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Hellblazer #19
Hellblazer: Highwater by Brian Azzarello
Collecting all of Eisner Award-winning writer Brian Azzarello's remaining issues of HELLBLAZER (#164-174), this hefty 264-page trade paperback brings to a shattering finale John Constantine's arduous trek across America and answers the burning questions that put him on the road in the first place. This volume features two complete story arcs — "Highwater" and "Ashes & Dust" — each illustrated by Marcelo Frusin. Also included are two "A Fresh Coat of Red Paint" (with art by Guiseppe Camuncoli) and "Chasing Demons" (with art by Cameron Stewart).
Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2004
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About the author
Brian Azzarello
1,298 books1,106 followersBrian Azzarello (born in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer. He came to prominence with 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. He and Argentine artist Eduardo Risso, with whom Azzarello first worked on Jonny Double, won the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story for 100 Bullets #15–18: "Hang Up on the Hang Low".
Azzarello has written for Batman ("Broken City", art by Risso; "Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire", art by Lee Bermejo, Tim Bradstreet, & Mick Gray) and Superman ("For Tomorrow", art by Jim Lee).
In 2005, Azzarello began a new creator-owned series, the western Loveless, with artist Marcelo Frusin.
As of 2007, Azzarello is married to fellow comic-book writer and illustrator Jill Thompson.
information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Az...
Azzarello has written for Batman ("Broken City", art by Risso; "Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire", art by Lee Bermejo, Tim Bradstreet, & Mick Gray) and Superman ("For Tomorrow", art by Jim Lee).
In 2005, Azzarello began a new creator-owned series, the western Loveless, with artist Marcelo Frusin.
As of 2007, Azzarello is married to fellow comic-book writer and illustrator Jill Thompson.
information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Az...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 27, 2017
ALERT: The following review contains minor spoilers.
Brian Azarello's run on Hellblazer is to my knowledge, the first and only American to write for the Vertigo Imprint and judging by the general views I see online, its considered one of the lesser series in the franchise. And after giving it a re-read recently, I can certainly understand why.
Now don't get me wrong, it's not bad. It's not a complete pile of smeg that someone's scraped off their shoe. But it is DIFFERENT and I think a lot of that has to do with the difference in British and American comics. American comics for the most part err more on the side of straight fantasy. The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad. The villains plots involve world domination. The heroes often reflect American values or at least their symbolic concepts. British comics are often darker, grittier. The villains aren't just bad, they're flat out fucking EVIL. The heroes are mostly just people. They might have superpowers or guns or magic, but they're still people. And I think Azarello's run reflects that divide. But I also think that Azarello also demonstrated that he just didn't GET the mindset of Constantine.
Let's go through each of the stories one by one and dissect this a little more. Bare in mind, I'll be focusing on the major stories instead of the little ones, mainly because I think they best represent what I'm talking about.
Hard Time: Constantine in an American Prison after being framed by a friend. I think for the most part this one is okay. It still has the Constantine flavour and the smaller grifts he pulls off initially suit his style. But towards the end, things go off the rails to the point where Constantine is king of the prison riots. Now granted Constantine has always been about the plans and schemes, but his plans and schemes have always been small-time grifts and the equivalent of three card montes. This feels more Machiavellean in scope and less in line with Constantine's style. But that art though! Whew! Think they picked the wrong artist for this one. Never seen John with chipmunk cheeks before.
Good Intentions: Constantine in the Deep South. This one is kind of weird. Weird in the sense that Constantine feels almost unnecessary. You could replace him with any other character and the story would still go as needed. In fact the entire plot could have been resolved if the parties involved had just talked to each other and explained than skulk around in the dark. Its also at this point that Azarello's grasp of Constantine becomes a little more tenuous. One of the things that defines the old bugger is his relationship with his mates. No matter the issue, he comes forward for them in the clutch, even if it means he has to bugger them over in the process. Here it seems like Constantine barely tolerate the guys he calls his friends. They have a seething contempt for each other that borders on hatred.
Freezes Over: Constantine in A Who Dunnit? This one is a bottle episode, around a murder in a truck stop diner during a snowstorm. And here again Azarello fails to grasp at Constantine. Constantine throughout most of the story comes across as sinister thug. He has no real reason to scare the patrons at the diner other to make the reader think he's the killer. But we know Constantine. He might be a bastard, but he's not a total bastard. And if anything the story revolves more around the patrons than Constantine himself.
