John Constantine has a new creative team ready to get him into all sorts of dark trouble. How does this first issue go? Let’s take a look.
Written by Tim Seeley
Illustrated by Jesus Merino
Colored by Carrie Strachen
Lettered by Sal Cipriano“THE SPIRIT HUNTER” part one! Home from Paris, John gets in a drunken argument, has a terrible dream about a dead teenager, and then finds the corpse. Did someone use his imagination as a weapon, or has his distaste for humanity made him a murderer?
Old John has had a bit of turbulence these last few years. Ever since the end to his legendary, 300-issue Vertigo series, the quality of the Hellblazer’s ventures back in the main DC continuity has gone through some peaks and troughs; ranging from the “mediocre” to the “surprisingly good” to the “sixteen-part crossover? Are you kidding me?!” Rebirth’s relaunch was not a particularly stellar series, feeling incredibly cluttered and at times nonsensical (not in a good way like some urban fantasy can be). However, now the book has a brand new team of Tim Seeley (himself no stranger to horror) and Jesus Merino to perhaps take one of DC’s most premiere magic users in a better direction.
With that in mind, “The Hellblazer” #13 is a decent enough first issue to the arc. Anyone familiar with the character of John Constantine will find a lot of things familiar here. John wakes up after a massive bender, covered in blood. This sets up an investigation as to whether or not Constantine was a killer or if someone is using him involving shady characters, an old flame, now police inspector, and mystical booze. But like any good noir, it’s more about the character than setting and plot. Seeley has shown to have a good handle on John as a character, his bitterness and cynicism mixed with a wit. While the book isn’t nearly as politically charged as some of the more seminal runs with the character have been, it still stands as a recognizable incarnation that can hopefully be molded in future issues.
That said, while the story itself is a solid enough beginning, it isn’t anything extremely revolutionary. Naturally, the police inspector hates Constantine’s guts, as is expected of John’s many former love interests. Also just as natural, Constantine lies and creates obscurity, failing to mention to her that it’s possible his imagination caused the murder via magic. Hell, Seeley perhaps even acknowledges that Constantine lying is “something that I’m sure will make your jaw drop,” he says to the audience sarcastically. At least being self-aware of the tropes that have been part of “Hellblazer” since it’s creation is better than just going through the tale blindly. It manages to provide a solid enough cliffhanger to make one want to see what happens next, which should be the objective of any first issue, but it just barely makes it to that line.
While the story premise and character work in “The Hellblazer” #13 is pretty standard John Constantine, the attraction here is the artwork. To me, Jesus Merino has always been an artist that I found to be okay. Not bad, but it had never been anything quite remarkable either. However, teaming up with colorist Carrie Strachan really helped set the tone this story needed and is easily the highlight. Their artwork reminded me a bit of Lee Bremejo’s work, albeit not to the ultra detail that artist would go to. The dim and dark atmosphere (even in well-lit places), really sells the misery of the magical bastard. Everything in the issue has a dingy and lived in feel to it. From the pub John drinks the mystical liquor to the old motel he crashes at to the worn down police station to… well… John himself.
Yeah, a flaw in a lot of the Post-Flashpoint showings of Constantine is that he looks too neat. Sure, he’ll be scruff-faced and such, but it was very rare for him to look like he is beaten half to death. Merino and Strachan rectify that very much in this book. Aside from the fact that it seems they made him look a little older than artists like Riley Rossmo did, this Constantine looks exhausted. Bags under his eyes, a stare that can make it seem like he’s not all there at times, dry vomit on his lips. He looks like a guy that has taken a beating, even if it is self-induced. Merino and Strachan also have pushed the limits the main DC universe allows it when it comes to violence, with a torrent of blood spraying onto Constantine from an air conditioner unit.
“The Hellblazer” #13 is not the slam dunk of an issue one could’ve been hoping to revitalize a character that has had inconsistent quality over these last few years. However, when in comparison to that inconsistent quality, it does rank higher than a lot of other issues we’ve seen lately. It’s got potential to definitely go somewhere interesting, Seeley, Merino and Strachan are still just making their way towards that.
Final Verdict: 6.0- A solid enough issue of “Hellblazer” with some potential.
