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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic and underrated,
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This review is from: Hellblazer: The Fear Machine (Hellblazer (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback)
I can't believe this item is rated so poorly. I've read nearly everything on the Hellblazer line and this rates near the top. Everything that the other reviewers criticize I thought, by contrast, was a strength. I didn't find the portrayal of Constantine as a hippie to be unrealistic. We see Constantine at a very youthful stage in his life, and he begins to become a man in this volume. The far-out story telling (have you ever heard of ley-lines?) takes you for a wild ride, but it is original and refreshing when compared to usual themes of demons and hell that one frequently encounters reading Constantine's other adventures. Of course, if Jamie Delano's style turns you off, and I don't know why it would, then that's something that won't change with this book. It's just that these issues are absolutely classic and some of the earliest ones out there. One can't argue that Delano developed the core of Constantine's world (check out "Original Sins") after the character was created by Alan Moore in the Swamp Thing a few years earlier. Whether you are new to Hellblazer or a dedicated fan, I highly recommend this title. Don't let it go out of print!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Rare Misfire in Delano's Hellblazer Run,
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This review is from: Hellblazer: The Fear Machine (Hellblazer (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback)
First off, thank goodness this trade exists. I love Jamie Delano's run on Hellblazer, which was frustratingly incomplete until Vertigo finally set out to collect his brilliant post-Original Sins storylines. I loved the stories included in The Devil You Know, which wrapped up -the events left dangling in the Original Sins trade and included the disturbing yet beautiful Horrorist mini-series. I have yet to read The Family Man, but I plan on picking it up soon. Let's hope the next trade wraps up Delano's initial run!
But, as my title indicates, this story was a disappointment. The artwork is there, as are the government conspiracies, nightmarish violence, and trippy concepts. Alas, like many arcs that stretch past 6 issues, The Fear Machine falters and ultimate becomes a chore to read. Maybe it's that imagining Constantine as a hippie just doesn't click, but the story felt like another title altogether. Plus, there are no breaks in the main story, as there were in the "Zed" storyline from Original Sins and The Devil You Know. By the final issue, you're praying the climax will be earth-shattering, and while all the elements are there (sex, rituals, saving the world yet again), I mostly felt relief that I'd actually reached the end. That said, I still liked more of the storyline than I hated. Delano always pushes the envelope and throws more originality into every page than you're bound to see in countless "edgy" imitations. My advice is to go for the first 2 Delano trades first, otherwise you may be disappointed. Let's hope they wrap up the run in paperbacks soon!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Plodding Hellblazer from the late 80's,
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This review is from: Hellblazer: The Fear Machine (Hellblazer (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback)
The Fear Machine collects Hellblazer 14-22, originally published in 1988 and 1989.
Although the collection is... ok (not bad, but certainly worthy of its mediocre 3 star rating), it mostly serves as a reminder of how the comic industry has progressed in the past 20 years. The art and colors feel dated, and the Thatcher's-Government-Is-Out-To-Get-You plotting by bureaucratic evil-doers has been replaced by much sleeker military-corporate conspiracy theories over the past two decades... A Freemason/Corporate/Government conspiracy (involving black wizards and corrupt cops) has built a 'fear machine' - raising a giant Freemasonic Lovecraftian beastie by using psychics to suck fear into a big Stonehengey box. Fighting for the good guys? John Constantine, of course. This time, he's aided by a group of travellers - gypsy renegades who live off the grid and practice oddball nature magic. There are a few tense moments, but mostly this is a plodding, slightly confusing, journey from start to finish. Except for a few brief moments of decisive action (most of which amount to nothing), Constantine is a frail and useless bystander. I don't mind Constantine not blasting away with eldritch bolts, but I do resent following someone that is, at best, ineffectual. He isn't being crushed by the baddies either - he's just not very good at anything, keeps making fumbling mistakes, and is eventually kicked into the corner by a pair of uninteresting ex-lovers, who solve everything on their own. This is a low point in Delano's otherwise solid run, but I definitely prefer the more sinister, more potent Constantine from the Ellis & Ennis eras.
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