Customer Reviews

Hellblazer: Original Sins

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

John Constantine made his mark in these stories from the first 9 issues of HELLBLAZER. Beginning with "Hunger," where Constantine has to "bottle up" a demon before it consumes a whole city, the reader is introduced to a man who doesn't fight for heaven or hell, but rather to save mankind from getting caught in between. Using whatever means necessary, including the lives of anyone who is too close to him, Constantine rages against the unfairness of it all. Fueled by Jamie Delano's rage of Britain's and America's system of government and economy, Constantine battles yuppie demons and stands against both the Resurrection Crusaders and the Damnation Army in his hope that man will be allowed to make their own mistakes. However, the art doesn't help tell the story. Ridgeway's work is extremely "scratchy" and only the addition of Alcala's inks at the end of the collection make things This collection is a bit dated, with its Thatcher references and a connection to the Swamp-Thing series that hampers understanding of all the references, but it is a solid beginning. And it does make you wonder...What exactly did happen at Newcastle?"

With the new film soon out I thought that I should defend this comic book. I fear that the film will remove everything that is good, which is not unusual for Hollywood anyway! First of all I have serious doubts about Keanu Reeves as Constantine. Why not Jude Law?
John Constantine, is a punk-gothic anti-hero. He has a conscience, but it is hidden behind too much cynicism, alcohol, and tobacco. He has seen too much. His world is not the cosy world of nine-to-five jobs, or simple cause and effect. He is a mage, albeit a minor one. In the comics he is first and foremost a facilitator. He is one of the few that can move freely in both 'normal' and supernatural society. Of course, that leaves a twisted mind.
What really made this comic stand how it delivered its political message. All stories in this collection are very political, but they deliver their message in a very allegorical form. They chill me out because they capture so well the atmosphere of the 1980s, or the 2000s for that matter! The portray a spiritual poverty that opens up doors for forces both from heaven and hell to enter and exploit.
Some stories deal with the people that are just out to make money, other, more frightening stories, deal with the forces of hell and heaven that are trying to take over our daily lives. Yuppies are created by demons from hell and satan worshippers sacrifice runaway children. By far the most dangerous threat is posed by the well-organised and fanatical christian fundamentalists. Try the truly shocking story "When Johnny comes marching home" which deals with the scars left by the Vietnam war on the US. This is my favourite since it really transcends the classical horror genre and creates something truly new. It is not rotting corpses coming back - it is something so much worse that comes back...
The drawings can be very evocative, capturing extremely well the grime and filth of industrial England. Sometimes they are bland, but sometimes they are extremely evocative and powerful.
I just want to add that this review is for the first book only; the other ones are not half as good.
John Constantine is also a minor character in the comics Swamp Thing, Books of Magic, and Sandman.

Originally a supporting character brought to life by visionary comic scribe Alan Moore in his legendary run on Swamp Thing, the hard drinking, hard smoking, bad luck magic mage named John Constantine got his own series with Hellblazer. Collecting the first nine issues of the series written by Jamie Delano and drawn by John Ridgeway, Original Sins is really nothing special compared to the following volumes helmed by various creators. Delano's story is sufficient enough, albeit sometimes incoherent, while Ridgeway's art is nothing more than average at best. However, Original Sins is a nice starting point for newer Hellblazer readers (of which there possibly will be more with the upcoming release of the feature film entitled Constantine with Keanu Reeves in the starring role) and it only gets better from this point forward. Future volumes which feature work by future Preacher creators Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, Transmetropolitan creator Warren Ellis, 100 Bullets scribe Brian Azzarello, and current writer Mike Carey, are much better and amazing comic work, and are more than worth your time.

Excellent excellent read. I came across it while plumbing through the DC/Vertigo titles and have greatly enjoyed the entire series.

This is a THICK book and full of the old stories that were printed years ago. But if you're a graphic novel fan (as opposed to comic books), you proably haven't seen these. The one about "Yuppie Soul Brokers From Hell" is especially fun.

