Hellblazer #92

Hellblazer (Single Issues)

by Paul Jenkins, Sean Phillips (Illustrator)

"Critical Mass" part 1! As John Constantine wrestles with a dark memory, a demon with an appetite for children's souls hatches an ambitious plot to realign the balance of power in hell.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Comics Manga

125 pages

First published July 1, 1995

About the author

Paul Jenkins is a British comic book writer. He has had much success crossing over into the American comic book market. Primarily working for Marvel Comics, he has had a big part shaping the characters of the company over the past decade.

Reviews

[47Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

Profanity is more present here, as are accents from the British Isles, things that I view as a plus. John's attitude is one of confidence on the outside, but within he doubts himself. He will need to employ magic he has never attempted along with strategic thinking to coax his way from being damned to hell.

A battle from 1642 left a lasting impression on the battlefield. Ghosts are seen even today of soldiers suffering and dying in battle. John is invited by his old friend Rich to a protest that turns violent, mirroring the medieval battle. John intends to pacify the spirits and release another friend whose spirit ended up transported into the past.

The demon Buer is the punisher of bad children in hell. He possesses Rich's boy, Syder, which reminds John of the child he almost saved from hell years ago. He visits Abaton, a magical land where all human knowledge is kept. While searching for a way to free the child he finds that John's own soul is already judged and will be sent to hell when he dies.

Buer needs John's soul to bring the first of the fallen back from his exile. He threatens to destroy Syder's spirit if John doesn't give up his soul. John splits his soul into two and gives up his weaker side to the first of the fallen who, in his anger, also assimilates Buer. John is safe for now and his sacrifice saves all the childrens' spirits Buer was torturing

[Grayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first longish story arc from Paul Jenkins, encompassing issues 91-96 of the series. The First of the Fallen is living among the humans in Greece, punished by God for his arrogance. His dedicated servant Buer decides to help his former lord return to his status as co-ruler of Hell, and to do that he has to get John Constantine's soul.

I really enjoyed this story. Jenkins is an excellent writer, and it kills me that so much of his work on Hellblazer has gone uncollected. This particular story is as good as most of the Delano or Ennis writing in this series. I like Jenkins' take on Constantine even more than Ennis', and Sean Phillips' art suits John perfectly. Five stars.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the ending but most of the stuff in the beginning and middle was just never-ending boredom and melodrama.
I'm also having a problem with the writing. Good comics portray the story through the art with minimal text. If you have the exact same shot in 3 different panels with the story told through enough text to fill a composition book, you have a problem.

[devon marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall - meh. Choppy, confusing, and vague. The art was just okay - Constantine's jowls were annoying, and scenes were generic. The frou-frou language was gibberish half the time, making figuring out what was happening confusing. But, the plot with the Devil, Buer, and Syder was pretty good.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chas story was great, so nice to finally get the background on those two. The Rainbow Serpent story was surreal (what Constantine isn't) and had a fabulous ending. Whaaat??? the Dark Prince is back...I can't believe it.

[Kurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The demon Buer is an overconfident dope. Constantine wins, of course.

[Rizki Maulana · Rating 3 out of 5]

another face off with the Devil himself, a little messy though, I prefer Deadly Habits

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Constantine....A demon that takes the souls of innocent children....Alester Crowley......Satan.... all fighting over Constantines soul. That's all I am saying. It was excellent.