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Underground > Comic Books >

Hellblazer #200

The Photographer in Blowup

17:10 / 02.10.04

The long-lasting Vertigo title, Hellblazer, has made it to the 200th issue! And Mike Carey celebrates by tossing John Constantine into three alternate realities where he lives apparently normal lives with the three women of his life.

Has anyone read the issue so far?

07:50 / 03.10.04

Anyone reading this still?

I quit after eight issues of Carey.

I've read most of the issues before Carey (skipped half of Jenkins run because I don't like Jenkins, half of Delano's run because I never got around to it). I'm re-reading Original Sins, and despite some of the choppy prose by Delano sometimes, I'm beginning to feel my old love for the comic.

Rare Cuts is out in January. Amazon.co.uk has a different cover for it which looks like a recycling of the poster for the vanishing remake and John looks like Kiefer Sutherland.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/1840239743.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

The American trade will have this cover..

http://www.insanerantings.com/hell/gallery/hbrc.html

Seeing Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison listed was not enough for me and part of was hoping they'd collect my favourite Hellblazer story (In Another Part of Hell by Delano) and the cover shows that it will!

Amazon.co.uk says it'll reprint six stories. I hope Garth Ennis' "Finest Hour" is in there.

Don't own a Hellblazer trade (do want to buy my own copy of Original Sins and Hard Time sometime) but I'm getting this one the week it's out.

Anyone here to tell me I should give Carey's book another try?

Our Lady Has Left the Building

11:18 / 03.10.04

It's a weird book because whenever I've dipped in it's tended to be uniformly awful. Never mind Azzarello's stuff, I recently read 'Rake At The Gates of Hell', Ennis' first run supposedly being some sort of high point for the series, and it really is poor!

11:27 / 03.10.04

'Rake at the Gates' was a pretty poor ending... but Ennis's earlier issues (like Dangerous Habits) were a lot better...

16:55 / 03.10.04

Interesting to see that the name "Constantine" is now quite prominent on the cover, almost as big as the Hellblazer title. The power of Keanu...

The Photographer in Blowup

13:59 / 04.10.04

I think Dangerous Habits is the apex of the title - it's the archetypical story of the hero whose life is completely turned upside-down, who then comes on top in the end and in the process everything in his life falls into place and is redefined for the better. Sort of Miller's Born Again or the amazing movie The Insider. It was also Constantine's biggest victory - where do you go after you beat the Devil? And Ennis had JC beating him two more times. And a while ago Carey went for a fourth.

For a comic that could speak directly about the Bergmanesque horror and cruelty inherent in man and the nature of evil, Hellblazer is a comic that really doesn't have anything new to say anymore besides the typical 'horror' stories we're only too comfortable with.

15:08 / 04.10.04

>> Interesting to see that the name "Constantine" is now quite prominent on the cover, almost as big as the Hellblazer title. The power of Keanu...

Yeah, I noticed that too. Comics always seem desperate to get the books in line with or visually tied into the logos/design of the movies at the time...I understand the marketing logic behind it, but sometimes it's a bit silly. In this case, I'd say it's warranted, since the title 'Hellblazer' doesn't really tell you it's about John Constantine, and he's hardly a famous character outside of comics.

17:08 / 04.10.04

Mike Carey's run has been sort of hit & miss. I've like his inclusion of Swamp Thing as well as some of the treatment of supporting cast and such. The preceeding storylines have been kind of interesting in that they actually have effected the greater world (though not quite effecting the "vertigo universe") that JC lives in.

I certainly enjoyed the trip down memory lane. I'm also glad the this story has the potential to change some of the entrenched dynamics of the charactor and his place in the world(s).

but yeah.. othertimes I'm not sure what I'm reading and wonder if the charactor's just tired.

22:21 / 04.10.04

I think I'm one of the few people who think Ennis' run is deeply overrated and it's only a few stories he's done are excellent.
Like the early two parter "The Pub Where I was Born"/"Love Kills."

Dangerous Habits is ok I suppose, I have much more of a fondness for some Delano stories, Some part of Azzarello's run, Ellis' short stories.