Between this and the Sandman series, I've been very impressed by the quality of the genre.

I admit I picked this one up because I really liked the movie. I'd been warned that the movie was nothing like the actual comic, but all the elements of the movie that I enjoyed most were present.

The art is dated and doesn't add much, but the writing is amazing, especially in the middle story, a supernatural tale of war life and rural reality colliding most violently, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". "Waiting for the Man" also features some very disturbing sections, but like the rest of this volume it's full of loose ends and set ups for later plot lines.

A lot of the imagery in the movie did come straight from the comic, as did large portions of the plot. In fact, I have to wonder, other than the comic Constantine being blond and English rather than Keanu Reeves, what the complaint is. The same callous, ballsy Constantine finds himself dragged into paranormal threat after paranormal threat, often by a damsel in distress. While it's made clear that he's neutral and not on the side of heaven, hell or the ethereal, most of the plots in HellBlazer: Original Sins have Constantine coming up against the demonic side of things more than anything else.

It's definitely a good read, filled with strong, emotional writing and gritty, interesting characters. But beware, this volume leaves off, literally, in the middle of a scene so you might want to buy volumes one and two together.

Delano takes a deeper look into the world of John Constantine. This first take on the character since introduced by Allen Moore (comic-diety) isn't as crisp as later versions, but the edginess is what gives it the old horror comic charm. A great launch from once-supporting character (that at times overshadowed the main character in Swamp Thing) to a lead that can hold his own, plus some.

I recently started reading the Hellblazer monthly comic book, and I just had to start collecting the TPBs. John Constantine is a fascinating character that I want to know more about. The only difficulty this collection (Issues 1-9) presents is some crossings with the Swamp Thing. I probably should try to get some Swamp Thing as well for the full picture. I like the horrific tone of this collection, plus the supernatural edge it has.

I'm new to reading graphic novels. Upon watching the movie Constantine with Keaneu Reves that I really liked, I decided to purchase this first book in the Hellblazer series. I was not disappointed. It was a great read overall, very gritty and twisted, with a great dark, dare I say hero, in John Constantine. To me, this grahic novel is more like reading about major supernatural events that occur in John's life rather than reading about a hero's good deeds done. Although John's character does good deeds when evil supernatural beings need taking down. John's character is cynical and world-weary, with everything he's seen and been through. Each story is about a supernatural predicament, each of them dangerous. The second story in this first book was not too great, but all the other stories in this book were very good reading. What a great first book, I've already purchased an older version of the second one, Dangerous Habits, at a local Comic-Con. Can't wait to read it.

I had heard of Hellblazer/John Constantine previous to seeing the film, but hadn't read any of the comics. I decided to pick this up after I had seen the movie and enjoyed it. I see where most of the inspiration came from in the comic, and I really like the setting and down trodded hero John Constantine. The book spans quite a few issues of the comic, most of them having some kind of resolution and some spanning a few comics. I thought most of them had a lot of character and really made you feel like you knew John Constantine, or at least found him to be amusing. The books initially came out in the 80's, a cameo role in the Swamp Thing series had turned into John Constantine having his own comics. The art is old and it shows, as is the pages and physical quality of the book as well. That being said, I really did enjoy this read. The comic has lots of character to it and a whole world of great material to pull from if this were ever to be made into a game or sequel film. B+! Grade wise ;)

I first heard of John Constantine through the movie of the same name. That is where the similarities end. The comic book is ten times better than the film. It is smart, political, and edgy. There are parts that are funny, some parts that are serious, and all in all the book is just fun to read. The movie Constantine does not do the Hellblazer series justice.

The movie missed the politics of the time, the religious parodies that would irritate any fundie Christian, and the character himself. John Constantine is witty, brash, arrogant and at times charming. He's not some melancholy, poor me, emo like Keanu portrayed him as. If you are a fan of the film, check out the book. You will be sorry if you don't. Hollywood doesn't have the balls to do a real Hellblazer movie. The religious right would flip out if they did.