Highwater: Constantine finally gets to his destination to find out why his friend killed himself. Along the way, neo-nazis. Again, this is a story that focuses more on the other characters with Constantine acting a background mover and shaker. While he does solve part of the problem with the neo-nazis, its ultimately their story with Constantine's being more a side plot. And again, Constantine comes across as sinister and vengeful than a larrikan.
Ashes and Dust in the City of Angels: The penultimate story that has Constantine facing down S.W Manor, the rich poncy sociopath who is the cause of his friend's death. And its here that Azarello finally throws his hands up in the air and says 'fuck it'. Constantine in this story is less of a man and more a force of nature. The entire story is told in flashbacks with John being at the centre of a self immolation. It turns out the S.W fucked with John's friend to get back at John....because he loved him and because he couldn't have him. So he had to destroy him. As it is, there's no real reason why John would go so far to fuck with S.W in the first place. As it was, he never really like Lucky. And like Paul Jenkins before him, Azarello has every major character from his arc dead by the end.
I've seen this thumbprint from Azarello before. In Joker, Azarello introduces a complete unknown who becomes the focus of the story with the titular Joker as the backdrop. And to me that speaks of a writer who is not confident with the source material. Either he didn't care or didn't understand or thought he did. But the result is the same. John Constantine is NOT John Constantine in Azarello's run. Or at least not as John's readers know him. They know him as a Trickster, a con-man always looking for the next scam. This John is a violent sinister thug. Don't get me wrong, the stories aren't bad. But they're not what readers expected or in the end, wanted.
No wonder subsequent writers treated Azarello's work like discontinuity.
Brian Azarello's run on Hellblazer is to my knowledge, the first and only American to write for the Vertigo Imprint and judging by the general views I see online, its considered one of the lesser series in the franchise. And after giving it a re-read recently, I can certainly understand why.
Now don't get me wrong, it's not bad. It's not a complete pile of smeg that someone's scraped off their shoe. But it is DIFFERENT and I think a lot of that has to do with the difference in British and American comics. American comics for the most part err more on the side of straight fantasy. The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad. The villains plots involve world domination. The heroes often reflect American values or at least their symbolic concepts. British comics are often darker, grittier. The villains aren't just bad, they're flat out fucking EVIL. The heroes are mostly just people. They might have superpowers or guns or magic, but they're still people. And I think Azarello's run reflects that divide. But I also think that Azarello also demonstrated that he just didn't GET the mindset of Constantine.
Let's go through each of the stories one by one and dissect this a little more. Bare in mind, I'll be focusing on the major stories instead of the little ones, mainly because I think they best represent what I'm talking about.
Hard Time: Constantine in an American Prison after being framed by a friend. I think for the most part this one is okay. It still has the Constantine flavour and the smaller grifts he pulls off initially suit his style. But towards the end, things go off the rails to the point where Constantine is king of the prison riots. Now granted Constantine has always been about the plans and schemes, but his plans and schemes have always been small-time grifts and the equivalent of three card montes. This feels more Machiavellean in scope and less in line with Constantine's style. But that art though! Whew! Think they picked the wrong artist for this one. Never seen John with chipmunk cheeks before.
Good Intentions: Constantine in the Deep South. This one is kind of weird. Weird in the sense that Constantine feels almost unnecessary. You could replace him with any other character and the story would still go as needed. In fact the entire plot could have been resolved if the parties involved had just talked to each other and explained than skulk around in the dark. Its also at this point that Azarello's grasp of Constantine becomes a little more tenuous. One of the things that defines the old bugger is his relationship with his mates. No matter the issue, he comes forward for them in the clutch, even if it means he has to bugger them over in the process. Here it seems like Constantine barely tolerate the guys he calls his friends. They have a seething contempt for each other that borders on hatred.
Freezes Over: Constantine in A Who Dunnit? This one is a bottle episode, around a murder in a truck stop diner during a snowstorm. And here again Azarello fails to grasp at Constantine. Constantine throughout most of the story comes across as sinister thug. He has no real reason to scare the patrons at the diner other to make the reader think he's the killer. But we know Constantine. He might be a bastard, but he's not a total bastard. And if anything the story revolves more around the patrons than Constantine himself.
Highwater: Constantine finally gets to his destination to find out why his friend killed himself. Along the way, neo-nazis. Again, this is a story that focuses more on the other characters with Constantine acting a background mover and shaker. While he does solve part of the problem with the neo-nazis, its ultimately their story with Constantine's being more a side plot. And again, Constantine comes across as sinister and vengeful than a larrikan.