Delano's run gets better as he goes along, some of the stuff in Original Sins is absurd.

I suppose either the character works for you or he doesn't.

yawn - thing's buddy

12:46 / 07.10.04

i always thought the comic should be called:

constatine

not bloody hellblazer.

would start reading this again (stpped at ish 32) if a v.talented wirter picked it up and did a 12 issue lead in to his death, once and for all.

'voting tory can seriously dmage your health' - hellblazer number 3 and the best d.mckean cuv evah!

17:14 / 07.10.04

Death at Sun-up - I'm with you. I liked bits of Ennis' run (especially Dangerous Habits) but found it mostly unsatisfying.

Mainly I didn't like the villains. I think Constantine's stories ring more true when the horrors are closer to home - freaky shut-in neighbor from next door, creepy man at kids' playpark, etc. Having John go up against some of these extreme villains just wasn't very convincing. He doesn't just meet up with a vampire, he meets up with the KING of the Vampires. He doesn't just clash with a demon, he clashes with THE First of the Fallen. I think this detracted from the horror atmosphere, and I still feel that way whenever I see FotF pop up.

17:46 / 07.10.04

I prefered the reverse, i mean this is a character that convincingly at the entire kingdom of hell against itself just on the outcome of his sould , and whos knoweledge is is most dangerous weapon . I mean knowing stuff that the Phantom stranger dosnt is fairly impressive.

I found it gets dull, when they return to the mundain "horrors" far more fun to play out the usual meladrama and then have them realise at the end they never stood a chance and Constantines been screwing with them the whole time ! (Alaska based snow serial killer story for a good recent example of this). Couple of redneck sexual deviants getting one over on the eternal fool ? Lot of plot convience to cover that one .

The real horror of this series for me has been no matter how twisted or screwed up his foes, Constantine can and has gone worse , just to stop them !

03:03 / 11.10.04

I love Carey's run thus far, although will be sorry to see Frusin go. never cared for the Lucifer issues I've checked out (except for the one by Ormstein (SP?), but Hellblazer seems intriguing and well told these days, a welcome change of pace after Azz's more moody and subtle approach, strong as that was.

I see folks registering dislike of the current run, but not a lot of reasons why. Any of youse guys care to elaborate?

09:01 / 11.10.04

I gave Carey six or seven months and the book's direction seemed to lack originality and intelligence. It seemed as if Carey was writing bits of other people's constantine and no version of his own except something like an action hero. The book seemed to be written like an action film.

And the prose didn't grab me by the balls, the way Delano's did. I wish John Smith had written more than one issue, his fill-in is one of the best stories.

But it's been almost two years and I've forgotten most of my complaints. Posted them there about a year ago I think.

Anyone have a clue when Carey's out the door?

10:50 / 12.10.04

has everyone seen this?

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19121

just the bit one up from the bottom of the first post. it seems everyone's favourite speedfreak bodyhorror much neglected nutter is going to get a hefty slice of exposure across the water in the next six months. could could could this be enough to get him the hellblazer gig when carey goes? that would get me buying constantine again.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

11:22 / 12.10.04

I kind of pick it up on and off- I think I bought about the first eighty or so, then lost interest...

I agree that Ennis was overrated on Hellblazer. Dangerous Habits was good, some of them were excellent, but a lot of it was, well, not shit exactly, but definitely mediocre.
Delano was the best, and even some of his run was dodgy- (The computer one near the beginning was just silly). The Fear Machine storyline was excellent, though... possibly my favourite Hellblazer issues.

Some of the Azzarello stuff I've read was quite interesting, but a lot of it seemed fairly inconsequential somehow.

Constantine's weird- he's one of my all-time favourite characters, and I always like to see how he's doing every once in a while, but Hellblazer isn't one of my favourite comics.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

11:26 / 12.10.04

Gambit- just read your link. If Smith was doing it, I'd be SO buying it every month. And then (drifts off into fantasy-land) maybe he could pick up Scarab again...?