After their successful run on Marvel’s “The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl” (the latter third of the series) and brief stint on “Jughead,” writer extraordinaire Ryan North and wonderfully charming artist Derek Charm crossed over all the way from New York to California to work with the Distinguished Competition with an ideal character for young readers. Of course I’m talking about *checks notes*, John Constantine!? Well, that was unexpected.
Written by Ryan NorthCover by Derek Charm
Art by Derek Charm
Letters by Wes Abbot
Published by DC ComicsAfter angering a number of hostile spirits in England, 13-year-old magician Johnny Constantine has to find a way out of the country. Persuading his parents to send him to America, John arrives at the Junior Success Boarding School in Salem, Massachusetts. But once there, he finds himself to be something of an outcast. And he is also convinced that his homeroom teacher really has it in for him. Worse, he’s convinced that’s she’s really a witch.
Fortunately, John is able to find one kindred spirit at school with whom he’s able to form an alliance—another misfit named Anna, who also happens to have her own developing magical powers. John recruits Anna in his efforts to uncover the truth about Ms. Kayla and expose the Meanest Teacher’s real identity to the world. Joined by a friendly demon named Etrigan, these two amateur sleuths will uncover clues and stumble upon forces beyond their control in a humorous series of misadventures.
As you probably know, DC had a brilliantly simple idea a couple of years ago, they released two imprints focused on Young Adults and Kids (formerly Ink and Zoom) and so far it has been working impeccably in it’s mission to make accessible their characters for younger audiences, and here we have a great book that flawlessly exemplifies that approach: “The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher: A Johnny Constantine Graphic Novel.”
The book follows the story of a young John Constantine, who wants to be called ‘Kid,’ and his antics which angers a bunch of English ghosts, forcing him to flee to America. With this, the team manages to transform one of DC’s most mischievous good guys into a relatable boy without losing many of his characteristics. This version of Constantine is funny, carefree and quippy, uses magic for his convenience, has adventures with ghosts and demons and is all about having fun.
Artist Derek Charm translates the physical features of the character into a simple but really expressive and effective image: a blonde kid with a popsicle instead of a cigarette and his characteristic trench coat. But how do you translate the tortured Constantine? The guy with a past that haunts him? For example, we can think of a recent book, the excellent “Hellblazer: Rise and Fall,” where we also have a kid Constantine that murdered a friend.
Well, writer Ryan North manages to do so in an ingenious way. This Constantine also has a somewhat tragic past and life; he tried to show his friend Ben that he used magic but when the boy freaked out, ‘Kid’ had to delete his memory and now his best friend doesn’t remember him. It’s not the literal dead that tortures him but his most important friendship died that day. An element here that seems different from the “adult” character is that this Constantine has parents. At first, they seem to be all right, but on the other hand, they didn’t realize that their child was missing and they send him to a boarding school across the ocean with no problem, which shows real disinterest for the boy.
This book works as a perfect introduction for kids to the world of comics. It is structured in seven parts that feel like issues both in length and in content. In the first chapter we meet Constantine and his misadventures; in the second, we ae introduced to the main setting, the school, and we meet Anna, the other protagonist, who quickly bonds with Kid thanks to Magic. In the third part, we meet the main antagonist, and the two friends quickly realize that she is a witch.
Continued belowThe fourth part shows us the emotional stakes of the protagonists. While Constantine doesn’t want to think of himself as a hero, Anna has compassion for the other kids. Their relationship works just like their adult counterparts where (spoiler) Zatanna is constantly trying to bring Constantine to the good guys’ side. I won’t talk much about the other three “issues,” but they meet a new friend, Etrigan the demon, they fight the villain, and save the world. The lessons given in the book are great. Ghosts, witches and demons exist, but they are not always inherently bad; just like humans, there are good people and bad people, and it’s up to the reader to choose who they want to be with.
It also teaches younger kids how to read comics, with every chapter following a different but continuous story. Derek Charm’s art is carefully planned to be an easy introduction to new readers and slowly evolves throughout the book. The first two chapters have pages with mainly 5 panels arranged in different ways, but with the introduction of the antagonist, Charm begins to use more elaborate panels, tilted and superimposed and more expressive faces and dynamic movements. His use of color is also masterful, showing us different environments and feelings.
Speaking of every chapter being different, Anna narrates the fifth, and both kids narrate the sixth, so, we have jumps between different ways of talking too. Letterer Wes Abbot deserves special mention for differentiating between the two kids’ narration, the chapter pages’ introductions, and giving special voices to demons, Ms. Kayla, ghosts and, especially, Etrigan.
Overall, “The Mystery of the Meanest Teacher” is a beautiful looking book, where both artist and writer showed with confidence their abilities on pacing, structure and humor, and most importantly it is a perfect “first comic” to any young reader who wants to begin but doesn’t know where. The last pages teased a possible sequel book, and if I can ask for something, it would be to give Zatanna a space in the title, given how important she was to the story.
