(I originally read these comics in late December 2015)
I have fond memories of reading Wein/Wrightson's 'Swamp Thing' 10+ Christmases ago, so thought I'd opt for some DC horror for that festive feeling.
John Constantine is basically an occultist/con-man introduced in the pages of Swamp Thing by Alan Moore and later spun off into his own series, 'Hellblazer.' I'd wanted to read Garth Ennis' run on the character for years as it was a big gap in my knowledge of his work. Yeah, I'm a fan... but I've disliked almost as much of his work as I've loved. Unfortunately the more I read of his Hellblazer, the more it resembled the former.
Ennis' first story is the most fondly remembered, in which Constantine contracts lung cancer and outwits the Devil in saving himself. There's another memorable one about a thinly-disguised Prince Charles being possessed by the same demon that drove Jack the Ripper to kill. The plots are okay in themselves, but I just can't imagine twisted tales of devils, demons and fallen angels being scary to anybody but the most fervent Catholics, especially when their speech patterns barely differ from the usual drunks and bums depicted. It's the relentless squalor that wore me down. Every room depicted is strewn with beer cans and cigarette butts. Aside from the tediously excessive swearing (there's barely a speech bubble goes by without a 'shit' or a 'piss'), it's Ennis' way to show in graphic detail what could be implied. (Do we really have to see bed sheets stained with blood after a vicious rape?) There are innumerable vomiting scenes... You get the drift. I've already read 'Preacher,' so should've known what to expect. He also brings his Northern Irish heritage to bear on the series to too great an extent. John spends every other issue in the pub drinking Guinness and everybody calls everybody else a 'frigger,' or 'yeh bollicks,' seemingly whether they're Irish or not.
Garth Ennis is perhaps an example of a writer who reads best when he reins in his excesses. The late highlight of my read-through was the 'Heartland' book, which spins John's ex-girlfriend Kit off into her own comic. There wasn't one puking scene, and it was all the better for it.
I'm glad I read these, but I can't imagine ever returning to them.
Hellblazer (1988) # 41-46 are collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 41 is collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 47-61 are collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 47-50/52-55/59-61 are collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 62-71/Vertigo Jam (1993) # 1/Hellblazer Special (1993) # 1 are collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 62-67 are collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 68-71/Vertigo Jam (1993) # 1/Hellblazer Special (1993) # 1 are collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 72-83/Heartland (1997) # 1 are collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 72-77 are collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 78-83/Heartland (1997) # 1 are collected in:
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Hellblazer (1988) # 129-133 are collected in:
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