-face as men, and this was when another surprising twist was revealed. The dead soldier's sweetheart all along was a woman named Ellen, or, as John knew her best--Nellie, the elderly woman he was chummy with next door alongside her  husband. What are the fucking odds, right?

So John finally arranges the reunion this ghost had been longing for in decades and they get to have a nice chat and some much needed closure between the two of them. Like I said, it's sweet moment of connection, and something I hope John would feel good about since he deserved some silver lining every chance he gets, you know. The issue ends in an anticlimactic moment with the landlord approaching the haunted flat to start doing the eviction thing . John also made Nellie forget about what happened (which was...shitty, I guess) and then John moves on to the next crazy adventure with hopefully more grim action than this.

My reviews have been less than stellar, I know, mostly because I really don't have much to say about some issues lately. I might begin doing mass reviews much like last year where I would combine three issues into one post. I think Jenkins doesn't really offer me enough material to review and discuss, quite frankly. I had the same problem with his earlier issues too which was why I even decided to do a mass review to begin with. There are also pressing concerns in real life that prevent me from reading and reviewing issues quicker, so I think it might save me time if I just do a three-in-one review next time. 

RECOMMENDED: 7/10

Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #106

We're now getting the two-part story entitled In the Line of Fire for this issue, and it's also the title for the tenth volume collection of Hellblazer. This story arc is shorter than I would have expected but the first installment was compelling enough already in itself so I didn't mind the brevity. In fact, if Jenkins sticks to his landing at the very end then this can be a very memorable arc indeed. 

The premise is simple and relatable enough: the opening pages recounts flashbacks about a soldier from the second World War who longs to come home to his sweetheart. We get narrative boxes explaining that the only reason he survived and endured for so long was because of love. Sappy, unoriginal and common, maybe, but it was definitely still earnest and moving to read about. Old-fashioned romance, after all, is so rare these days in our generation that I can appreciate this kind of old-school approach. But since this is a Hellblazer story we're talking about, shit hits the fan by the second act.

John Constantine was making nice with old friends, an elderly couple, while in a suburban-esque neighborhood somewhere in England, I'm assuming. They're flats squeezed together and a racist landlord apparently wants to evict some blacks because that's what every racist piece of shit wants. Everything seems to go well enough for Constantine until he feels an energy of a place that is not supposed to be there, hiding in plain sight.

Like a magnet once more to anything occult-related, he was pulled to investigate further. It turned out that the residence he was mucking around in belonged to that World-war soldier fellow from the flashback pages who apparently managed to get home safely against all odds and injuries---but never got to marry the love of his life. And a bitter life of disillusionment and despaired followed, right until the moment he hanged himself. Constantine witnessed this tragic event through a telepathic connection and it almost made him literally suffocate as well as if he was the one with the noose around his neck. Nothing like secondhand suicide to help you put things in better perspective, innit?

John ran out of the flat, still gasping for air and relief. He was definitely bothered with that poor soldier's sob story. Now when this issue began, it was pointed out specifically that none of the people in the neighborhood can see this haunted flat. But I suppose after John visited it and experienced the ghost of that horrid past, he must have somehow unlocked it and made it visible to the normal eye. And one of the people that finally took notice was that racist landlord I mentioned. He approached John and told him to give the owner this eviction notice. And that's how this issue ends with that ominous cliffhanger.

I don't really know why readers should care about what happens to that flat because I personally believe it might set the spirit free if he is no longer anchored to a place. But based from Constantine's reaction, I suppose that is not the case (?) Anyway, I'm looking forward to what happens next then for second and last installment. I have yet to see John do anything proactive since he just got in touch with his dark side in Difficult Beginnings so it would be pleasant to see him doing something productive and helpful to the human race; in this case for a lonely ghost who just needs peace and closure from his personal tragedy.

RECOMMENDED: 7/10

Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #105

Happy birthday, Mr. John Constantine! Honestly, I think my reviews look like the date postage is happening a day later than what should be, but you probably won't notice if you're reading this in the US. I live in Asia so I'm a day ahead than Americans. That means if I'm writing this review at the moment on the 11th of May, it would still be evening of the 10th there. So yes, it's still John Constantine's birthday.

I can't think of a better issue to celebrate that than this one which is more or less something of a filler, but a rather fun and enlightening one I had a good time reading and chuckling about. It's a really pleasant filler.

On semi-related news, the major conflict that was the root of my recent personal drama had been somewhat resolved; not in the way I wanted and wished for but definitely in the way I needed. It's probably why my muse for writing in general has been revived now. See, a great part of why I write lately had been anchored to the connection and chemistry I found with a certain someone, and for a time when our relations were in the rocks, I was also losing a significant part of what made me enjoy and love writing to begin with. 

I will never have any regrets that we found each other, but I also think it's time for us to both heal separately and find a way to be the people we want to be outside of the little world we built together back when we were so in love. I suppose it was sort of what Constantine and his serious girlfriend Kit had done too during Ennis' run when they were going through the painful cycle of breaking up. Something needs to break but I myself will no longer stubbornly collect the shards and try my darndest to glue them all back together. 

It's insane to torture myself with being so bullheaded and refusing to let go because I've never been one to give up on anything, even a relationship that had already run its course. I'm old enough to know that heartbreaks are learning experiences, and I could finally start moving on and accept that although this beautiful person might no longer be my lover---who says he can't be my friend after this? I think we owe it to each other to see other possibilities that our connection could thrive and grow from (2021 Update: nope, that 'relationship' was never meant to be anything but a footnote, sucker!)

