Hellblazer - Rake At The Gates of Hell (Ennis Vol. 6)

Hellblazer - Rake At The Gates of Hell
By Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon

Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Throughout Garth Ennis' stellar run on Hellblazer, he spent a lot of time building up a solid, ever-evolving story. Threw together many elements and made them work. Built towards what looked to be a remarkable confrontation with the devil himself. How would Constantine get out of the jam he was in? What amazing plan would he hatch? Could he once again pull the figurative rabbit out of the hat? It was thrilling to imagine the ways in which this could have played out.

Reading the finished product was less thrilling than the imagining.

Rake At The Gates Of Hell is a solid, if unremarkable, final story arc, bringing to a close Ennis' (usually) fantastic Hellblazer run. I only wish it could have finished as strongly as it started, because when this run was good, it was OUTSTANDING. This, though, was just pretty good ... and that's it.

Sure, the writing remained crisp and lively. Yes, Steve Dillon's art continued to be beautiful in its simplicity and top-shelf in its storytelling.

Just didn't have the rousing finish a reader would hope to see, is all.

Oh yeah, and whose idea was it to cap things off with a lengthy, tedious double issue of talk, talk, talk, none of which had anything to do with Constantine or the core story? Stupid, stupid, stupid to place this special issue at the end of this volume. Bad call by DC's graphic novel editorial type people.

An earlier version of this review was originally posted at IMWAN.com.

Read my regular, everything-and-anything (usually on writing and music) blog right over here.

Hellblazer - Damnation's Flame (Ennis Vol. 5)

Hellblazer - Damnation's Flame
By Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon

So, Damnation's Flame. Or Damn Nation's Flame. Clever, huh? Little bit of subtle commentary, right? Goes right along with the whipsmart political and social commentary of the story, yeah?

No.

No, not clever, or subtle, or smart, or any such thing. It's not that Ennis' political commentary is offensive or wrong or anything like that. That's not the issue. The issue is that it's clunky and heavy-handed and so blindly obvious as to be insulting to the reader.

Look, JFK has a hole in his head! Look, Uncle Sam is an evil Devil guy! Look, people are eating one another in the streets! Yada yada yada and blah blah blah.

Whatever.

Again, it's got nothing to do with what Ennis is saying or the message he's delivering, it's got everything to do with how he's saying it. And how is "not very well." Clumsy and ham-fisted does not make for good political commentary.

I love Ennis' run on this title, I really do, but Damnation's Flame was a misstep from the word go. It was an adequate, and nothing better than adequate, step away from the overarching narrative Ennis had until this point been telling. Not necessary, and in retrospect not overly enjoyable, either.

An earlier version of this review was originally posted at IMWAN.com.

Read my regular, everything-and-anything (usually on writing and music) blog right over here.

Hellblazer - Tainted Love (Ennis Vol. 4)

Hellblazer - Tainted Love
By Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon

This collection is a fine example of why Garth Ennis' run on Hellblazer is held in such high esteem. This does not collect an epic arc or grand story or any such thing. Rather, Ennis takes little bits of what came before and spins a handful of standalone-yet-connected stories that center on John Constantine and the people he knows.

And it's fantastic.

In a two-parter, we revisit the King of the Vampires from the Bloodlines collection in a surprisingly gruesome story. But gruesome isn't the point. The point is the broken state of Constantine's heart and mind. That the story springs from seeds planted much earlier only serves to make it better. Solid stuff.

In another story the focus is almost entirely on Constantine's lover, Kit. This is a great example of what Ennis does best -- build character. Sure, sure, he curses a lot and has scenes of graphic sex and violence, but at their core the best Ennis stories are about people, not shocking content. THAT'S why people loved Preacher so much. Not because of the sex and violence, but because we liked those characters so much. When he's on his game, few people do better "talking heads" comics.

"Finest Hour" is a decent little one-shot that has very little to do with Constantine, yet somehow manages to symbolize his struggle to overcome the despair he wallows in throughout most of this volume. It's a diversion, but one that resonates. A side story, yet one that works for the ongoing saga.

There is also a dark, disturbing one-shot from the Hellblazer Special featuring a madman priest, the devil, child abuse, and other friendly fellows. This one will make you shudder. A lot. Dire and wonderful stuff, this is.

This is, alas, Ennis' peak on Hellblazer.

Oh yeah, and did I mention it's fantastic?

An earlier version of this review was originally posted at IMWAN.com.

Read my regular, everything-and-anything (usually on writing and music) blog right over here.

Hellblazer - Fear and Loathing (Ennis Vol. 3)

Hellblazer - Fear and Loathing
By Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon

Garth Ennis' run on Hellblazer is respected for a reason. Because it's good. But it's no knock on Ennis to offer much of the credit to artist Steve Dillon, who jumps on board with this volume, and in doing so launches the book into the stratosphere. Ennis and Dillon would go on to have some great collaborations -- the beloved Preacher and Ennis' under-read Punisher run the two best -- but I'll always have a warm place in my heart for this one.

Dillon's entry into the Hellblazer fray is a Good Thing. Nay, this is a Great Thing, because his art is fantastic. Not fantastic in the big, bombastic way of glitzy comic artists and loud superhero books. His is a more controlled look. More focused. It's a bit busy and sketchy in these early issues (he loses the sketchy look partway through this run), but right out of the gate his main strength is apparent: He's a great, great storyteller.

And THAT, my friends, is a huge part of what makes him so great. Sure, his lines are attractive and he draws some of the most expressive faces in the business. A good thing, that, considering how talking Ennis-penned books can be. But the real key to his work is that he's a damn good storyteller, quite a rare thing these days. One can eliminate all the text from the page and yet still have a great sense for what's happening. His panels are clear. Never cluttered. Always direct.

Modern artists could learn a thing or two from Steve Dillon.

That artwork is attached to Ennis' best Hellblazer story to date. Here we've got Constantine making life very, very difficult for the angel Gabriel - and is there anything better than seeing this sour-pussed Englishman make like difficult for a snooty angel? I think not. Excellent stuff. Very well executed.

This volume also contains one of my favorite stories, John Constantine's 40th birthday party, which is warm and funny and features some fantastic guest appearances. Anyone up for smoking the Swamp Thing?

It's all being done with a purpose, too. One nice thing about Ennis' run is that everything seems to be built upon which came before, yet it rarely feels forced or as if Ennis is pushing around pawns for his plot. Instead, the overall tale builds in a very natural, character-driven way. I like that.

Great stuff.

An earlier version of this review was originally posted at IMWAN.com and was also featured at PopThought.com.

Read my regular, everything-and-anything (usually on writing and music) blog right over here.