Nergal & Newcastle (10-12). These three issues really form the conclusion of the major arc from volume 1, and so should have gone there, especially the Swamp Thing related issue. Ah well. 10 and 12 focus on the Resurrection Crusade and Nergal and are nice issues. There's a bit too much philosophical wankery in issue #10, of the sort that sometimes spoils Delano's writing. However in the end it offers some nice closure, and #12 does so even moreso. They're good plot-heavy issues [7/10]. On the ot...

The Devil You Know is way darker than Original Sins and I am not sure if that's a good or a bad thing here. A huge part of this volume is spent floating through other dimensions, the pacing wasn't even.In the first part of this volume (Sex and Death, Newcastle and The Devil You Know) Constantine finally faces Nergal and concludes that storyline. The Newcastle evens are revealed and they are horrible and brutal. This first part of the volume is good The middle of this volume, though, is not.On Th...

Unlike the first collected edition which was composed of nine issues, this second volume has only five (issues #10-13 and Annual #1).  The Devil You Know didn't have the same atmosphere as its predecessor volume did but that's most probably due to the length of the collection itself which was shorter and did not have that much action-oriented content.As I write this overall review, I look back at my individual analysis of each issue starting from #10 and I realized that the only two issues that

And so on to the next collected edition of the John Constantine Hellblazer series and as you would expect it pulls no punches. If anything it feels like it has settled in to its stride (which is rather surprising since the first book contained quite a long run of the comics in one).The social commentary which is such a strong theme through the book is still there and yes as a result does date it (The Falklands war...) but if anything it sets the gritty and over cast atmosphere - it taps in to a

4/10Ugh... I've only got one question to this comic: what was Delano taking when he was writing it all? Some kind of a powerful downer, that's for sure.There are some pretty good parts, like the Nergal showdown, nicely concluding the mystery of Newcastle and the events of the previous omnibus. But The Bloody Saint or The Horrorist are just so unbelievably self-indulgent, beset by a diarrhea of verbosity, a penchant for lengthy, rarely used words (Delano should really check out the meaning of hi...

The first 3 issues really belong in volume 1, finishing up the Resurrection Crusade and Nergal storylines. The Newcastle issue is where we get our first look in Hellblazer at the event that set Constantine on his course for the rest of his life. It's dark, sick, twisted, and engrossing. Delano gets lost too many times in this collection in astral plain / dream sequences. They are mind numbing at best and had me tempted to skip past them. The annual, The Bloody Saint, is awful. It's a weird take

I think that I like the idea of Hellblazer more than I actually like Hellblazer. Somewhere between the 80s-tastic artwork and the meandering storylines that don't accomplish anything, reading this became more work than fun, which is a huge no-no for comics. The weird sequencing didn't help either; this volume collects Hellblazer 10-13, which wraps up the story from the previous volume, but it had been so long since I read that that I had no memory of what was going on. The resolution was pretty

I was in two minds on how to rate this because it's a mixed bag, 'Sex and Death' was good but really should have been included in the first collection, the others were good enough although 'the bloody saints' felt a bit confusing and out of place (maybe I'm missing something from not being a scholar of Arthurian legend).But what brought this up to give stars for me was 'The Horrorist' which is just so beautifully disturbing, with gorgeous artwork. That one is going to stick with me for a while.

Ouch I really wasn't feeling this volume. Trippy would be too nice of a word. Too many astral plane issues, too many vague plotlines that hardly connect, qwful political peddling here, and the 2nd half of this book almost feels like it doesn't belong at all. A few interesting moments but it can't save this one. A 1.5 out of 5.

Didn’t enjoy this storyline at all.

I'll be honest, I just didn't like this one much. Delano is a talented enough writer, true. But it's simply not to my taste. It's far too unrelentingly dark and visceral, with characters that dance on the line between merely unlikeable and entirely obnoxious. Yes, even Constantine. I wonder if I like the idea of him better than I like the actual character? I was also surprised to discover how deeply rooted the book is in late 80s British politics, about which I have limited knowledge and interes...

Way better than the first volume, which was so bad it made me hold off on continuing for months! Now this Volume actually gets good after an average beginning while ending with a banger drawn up by David Lloyd (wow what an amazing artist), his work in here easily trades punches with the best. Finally I have a reason to get going with this series. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars

Another volume of gritty, haunting stories. The art as usual is fantastically done. At least one of the stories in this volume gave some heavy bizarro vibes. And I think the most chilling was the story of Angel.Another great volume that I took too long to read! By this point I've seen more media with John Constantine and needless to say, he's easily become one of my favorite characters, and I can't wait to continue on with this series!

This second volume of the original Hellblazer stories starts strong, with John tackling Nergal and wrapping up the overarching plot from the first nine issues of the series.Then it begins to lose its way a bit, with a surreal issue about nuclear holocaust, and an annual that makes no sense whatsoever.However, the final third is strong once again as the two-part "The Horrorist" mini-series wraps the trade up with a maniacal storyline that redeems the collection after it meanders in the middle.Jam...

The DC Vertigo series “John Constantine: Hellblazer”, which was first published in 1987, was a dark-fantasy/horror graphic novel series written by Jamie Delano and a bevy of talented artists.I’ve been trying to come up with an explanation for why the series was such a popular one, other than great writing and artwork, of course. Because many graphic novel series with great writing and artwork have succumbed to low sales and dwindling popularity. “Hellblazer” stuck around for nearly 30 years. It

Fscking turrible slog. Could not Wade through to the end. On the advice of good friends on Goodreads, I’m skipping the rest of the Delano run and going straight to Dangerous Habits for my re-reading pleasure.

What's in that tea? Review for Hellblazer Issues #10-13Okay, I really really liked volume 1 in Jamie Delano's Hellblazer run. It sets up the character and the character's world really well and it was just really damn entertaining. But I really wasn't too big of a fan of this volume. I liked one issue a lot. And for those of you who read this book, I think you know which one. It feels like as the reader you are on an acid trip and trying to read a book. Okay, that sounds a little harsh but its

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This rating is mostly due to how cool the art style is. I loved the psychedelic aesthetic of issue 12. Plot-wise, it seemed all over the place. It’s clear the will to approach political matters along with introspective subjects but, in my opinion, Delano didn’t manage to mix them interestingly. On top of that, sometimes, John Constantine is a boring character to follow. Regardless of this two installments didn’t work for me as I expected, my mind is still open for Garth Ennis’ run

This is a re-read from me. Re-visiting John Constantine from way back in the early 90's. I originally read the comics, not the TPB, but they were borrowed from a friend so, except for the Horrorist (which I own), I no longer have copies.The 4 stars would be how I felt about the stories back in the day. Now, I might be inclined to give these stories a 3 star rating, but I'm not sure that's entirely fair. I was hooked on Hellblazer, and it had to be pretty good for me to keep reading.Constantine i...