Garth Ennis officially takes the reigns for the Hellblazer series at this point, and he provides us a two-parter standalone story about a couple who owned a bar that represents the lifetime of love and marriage they shared together even upon the husband's death--and how some assholes don't have respect for such a kinship and proceeded to burn down said establishment for their own greedy purposes.
There's not much to say about this issue. I thought it was a perfectly nice story that follows the events in the Dangerous Habits arc. I didn't really care much about the plot itself even though I found the central old couple sort of sweet and endearing to read about, and the villains who sabotaged their long-time business to be absolute wankers who only give a shit about how to take advantage of anyone that comes across as a lucrative expenditure to them. Of course, John Constantine is not going to let these assholes get away from this and so gets involved pretty quickly, considering he knows the couple personally and has been a patron of their drinking establishment for years.
One thing I do keep tabs on since the previous issue is John's relationship with Kit, his late friend's ex, and the development of deeper feelings on either side. I just know that these two are going to become romantically linked sooner or later. However, unlike with Zed and Marj, I'm actually rooting for Kit to be a more permanent part of John's life. Look, I really enjoyed Zed as soon as she makes her first encounter with John. She was fascinating and intense but their eventual coupling was rushed and then abandoned at the first sign of trouble.
As for Marj, I considered her an acceptable flavor of vanilla. She did not intrigue me as much as her daughter Mercury who had more chemistry with John, honestly (sadly, she's a minor and they have a more fatherly dynamic as oppose to romantic). It's interesting that John talked about these two men especially since Kit asked the last time he was ever involved with anyone. It's quite revealing the way John explained Zed and Marj's respective significance in his life before (and he was quick to use the past tense while talking about them too). He asserts that Zed was pretty special to him but she was hard to keep up with which was true enough, considering Zed belongs to a higher calling and I think their connection fares better without a romantic element. As for Marj, John acknowledges that she's a mother figure; a nature-type sort of woman who wants him to settle down, something John is not exactly ready for or made for. I agree on his points about both women, and I was very much curious how Kit would react to this but she didn't have any strong or telling response. But I am definitely convinced that she loves John since their friendship was consequential of the fact that John is chummy with Kit's ex, Brendan Finn.
I believe that the hesitation for them to be together in an intimate way is understandable, considering Brendan Finn's death is one of the major things that has brought them closer together again as people, but that reason may not be enough to sustain the companionship, let alone deepen it. Still, I like that they are enjoying the slow pace they are going for now, hanging out and trying to outdrink each other while John easily opens himself up to her and Kit is willing to listen and lend some wisdom about his problems at the moment. I can just feel how much they genuinely care about each other which is why they don't want to risk any kind of complication...for now.
So this issue was serviceable but what I find myself caring about more was John and Zed instead of the plot unraveling.
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
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