Ashes and Dust in the City of Angels: The penultimate story that has Constantine facing down S.W Manor, the rich poncy sociopath who is the cause of his friend's death. And its here that Azarello finally throws his hands up in the air and says 'fuck it'. Constantine in this story is less of a man and more a force of nature. The entire story is told in flashbacks with John being at the centre of a self immolation. It turns out the S.W fucked with John's friend to get back at John....because he loved him and because he couldn't have him. So he had to destroy him. As it is, there's no real reason why John would go so far to fuck with S.W in the first place. As it was, he never really like Lucky. And like Paul Jenkins before him, Azarello has every major character from his arc dead by the end.
I've seen this thumbprint from Azarello before. In Joker, Azarello introduces a complete unknown who becomes the focus of the story with the titular Joker as the backdrop. And to me that speaks of a writer who is not confident with the source material. Either he didn't care or didn't understand or thought he did. But the result is the same. John Constantine is NOT John Constantine in Azarello's run. Or at least not as John's readers know him. They know him as a Trickster, a con-man always looking for the next scam. This John is a violent sinister thug. Don't get me wrong, the stories aren't bad. But they're not what readers expected or in the end, wanted.
No wonder subsequent writers treated Azarello's work like discontinuity.
February 7, 2008
If you go by the Amazon.com reviews, this collection seems to be fairly universally disliked. I can kind of see why; Azarello does some very difficult things with the character, particularly in the final story arc in this collection, and I feel like I'm going to have to re-read this a couple of times to really grasp what he's up to. I don't, however, think it's nearly as bad as the reviews I read suggest; in fact, I think it's quite good and quite daring. I described it to a friend as "deeply weird," which is probably appropriate.
April 30, 2017
While a lot of Hellblazer fans don't like Azzarello's run, I think it's one of the best. This socking ending took every little bit of story throughout his time on the book and brought it together. He did what fans said they wanted and made him a bigger bastard and more mysterious. He fully succeeded by not telling us the motivations and plans as he went along and instead let us figure it out later. This is the pure bastard Constantine that uses his wits and reputation more than magic to accomplish his designs. This is a book that you cannot forget.
December 2, 2017
How much more is this author going to focus on the US underbelly? I have yet to see something that is relevant to the whole of the US, because I've had enough of extremists. It's a mess that I stopped caring about a while ago. I don't remember 100 Bullets sucking so much. Overall, John's adventures in the US are the worse thing in this series so far.
John still wants to visit Lucky's wife Marjorie and tell her about her dead husband. He gets more than he bargained for when the town she is staying in is a hotspot for a white supremacy group that may be a threat to her. The locals are being indoctrinated with a particular view of the Bible that promotes racism, anti-semitism and revolt against the state. Major Ellison is a respected member of the community and the source of these views.
A weapons trafficker caller Wolfman ends up dead after the white supremacy boys decide he doesn't deserve to live because he also sells guns to the black gangs. Now why did the dead guy return from the dead with super strength to kill the boys? I can't tell. And this is the arc that got nominated for an award?
In a one-shot John picks up a hooker for some strange reason. He didn't seem to be a horny teenager recently, but sex sells, so there you go. He humiliates some old women during their Bingo game, demonstrating verbal aggressiveness that has little purpose. Then he messes with Turro's mind before enjoying his street meat. Reading this was a waste of time.
The second one-shot shows us just how much S.W. is a sick dude.
A body ends up burned in an LA sex club secretly attended by the rich and famous. The witnesses believe it's John, but Turro doesn't trust their testimonies, given John's skill at manipulating people.
John still wants to visit Lucky's wife Marjorie and tell her about her dead husband. He gets more than he bargained for when the town she is staying in is a hotspot for a white supremacy group that may be a threat to her. The locals are being indoctrinated with a particular view of the Bible that promotes racism, anti-semitism and revolt against the state. Major Ellison is a respected member of the community and the source of these views.
A weapons trafficker caller Wolfman ends up dead after the white supremacy boys decide he doesn't deserve to live because he also sells guns to the black gangs. Now why did the dead guy return from the dead with super strength to kill the boys? I can't tell. And this is the arc that got nominated for an award?