Anyway! Back to this motherfucking filler of an issue! We get an interesting flashback about the past concerning Samuel Coleridge. You know, the poet and theologian who was besties with William Wordsworth, the guy who wrote about daffodils. Anyway, the celestial beings known as the angels took interest in Mr. Coleridge because they want a better representation of Heaven to mortals and who better write it in great, lavish details than the founder of the Romantic Movement itself? So, while Sammy was busy getting high (literally, Coleridge is an aficionado in the recreational use of drugs because who the hell isn't back in those days especially when you're a goddamn poet?), the angels began influencing his consciousness with some harmless tinkering on his imagination. 

Now how does this relate to anything John Constantine? Well, it turned out that Sammy's supplier is none other than a distant relative named James Constantine who, of course, also deals with the occult stuff. Them Constantines, you know, they love to dabble with the supernatural stuff going back to generations. Does this surprise me? Not at all! There was her ladyship Johanna Constantine after all, who was a recurring character in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series. She was a badass aristocrat-adventuress on her own, and she helped the titular character about all that nasty business concerning his son Orpheus. But I digress. My point is the Constantines are nuts! Their lineage had been steeped in mystical energies and even dark magic for a long time and John is just the latest addition to that, if not his niece Gemma Masters who had started manifesting her own powers herself.

So as the angels tinkered with Sammy, James appeared in the doorway, righteously indignant that the celestials are attempting on doing 'propaganda'. What I liked about the confrontation was how mollified James was in the same way a father would be if his children were doing something naughty behind his back. Constantines never play favorites especially among angels and demons. They exorcise the bad fuckers, sure, but they don't win any good graces with the halo-wearing counterparts either. And as a drug supplier, it's good to know that James still looks out after his clientèle outside the drug-dealing business. He's a really serious fellow who is a big believer in keeping things separate between mortals and celestials. Because free will and all!

Here's a really amusing page of how he scolds the shit out of some angels:

Let 'em bloody humans fuck up by themselves and be accountable for the mess, you wankers!

John Constantine finds out about this tale through some woman he and a friend of his had been staying with. She's a distant descendant of Coleridge herself. As soon as John heard this story, it definitely raised his eyebrows, and whether or not it's true is up to debate. Knowing John, however, I think he would be more inclined to believe his ancestor was a drug supplier. That part of the account cannot be contested. In a nutshell, this was a really nice filler as far as fillers go. And a happy birthday again to Johnny boy!

RECOMMENDED: 7/10

Hellblazer by Paul Jenkins issue #104

Much like John Constantine, I myself am going through something shitty right now which is why it's taking me a while to read and review comics again as far as the beginning of April this year when I was still doing Batman reviews at my other blog. It was one thing when I was single and perfectly happy about that singlehood which is how I got started in reviewing comics in the first place back in 2014. It's another thing now that I'm currently nursing a broken heart and struggling to fill that void with the very things that used to make me happy enough or provide me solace, but even doing those same things again can't lift up my damn spirits either. That's exactly how I think John feels at the moment; just shitty and now has to find his way through the muck.

And aren't we all just trying to find our way through the shit life would invariably sling-shoot at us from unexpected and often unfair directions? Haven't all of us, at one point in our lives, stood in the middle of an ongoing shit-storm and almost died? Hellblazer as a comics series basically rehashes the same thematic message during a  few of its character-centric arcs; that life is encrusted with shit upon more shit, and we're just going to have to deal and endure it all if we ever hope to see a silver lining. And John has lived through the worst shit which was more or less a product of even shittier choices. That's typical Hellblazer.

Last issue, Constantine re-acquainted himself with the mundane things that can make a human being commit atrocities, even the small and unnoticed kind that quietly thrives and poisons the light. In this case, it's a failed aspiring actor in his middle age named Pritchard who recorded fake confessions about serial killings to mislead the police which meant that the real killers who committed the crimes got away in consequence of him playing crying-wolf. That was really sickening for me to read, and John himself was just as aggravated to be reminded yet again why some humans are just too horrible and inhumane to even be allowed to live. But knowing the worst of humanity and fighting its malice and cruelty is exactly the foundation of John's fascination for the occult. So he goes to some mysterious mountains where the veil between the normal and paranormal is weak, allowing certain entities and creatures to trespass and make their stay. It was in these mountains that he became re-acquainted with the personification of himself whom he doomed to hell.

This John Constantine supposedly contained all the bad parts of his emotional baggage; the guilt, the ego, the scars of his wrong decisions, his broken heart and soul bereft of hope and redemption. John performed this clever ritual of separating himself into two halves so he can escape his contract with the First of the Fallen (the Devil) which was why he was living and breathing on earth these days while another version of him is suffering in perdition. Of course, that clever trick cost him more than he realized. To have severed himself from his worst parts was to make himself hollow too for what is a human being if not the marriage of light and dark?

John finally makes this realization in the nick of time and tries to persuade his other half to come back to him:

The other John was far too content with his damnation at this point, so he refuses and then walks away with a smile on his face. So now John has to explore another option to retrieve back some of his darkness again. And he resolves that by having sex with a succubus, the demon named Ellie whom he had a good, working relationship with previously. Now he had to successfully burn down that delicate friendship by duping her into believe he was in love with her so she will fuck him. At this point, I don't even know why I still root for John Constantine, really. I was pretty shocked he would resort to something to tawdry, but then again I shouldn't put it past him either. He pulled the same shit with Zed before; when he copulated with her so infect her womb with demon blood which he was still carrying back then. Yeah, I don't know. I suppose I can't end my review for this issue on a good note, so I'm not going to bother; most certainly not with how John just handled his crisis, and how I'm still struggling with one of my own.

Life is shit made up of even shittier choices. John's dealing with it. We should all learn to deal with it.

RECOMMENDED: 8/10