The God of All Gods, the namesake of this issue, not only heightened the gloom and macabre, but also maintained the pacing and intrigue of the story as we finally get closer to the climax and resolution of the whole thing. We continue to follow the way the events unravel which apparently leads to the rise of the creature within the Fear Machine, the one called--gah, I can never seem to type it without always double-checking--Jallakuntilliokan, otherwise known as G.O.A.G, an abbreviation that I more than appreciate. For future references, let's just shorten the name of that motherfucker from here on since it's not a mouthful.
So after the revelation of this creature, John Constantine felt its presence in his consciousness and flips the fuck out and leaves his companions in a hurry. This is rather unfortunate because just as the Fellowship was established in the last issue, it was quickly disintegrating, especially when Simon, Geoff and Sergei were mysteriously abducted and placed inside a cage, awaiting judgment and execution from a certain fanatic asshole/hired help Webster who gleefully decorates the ceiling of the Fear Machine with decapitated heads. So, it's a good thing I never had high hopes of these three men surviving at all because (1) This is fucking Hellblazer; (2) They sealed their fates when they became associated with John Constantine; (3) It serves the plot long-term, I suppose.
As for John, he started talking to this politician about general corruption stuff of the UK government that has paranormal underpinnings plus the impending apocalyptic shite that they are about to get smacked against. And then John left with Chas and ended up being in the same fast-food joint as the missing Mercury. As the fucking fates would have it, no? And I am not complaining because I quite liked the fact that finding Mercury isn't this big rescue mission with fireworks and all that. I'm glad she managed to escape by herself and just happened to run into John. Besides, y'all should know by now I enjoy these two together and their quasi-father-daughter dynamics. They have the best chemistry yet. So this scene just made me squeal:
At this point I don't want either of them to go back to Marj because I never liked that...boring person of a character. I want John to just take Mercury away so they can have adventures together! But then again, this is Hellblazer and no one gets what they want and Marj is apparently still relevant here because she's Merc's mother and is currently shacking up with Zed in sapphic paradise so I guess I can begrudgingly live with that. I think Zed has become more interesting this time around, and I certainly hope she gets page time with Constantine soon enough.
The rest of the story was okay, with lots of great artwork featuring heaps of gore, death and delirious psychic landscapes. At this point I'm just relieved that the Fear Machine story is coming to an end. My expectations are set. I'm expecting a few more deaths, some surly monologues from John, a few gratuitous shags courtesy of either Marj or Zed, and hopefully more of Mercury demonstrating her prowess. Three issues to go and I can't wait for what the next installments will reveal.
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
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