Hellblazer Presents: Chas - The Knowledge #3

The Hellblazer (Single Issues)

by Simon Oliver

Written by Simon Oliver, Goran Sudzuka. Mature Readers Those who forget history... Well, let's just say that some parts of the past are better left buried. London is about to learn that lesson the hard way, and the one man who could unlock the mysteries of 'The Knowledge,' Francis 'Chas' Chandler is having enough trouble solving the puzzle of his own middle-aged life.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics

Comic

Published September 3, 2008

About the author

Simon Oliver was hatched in South London in 1969. Since that date he has consistently strived for mediocrity in a number of fields of employment, from cooking at the legendary Hacienda Club of Manchester in the late 1980's, scuba diving instructor in the planet's more tropical climes, to a career as a camera assistant in Hollywood. With such a spotty and heterogeneous employment record is seemed only fitting that the comic book would industry welcome him with open arms in 2005 for his writing debut in THE EXTERMINATORS.

Reviews

[Dr Rashmit Mishra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it has finally started to look like something of a story and it has finally started making sense . That said , The whole Djinn concept was predictable since the big baddie calls himself Marid . Overall pretty good considering how much I have so far hated the Constantine rebirth . Art remains vivid . Me Gusta

[Letande D'Argon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dolphins... Yeah, dolphins... A lot of people like dogs, cats, and - for some reason I've never been able to fathim - even snakes and toads. But dolphins? Everybody, and I mean everybody loves bloody dolphins. Don't they? Goes way back, to the ancient Greeks, when shipwrecked sailors would wash up on beaches yammering out crazy stories of how they was staring down a watery grave, when out of nowhere, flipper shows up and pushes them safely back to the shore. Heartarming - and say what you will about aquatic mammal public relations, but that was one ispired move, because here we are two thousand years later and everybody still loves them bloody dolphins. What you don't hear are the other stories, the ones where flipper's watching poor Artemides doggy paddling away and inhaling the warm, salty waters of the Adriatic... and flipper things, "Yeah, sure I could save him, but sod that for a can of sardines" and instead of pushing Artemides back to shore, flipper pushes the poor sod out to sea... in the immortal words of Sir Johnny of the Cash, "Just to watch him die..." See, moral is, if you're gonna be a bastard, be like a dolphin - think big picture, protect your image and above all, leave no trace. Because in the bloodshot, bleary eyes of the world, once you're a bastard, you're always a bastard.

My... oh... my, I love Simon Oliver's writing. That part about the dolphins was absolutely brilliant. You can feel John Constantine there. Parts like this are exactly what makes me love this run of Hellblazer. I mean, yes, sure, I can see why people are complaining. The original Vertigo's Hellblazer was more experimental, more artistic, more psychedelic... It was something that used to make your mind wonder. While this series is more like a TV show. An exciting TV show that makes you run home for a new episode. Remember NBC's TV series with Matt Ryan as John Constantine? That's pretty much it. So... yeah, it isn't as artistic as the original series, but I can't see why we can't enjoy this version for what it is.

This issue, for example. Perfectly written. It is John Constantine we have here and all other old characters are used with a lot of talent and respect. The story... man, I love it so far. The suspense is there, development feels a lot like a game of chess, while the way Simon Oliver connected Constantine and Swamp Thing here is just great. John appeared for the first time as a part of the The Saga of the Swamp Thing comic and I always loved it when these two characters used to team-up. Simon Oliver plays on that, but not just to get more readers. He creates a really interesting story that continues both Hellblazer and Swamp Thing.

Again, I still hate Moritat's art. But honestly, if you like Hellblazer and Swamp Thing and don't mind TV show-like storytelling, I'd say, don't miss this one. It's a very exciting reading.

[Robert Hultman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I have not read the older series, but despite some well written dialogue and overall quality artwork, I don’t find anything in this comic to really care about.

[mike andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting good. They djinn seem like an interesting concept.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Swamp Thing being involved in the story scored major points with me.Absolutely love his character.The Hellblazer himself was his usual smart aleck self which is always fun but the part that really stood out was Map singing Do You Know The Muffin Man.