In a one-shot John picks up a hooker for some strange reason. He didn't seem to be a horny teenager recently, but sex sells, so there you go. He humiliates some old women during their Bingo game, demonstrating verbal aggressiveness that has little purpose. Then he messes with Turro's mind before enjoying his street meat. Reading this was a waste of time.
The second one-shot shows us just how much S.W. is a sick dude.
A body ends up burned in an LA sex club secretly attended by the rich and famous. The witnesses believe it's John, but Turro doesn't trust their testimonies, given John's skill at manipulating people.
December 12, 2009
A bit of a disappointing end to Azzarello's amazing run on 'Hellblazer' from 2000-2002, in which John Constantine travels across America.
May 27, 2017
A weak ending to one of the weakest Hellblazer runs. Like any other Hellblazer comic, it's entertaining, but I can name 5 other runs off the top of my head that are better than Azzarello's. One of the oddest things about this run was how Constantine was written. He was much more aggressive and dangerous than normal. While I do think that he should be someone to be scared of at times, this run painted Constantine as more than just a man, which I didn't care for. The best runs are the ones that write him as a clever dude who's a scumbag, not a powerful magician. However, even bad Hellblazer is still pretty good. At any rate, I'd recommend this run over everything Constantine's been in since the New 52.
May 3, 2020
This is is beyond weak - it is desperate. Random grouping of "oh so edgy things" from random street hookers to Nazis, where nothing has any sense and proper plot archs. Azzarello also repeats the same trick all over again.
We see John act as complete, 120% dick and villain.
Then, REVELATION - he had some sort of reason to do stuff, so he is just a massive randomly aggressive idiot.
Things he does have very, very weak meaning and stories are extremely simple.
We see John act as complete, 120% dick and villain.
Then, REVELATION - he had some sort of reason to do stuff, so he is just a massive randomly aggressive idiot.
Things he does have very, very weak meaning and stories are extremely simple.
June 1, 2017
Moc ma to o tych nacistoch nebavilo, a ten koniec som teda asi nepochopil. Mozno mi nieco uniklo.
August 11, 2019
Pues a pesar de su fama, a mí me ha gustado mucho este tomo del Hellblazer de Azzarello. Hace un tándem muy potente con Frusin. Top.
October 3, 2020
A nice little weird treat. Keep away from kids.
April 12, 2021
Highwater is fine, but Ashes and Dust in the City of Angels insults me
April 18, 2021
I really loved it. The Bat Man character went WAY overboard but still fun...
January 21, 2022
Milujem tu kresbu. Hlavne výrazy tváre. Presne viete ako sa postava cíti a ako sa pri to máte cítiť vy. V tomto prípade kurevsky nepríjemne
May 16, 2023
isso aqui foi insano
April 25, 2024
O ritmo segue bem dinâmico e tem um tema interessante sendo tratado, só achei anticlimático o final do arco.
March 4, 2013
Constantine's business regarding his time in locl-up is finally resolved when he track's down Luck'y wife and discovers that she is the real reason why Lucky agreed to kill himself and frame Constantine. But the story doesn't end there. After taking out a group of American Nazis (actually quite melo-dramatic for Constantine) he discovers who it is who paid Lucky to frame him. It turns out that the guy in question (S. W.) is an old lover of Constantine's (WTF I know) who felt scorned by him and wanted to get revenge. The rest of the story is basically just a whole lot of whining from this guy (because Constantine has died like he wanted, and now that he's gone he misses him) and police drama trying to find S.W. Overall it was a good read, but I'm still not sure what the point was. And is Constantine really dead this time? He's sure acting like it, but it's Constantine, and he never really dies!
July 29, 2016
This one sort of ran hot and cold for me. The volume begins with an arc where Constantine goes up against white supremacists, which was pretty decent. But the latter part of the volume attempts to wrap up the entire Azzarello arc where Constantine has been journeying across America. This one totally lost me. It was taking the Constantine character to some very strange places, and I'm really not even sure 100% what happened. Very confusing, more like the Azzarello I remember from other books where I was always left scratching my head.
So overall, it wasn't bad, just left me with mixed feelings. I would have preferred a more straight forward conclusion to what was a very ambitious storyline, but I suppose the ending needed to be shocking.
So overall, it wasn't bad, just left me with mixed feelings. I would have preferred a more straight forward conclusion to what was a very ambitious storyline, but I suppose the ending needed to be shocking.
