Review features spoilers
Written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Will Simpson, the six-issue story arc “Dangerous Habits” kicked off Ennis’ lengthy run on the Hellblazer title after taking over for the title's first writer Jamie Delano. (Full disclosure: I am an unabashed Garth Ennis fanboy. Everything he’s done that I’ve read I’ve loved. Doesn’t mean I ignore his faults, which he has, or try to blindly defend some of the reasons people don’t care for him.) The arc is seen as one of the major stories associated with John Constantine (pronounced in the comics so that it rhymes with dine) and that’s saying some for a character who was first created nearly thirty years ago by Alan Moore and writers from Moore, Ennis, Azzerello, Morrison, and Ellis have written him at some point since.
The story is so good that it was chosen to be the source to which the 2005 film Constantine (pronounced so it rhymes with bean) was based off of. I could write a few paragraphs about the film, so instead I’ll sum it up with a single picture:
Written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Will Simpson, the six-issue story arc “Dangerous Habits” kicked off Ennis’ lengthy run on the Hellblazer title after taking over for the title's first writer Jamie Delano. (Full disclosure: I am an unabashed Garth Ennis fanboy. Everything he’s done that I’ve read I’ve loved. Doesn’t mean I ignore his faults, which he has, or try to blindly defend some of the reasons people don’t care for him.) The arc is seen as one of the major stories associated with John Constantine (pronounced in the comics so that it rhymes with dine) and that’s saying some for a character who was first created nearly thirty years ago by Alan Moore and writers from Moore, Ennis, Azzerello, Morrison, and Ellis have written him at some point since.
The story is so good that it was chosen to be the source to which the 2005 film Constantine (pronounced so it rhymes with bean) was based off of. I could write a few paragraphs about the film, so instead I’ll sum it up with a single picture:
Pictured:
Ted "Theodore" Logan (of Bill & Ted)
Not pictured:
John Constantine
Along with Ennis' great words are Will Simpson's just as great art that
was evolving just as the art styles of the late 80's began to evolve
into the artwork that would define the comics of 90's and the last
decade. The coloring and transition of scenes are creative and
inventive and it has encouraged me to seek out more of Simpson's artwork.
Now on to the book. The premise is simple: After a life of smoking nearly sixty Silk Cut cigarettes a day, John Constantine has terminal lung cancer. As a man mixed up in mysticism, witchcraft and general bastardry, Constantine knows his destination after death is the pits of Hell. A demon all but tells him that, and at one point the Archangel Gabriel points out that Constantine’s soul is so tainted nothing he can do will redeem him in the eyes of God.
Now on to the book. The premise is simple: After a life of smoking nearly sixty Silk Cut cigarettes a day, John Constantine has terminal lung cancer. As a man mixed up in mysticism, witchcraft and general bastardry, Constantine knows his destination after death is the pits of Hell. A demon all but tells him that, and at one point the Archangel Gabriel points out that Constantine’s soul is so tainted nothing he can do will redeem him in the eyes of God.
Instead of being resigned to his fate Constantine, like any
good con man, goes looking for a way out. Not helping his case are the events of
the second issue of the arc which sees Constantine go to Ireland and find his fellow wizard friend Brendan, a hard-drinking Irishman who revels later that he's not long for this world as well. After a lengthy bender, Brendan dies and Constantine pulls off one of his most
clever bits of trickery, duping Satan (called The First of The Fallen here)
from harvesting Brendan's soul. If he
wasn’t pegged for Hell, the First of the Fallen has pretty much made sure that
Constantine’s soul is headed for damnation after that. It’s moments like this
that make you love the character. Despite being called a bastard and scum of
the earth by nearly everyone he comes across, Constantine will still pull the wool over the eyes of Satan to save a friend (and himself, as we’ll get to
later).
One of the major highlights of the story is when it looks
past the grand concepts of Heaven and Hell and angels and demons. One of the
major characters featured in the story is Matt, a fellow cancer victim
Constantine meets in the hospital. Constantine’s conversations with Matt are some
of the best moments of the arc. Unlike Constantine, Matt has accepted his fate
and his bedridden and tube-filled body as constant reminder of what shortly waits for
Constantine.
The last three issues are where some of the best moments
occur. From Constantine making peace with his frustrated family and the few friends he has
left, to laying the seeds of the great con. The con that ends with a tense showdown with the three Lords of Hell and Constantine's inspired gambit where he bests the First of the Fallen at his own game. The penultimate issue of the story ends with Constantine's cancer cured and perhaps one of the most ballsiest moves in Hellblazer history: Giving the Devil the middle finger.
Pictured: Testicular Fortitude
But Constantine's triumph is fleeting. As the epilogue of the series, issue 46 shows the truth of the previous issue: Whatever victory Constantine managed it is only a temporary one, as the realization that he is mortal is driven home as Matt finally succumbs to cancer. He is cured of cancer, but one day Constantine will still die and when he does, he'll have to atone for his sins and the demons of Hell will be waiting.
Rating:
5 out of 5
Review by Matt Johnson
