John Constantine: Hellblazer (2019-) #3
DC Comics
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Art: Aaron Campbell & Jordie Belaire
The conclusion to John Constantine’s new title series was released and it finally shows just how well this comeback of Con Job can actually go.
The issue starts directly where the last one left off, with John dealing with the homeless man at Peckham Rye who turns out, is the source and responsible for all the murders that have been going on at the park. Constantine is then interrupted by Noah and other members of the Ri-Boys Gang who try to end the mayhem by shooting the homeless man in the head. Needless to say, things don’t go so well.
Spurrier’s conduction of this first arc was sublime! Especially in what concerns the pacing of the story, there was a whole feel to it which reminded this reviewer of the old Hellblazer book. Everything was really laid out in a spectacular giving the mystery, and obviously the story arc, an incredibly decent conclusion sprinkled with humorous moments. There’s a specific section of this issue which was pure Hellblazer gold where John starts to set up his final move on the magic entity and it cuts to and from John taking the bus and arguing with the other passengers for ordinary… well, bus occurrences. And the fact that the scene makes sure the reader sees both the mundane and the smart type of John’s simultaneously was a brilliant move on the writing. Contributed hugely, especially in this issue, by the lettering (by Aditya Bidikar) which reflects the tone of dialogue perfectly.
The art for this chapter, having been made by the same pair of artists from the last two (Aaron Campbell and Jordie Belaire), has not surprised, in a good way. All the panels were beautifully composed. The line art showed another gorgeous set of realistic yet ethereal compositions along with the on-point coloring reflecting London’s dual atmosphere which was pretty damn effective on the scene I mentioned above. However there was another detail I preferred about the artwork in this issue, which was put in a scene where John cast some sort of shadow around him and Noah in order to hide them. The representation of this shadowy magic (hazy and dark) set an impressive contrast against the “angels” bright and warm streams of mystique.
John Constantine: Hellblazer‘s first arc is concluded. It was a tremendously good one, to begin with. The cast of artists could not have been a better one since it feels, throughout all three issues which compose this arc, that all the members of this creative team made it together, in the same room with a passion for the project. Now it’s official: John Constantine is back and I, for one, cannot wait for more of his stories.
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John Constantine: Hellblazer (2019-) #3
John Constantine: Hellblazer's first arc is concluded. It was a tremendously good one to begin with. The cast of artists could not have been a better one since it feels, throughout all three issues which compose this arc, that all the members of this creative team made it together, in the same room with a passion for the project. Now it's official: John Constantine is back and I, for one, cannot wait for more of his stories.
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