February 22, 2016
Tegelikult Azzarello polnudki nii paha autor Hellblazerile kuigi muidugi on rõhk rohkem vägivaldse krimi, noir'i ja thrilleri peal. Igasugu üleloomulik on vaevu aimatav ja rohkem kuskil tagaplaani tagaplaanil. Selles osas siis USA väikelinna white power natsid ja kõikvõimas manipuleeriv miljonär, lõpus ka seksklubi oma peenistega naiste ja muude friikidega. Selle köitega ühtlasi lõppevad nii Azzarello stsenaristikarjäär Hellblazeris kui ka Constantine'i turnee USAs, küll vanglas, küll kuskil lumetormi mattunud kohvikus, küll natsimeelses väikelinnas. Aitab! Suund koju Inglismaale ja vaimud, deemonid ja kurjad maagid kapist välja!
February 16, 2017
Color me nutty, but I like it when Constantine gets preachy in his "show don't tell" style. This time the topic is racism and just how seductive it is. You do need to read at least Hard Time before this, since Highwater a sequel of sorts. Not the best graphic novel to start someone off on the Hellblazer series, but as a long-time fan I found this to be a real treat where Constantine really shines out like a black sun.
NOTE: This illustration is not from Highwater (I think.) I just stuck it here 'cause it's cool.
NOTE: This illustration is not from Highwater (I think.) I just stuck it here 'cause it's cool.
February 21, 2013
This was definitely my least favorite collection so far. The first story arc was okay, but the second part was just awful. It was told in from the points of view of a bunch of witnesses to a murder at an S&M club. Constantine seemed oddly out of character for most of the story. I'm just going to do my best to forget this book.
I'm only giving this book two stars because the first story didn't suck. If I were rating the second part by itself, it would've only gotten one star.
I'm only giving this book two stars because the first story didn't suck. If I were rating the second part by itself, it would've only gotten one star.
September 23, 2009
Book started off really well. Brian Azzerello is one of the great batman writers and constantine writers but I am not into the bondage thing and the guyz kissing thing. If you like that combo you need to read this book. If you have Jesus in your life, well I am telling you now, go read Noah's Ark or somethin.
April 8, 2011
This was unnecessarily bleak and cruel in many parts. I don't mind horror when it makes a point or there is a plot turn to be made by it, but when its just gratuitous mashing, i get tired quick. Its unfortunate that this wasn't written better, the art was very well done. Imagine what it could have done with a more powerful (better aimed) tale.
October 25, 2014
This is the Hellblazer story arc that outs John Constantine as a bi-sexual, making him one of DC's first progressive characters. I won't call him a hero, cause really, Constantine? But he's the protagonist, and fighting the bad guys, so let's just roll with it. Check out my full review: Hellblazer: Highwater
April 11, 2015
I'm just not sure I ever really got it. I didn't read the volumes leading up to this, but I don't think I was too confused about the mechanics of the plot... I don't get the point, I guess. I don't understand the statement being made about Constantine as a person, beyond the whole "he's bi" revelation.
As a general warning: Full of violence, sex, kink, and neo-Nazi villains.
As a general warning: Full of violence, sex, kink, and neo-Nazi villains.
July 14, 2015
Two long story arc bound together. A fairly interesting bit with some Neo-Nazi protagonists is muddied by unexplained back-story that motivates the characters in the first half. The second Held much more promise, which made its fall that much worse - mysterious antagonist good, troubled priest good, eerie locations good, actively and aggressively bi-sexual Constantine NOT good.
October 6, 2009
This Hellblazer collection is pretty good. There was a twist that surprised me - to the tune of "Our John`s a gay man now." The main story was intriguing, but it wasn`t the traditional rock-em, sock-em Hellblazer. It was good, but a bit dull at times.
February 10, 2011
Love the Hellblazer series, and I respect Azerrello's ability to put together an interesting story. But I didn't like his take on Constantine. I mean, he made Constantine a thoroughly unlikeable guy. Couldn't get past the fact that I hated the main character as he was depicted under this writer.
May 16, 2011
I am a huge hellblazer fan, bought the first issue when it came out, and love Constantine in general. This has got to be my least favorite hellblazer I ever read. the stories were not compelling or interesting and the art was terrible. Disappointed.
August 27, 2013
This book made me wake up screaming from a nightmare. Ranks right up there with Palahniuk's short story "Hot Potting" as one of the scariest things I've ever read, and I don't scare easily. Simply awesome.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews