Hellblazer, Vol. 6: Bloodlines

Hellblazer: New Editions

by Garth Ennis (Writer), John Smith, Steve Dillon (Illustrator)

It's not often that John Constantine, the world's greatest magician, has been able to be content. Years in the making, his occult knowledge and shrewd judgment are hard-won and paid for in blood-his own, his friends', and that of innocent caught up in the never-ending arms race of would-be sorcerers chasing power. But after saving the world a few times and beating both the Devil and lung cancer, Constantine is finally starting to feel ahead of the game. However,  between investigations of a grisly serial murderer and strategies against the Lord of Hell, John has no time to rest.

Collecting: Hellblazer 47-61

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

397 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Ennis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.

Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.

Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.

Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.

While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.

Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.

After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.

In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.

Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.

In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.

In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis

Reviews

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Garth Ennis impressed with the success of his first Hellblazer arc, the writer began to settle in for the long game.

He began his Hellblazer finale with the stories in this collection, allowing them to percolate before the inevitable climax. He built Constantine up; one could almost think the mage was ready to retire. Ennis gave him a lover who could stand toe-to-toe with John and with it a contentment that could the reader an impression that this was the calm before the storm.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad Garth Ennis's Hellblazer run is still as amazing to me now as it was back when I originally read it in the 90's. Issue #50 where Constantine is confronted by the King of the Vampires really showcases what Constantine is all about. It just shows how much Ennis gets the character like no one else. Royal Blood is all kinds of fucked up and dark. It has some great digs at the royal family. Even the one and two part stories are great. Then we end with Guys and Dolls. We're introduced to Ellie. Ennis is laying a lot of ground work for things to come not only in Hellblazer but actually Preacher as well. Yes, Genesis actually was conceived during these 3 issues for all of you Preacher fans out there. These 400 issues flew by.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welp here it is, the first time I give Hellblazer a 4 out of 5. Garth is just a much better fit for the character.

So John and Kit are trying their best to figure out what they are. These are multiple storylines here, most being a one shot, two parter, or once in a blue moon a 3 parter. This helps flush out John as a person, really get to know the guy from Garth point of view. The stories that stood out the most for me were Royal Family, which is about crazy rich people summoning jack the fucking ripper demon form. The second is about a demon and a angel hooking up and having a kid. SO we see where he got the Preacher Blueprint from.

I also enjoyed the Holiday special, was pretty humorous and fun. Oh and the vampire king and John going back and forth and settling that they will be rivals at some point in the future while going through their entire life stories was pretty solid too.

The first story was good but it did get dragged down by the unnecessary amount of dialogue given. Also guest writer for issue 51 came along and wrote a weird story but one I just couldn't get into at all.

Overall this is a fine collection and the first time I was really into a Hellblazer title. Hoping it continues from here to be this good. A 4 out of 5.

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this didn't quite pack the same punch that Dangerous Games did, it still had a lot of great stuff going on and seems to be gearing up for something big. We also get a few issues with the complete Ennis/Dillon/Fabry team that will later go on to become so popular with Preacher so that was fun too. Also it amuses me to no end that Ennis is apparently not allowed to write the word 'fuck' because we're still under the main DC imprint at this point which leads to John substituting 'frig' a lot instead. Take a drink every time someone gets called a 'frigger' lol

I think a lot of what I enjoyed about this volume were the side-characters. In Delano's run all of the side characters felt very flat to me and seemed more just like props that were used to further John's story, but with Ennis they are more well-rounded individual people. We get a really nice little aside story in issues 57 & 58 with John and Chas. The plot itself wasn't necessarily anything special but it was nice to FINALLY get some focus on Chas since he's basically the only one of John's longtime friends to survive him ;)

Also I absolutely adore Kit. There's a really great bit at the beginning where John is fighting this guy and she just comes in and saves his dumb ass. Also she does things like this:



Amazing. Basically their whole relationship is like John doing his whole usual 'oh I'm such a lonely loner. Always doomed to be ALONE!!' and Kit is like 'Yeah ok, are you moving in or what?' She's great. Also it's nice that Ennis seems to realize how ridiculous John's character archetype actually is and will poke fun at it like this.

There's a Christmas Special that was actually surprisingly enjoyable considering I hate Christmas. And the 50th issue had some really great full page illustrations with flashbacks thrown in there. Also some weird stuff with the King of the Vampires that I assume is going to come into play later And also!! Issue 51!!! The issue where a guest writer comes by to casually make Constantine bisexual with a throwaway line! I know nothing really comes of it for a long time but it's just really great :)))

There's two 'main' story lines in this volume. The first [issues 52-55] was honestly a bit boring to me, mostly because the 'rich weirdos sex and murder club' thing has been done to death [I guess maybe it hadn't been at the time it was published, but you know I'm reading it 25 years later so]. It was really one of those 'classic' Ennis stories where it seems like he's just trying to see how 'outrageous' he can be but there were some great panels in there, like this:



Then there's a mini-story [issues 59-61] that's basically a set-up for the next volume I think but had some really great stuff in it. Also have to say that I really like Ellie too! Anyway this was more of the First of the Fallen and I liked how this time they referenced the stuff that was going on in Sandman at the time since before I was trying to figure out how these other demons fit in with Lucifer and everything. Also issue 60 is literally a Preacher prequel so that was really cool as well. I never knew that Ennis set up Preacher while he was still doing Hellblazer. Anyway, it's just nice when you can fit all the different Vertigo titles together like that.

Really looking forward to the next volume, although I might take a break and try to do a Preacher reread. I was wanting to do one before the end of the year but got sidetracked and this might have been the boost I needed.

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloodlines is the Sixth Volume of Hellblazer. Garth Ennis has his skills on full display. I truly enjoy his JC stories and his writing to be far better and his stories of superior quality to Jamie Delano. While the art of this series has not aged well, the stories are still excellent.

This volume has a diverse collection of Constantine stories. From short stories covering a myriad of bizarre incidences from a haunted Pub to a haunted laundromat. There is also a story arc about a demon and his possession of a famous Englishman. All of these stories range from good to very good. But the excellent stories are the ones surrounding the King of Vampires and the story about the First of the Fallen running into Constantine again. Both stories deal with powerful and very cool characters and both shed light on some interesting lore. I especially appreciated the insight into the power struggle between the First of the Fallen (Satan) and Lucifer (The MorningStar) for control of Hell and how he came to rule after Lucifer left (that is detailed in the Sandman series and the Lucifer series).

Garth Ennis shows a great ability to tell a supernatural tale and his Constantine is involved in some interesting situations. This is what a JC book should be all about and I've really enjoyed the Ennis run on this series. Let's hope he keeps going strong. On to book 7.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am sure I will say this many times before this series of collected volumes is complete ( I am after all only up to volume 7 out of over 20 so be patient please) but this is a series I thought I knew so much about and yet am rapidly finding out there is so much I either didnt know or have in fact got entirely wrong.

Take for instance some of the most iconic of the Constantine stories - they have come and gone already and like I have said we are not even breaking double figures yet.

But I think what is more surprising is how the character of John Constantine keeps on developing - I do not want to give any spoilers but he really is broken and yet there is something drives him on even through the most challenging situations but it is not glory or the greater good and I think that is what makes him such an interesting character.

The question is what other torments await him consider what I have seen him being put through so far.

I think also this is a series of its age - there are many references to the society in which it was based (this volume makes references to the late 80s and early 90s) but rather than making it feel out of touch or dated it to me at least gives it a level of gravity. After all chasing demons is one thing seeing civil unrest and fear from political choices is something far more scary. So I think this series definitely deserves its praise.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I'm not sure if I was really in the mood for this volume or it is that entertaining. It doesn't matter. If you do get some life philosophy thrown at you, it isn't dull or too long.

In some of these stories like The Pub where I was Born and Love Kills, Constantine is only a spectator. Someone's decided an old pub should be burned to the ground and the owner ends up dead too. What they didn't know is that her late husband never left, but watched over her until that night.

In Lord of the Dance and Remarkable Lives Constantine encounters two very different paranormal beings, leaving one of them mad as hell.

Counting to Ten is a weird little story where nothing except a strange phone call happens. It is like a small episode in an already weird life of John Constantine.

Royal Blood (The Player, Revelations, The Good Old Days, Dog Eat Dog) is about what are those in power prepared to do in order to hide their crimes and perversions.

This is the Diary of Danny Drake has a very satisfactory ending. Danny Drake has a problem - he can't seem to stop telling people everything, and I mean everything, about himself. The story introduces an interesting demoness.

Mortal Clay and Bloody and Soul: modern day resurrectionists and revenge.

Guys and Dolls (Fallen Women, Nativity Infernal and She's Buying a Stairway to Heaven). This three part story finds Constantine helping star-crossed lovers - a demoness and an angel, and tricking another big bad demon (not for the first time).

[Hugo Emanuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Hellblazer, Vol 6: "Bloodlines"" collects the individual issues #47 to #61, all of which are written by Garth Ennis. The pencilling is done by William Simpson (a serviceable but somewhat unspectacular artist – his lack of background detail removes some of the depth of the world Constantine inhabits) except where noted.
As much as I have enjoyed Jamie Delano's character defining contribution to the "Hellblazer" series, reading Ennis' work on the series was a very welcome breath of fresh air, as he sheds the heavy handed type prose that Delano resorted to a bit too often, replacing it with sharp and witty dialogue, as well as gallows humour. Not only Ennis' writing maintains Constantine's traits and the series depth but further develops them through character defining moments and arcs. And even if none of the stories featured in this particular collection are not as good as his Dangerous Habits" arc, it's all pretty solid stuff.
The collection starts off with issues #47 and 48 (individually titled “The Pub Where I was Born” and “Love Kills”) which are a pretty run-of-the-mill but very well written ghostly revenge story. Despite its premise not being particularly original, it’s a great read as the dialogue and further exploring of John and Kit’s relationship is very engrossing. The pencilling in the first issue is by William Simpson and the second issue by Mike Hoffman. It’s worthy of a 7.6.
Issue #49 (titled “Lord of the Dance”) is one of the least interesting stories in this volume, but it is not bad by any means. During Christmas an old divinity feeling pretty bummed makes itself know to Constantine, who takes him for a night out in the town in order to restore his faith on humanity. It reads a bit like a filler story but it is entertaining nonetheless. I’d give it a 6.0. The art is by Steve Dillon, of “Preacher” fame, an artist I don’t much care for, who I am aware will be taking over the pencilling for a good deal of Ennis’ run in “Hellblazer”.
Issue #50 (titled “Remarkable Lives”) reads a bit like a summary of both Constantine’s past and present. If that sounds a bit uninteresting think again. It provides a very enlightening insight into John’s mind and life choices, while not feeling at all like it. William Simpson’s art on this issue is a lot better in this story than in most of the other issues he pencilled. (7.5)
Issue #51 (titled “Counting to ten) reminds me of the work of Delano in the series. There is the same otherworldly hellish atmosphere and urban horror feel that is often found in his work. It’s a good story who is given a significant boost via the great art by Sean Phillips. (7.4)
After a string of good one-off stories Ennis finally gives us a longer arc to read through. Issues #52-55 are all pertaining to the “Royal Blood” storyline in which John Constantine is approached by a loathing member of the Royal Service in order to stop a member of the royalty who is possessed by a flesh-craving demon and out on the town. This story is pretty good and it features a great tie-in with Moore’s “From Hell”. (7.8)
Issue #56, titled “The Diary of Danny Drake” was one of my favourite pieces in the collection. It’s a disturbing, well-crafted urban horror story – its end is absolutely chilling. It has the added bonus of featuring great art by David Lloyd. (8.0).
Issues #56 and #57 (individually titled “Mortal Clay and “Body and Soul”) were, in my opinion, some of the least impressive issues in the collection. Despite featuring great interaction with Chas and a good deal of sharp dialogue and humour, its concept is somewhat dull and its paper-thin story is a bit overstretched. It concerns a corporation that is resorting to body-snatching for ballistics testing. The concept is a bit silly and doesn’t quite work, but it is a nonetheless a very readable story. The pencilling is by Steve Dillon (6.5).
Finally the collection ends with the “Guys and Dolls” storyline and its prologue, which comprise issues #59 to #61. It’s a high stakes storyline that has Constantine further rubbing The First of The Fallen very much in the wrong way once again, increasing his all consuming rage towards John. We also get the sense that John is plotting an offense on the First of The Fallen as well. It feels like a prologue and set-up to the eventual confrontation between Constantine and The First of the Fallen and left me quite curious as to how it’s all going to play out. (7.7).
Overall this is a great collection of stories and an essential stop for anyone planning to collect Ennis’ entire run on the series.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pub Where I Was Born (47-48). Between Brendan in the last arc and the entirety of this story, you get the impression that Ennis really romanticizes drinking. In any case, this is a nice, short, melancholy piece that tells a fine ghost story while also nicely advancing John's life [7+/10].

Lord of the Dance (49). Ennis really does like his pubs. Still, this is a nice story because it has a genuine British feel to it and because it shows Constantine's good side [7+/10].

Remarkable Lives (50). I yawn a bit at Constantine mouthing off to another all-powerful supernatural being. Still, it's nicely presented, and the Constantine recap is well done. Bit sad that issue #50 is the weakest in the volume, though [7/10].

Counting to Ten (51). Ugh! What a bit of horrifying, icky urban horror. Well done! And it feels a lot like Delano’s work [7+/10].

Royal Blood (52-55). Ennis again manages to give this story a British feel, moreso than any of his other arcs. It also shows Constantine as a right bastard, working in a world of right bastards. It's a strong, memorable story [7+/10].

The Diary (56). This is another story that feels rightly like a Delano story because is works hard on the horror without just going for the icky. It's a great story with some great characterization for John [8/10].

Mortal Clay (57-58). Parts of this two-parter about ballistic testing are a little slow, but it's got nice interactions with Chas and a great ending [7/10].

Guys & Dolls (59-61). This is mostly setup, but it's a good setup that really identifies the players in Ennis' Fallen drama. Ellie's story and Constantine's proactive actions are both great [8/10].

Overall, this is a strong volume for Ennis that doesn't descend to the silly offensiveness of some of his later works and has a lot of great stories, both short and (slightly) long.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little uneven in the middle, and the done-in-ones sometimes break up the pace that the longer stories build up, but still as enjoyable as ever. The Royal Blood four parter and the closing Guys and Dolls two/three parter are the highlights, and Ennis seems to be unable to do any wrong with this title. I can see why this is said to be one of the best runs of Hellblazer, and I'm so glad it's all being collected.

[O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: This review does not make sense.

There were several stories within this volume, but the one that really stood out to me was "Royal Blood" mainly because through this story we managed to come full circle.

For this we have to explain some things, I guess.

Alan Moore wrote the graphic novel From Hell with artist Eddie Campbell,which tells the tale of Jack the Ripper from both Moore's imagination and some historical sources.

It basically runs on the plot that Queen Victoria's grandson, Prince Albert Victor "Eddy" had married and fathered a baby girl with a shop girl of the East End, Annie Crook, who was unaware of her husband's royal heritage. The news of this heinous and potentially damaging marriage had spread to the Queen who in turn separated the couple by having Annie placed in an asylum where she then instructed her physician Sir William Gull to lobotomize the girl to impair her sanity.

Annie's friends, a group of prostitutes, learn of what has happened to their friend and her daughter and attempt to blackmail the family in order to pay off a group of thugs who are threatening them. However, word of this comes to the Queen and she once more enlists Gull to take care of the problem. He brutally murders the five girls. He is caught in the end by Inspector Frederick Abberline who had been investigating the Ripper crimes, however, since the murders are under Royal supervision, it is all covered up and no one knows to this day who actually committed these crimes.

The flow of the story was inspired by Stephen Knight's theory that Jack the Ripper's murders were part of a plot to conceal the existence of Prince Eddy's ill conceived child. This theory has apparently been debunked numerous times, but I think it's still incredibly fascinating.

SO. Fast forward to London, 1992 where the city is being ravaged by a man possessed by a demon who has a taste for fresh, innocent human brains and entrails. Constantine is forced to assist on this end.

Let's step back again to see the connexion I am poorly trying to make, (it's cool connexion though.) Circa 1983, Alan Moore was asked to rework The Swamp Thing, a creature that came on the scene in 1971, and in so doing he introduced another character, yours truly John Constantine.

So back to Royal Blood and oh, spoiler.

Why did I mention all of this?

Because Garth Ennis, the writer for this piece was super brilliant, as he has John reference the plot of From Hell to help us realise that Gull could not commit all those murders on his own, but needed the assistance of a demon by the name of Calibaxis in order for him to accomplish his grisly task.

As it turns out this demon has been summoned again and placed within a member of the royal family to give this person, who is in line to the throne, an iron fisted rule to command the United Kingdom.

And we come full circle! SEE?? Alan Moore, you made this cool thing happen and I got super excited.

The end :D

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally some supernatural in this supernatural book!

I like Delano, he did a great job in creating the identity of John Constantine, but man did he go off on a tangent after Fear Machine. I am so happy that Ennis picked up the series last trade with Dangerous Habits, so how does Hellblazer read with Ennis at the helm? Quite good!

World: The art is getting better, sure there is less crazy detail and moodiness that we saw at the end of the Delano era (I'm sorry I just don't remember the artists' names), the art is much more practical and straightforward. I don't mind this because I also find this being the direction the entire book has taken which I like. The world building is strong, I like Ennis' effortless world building. He doesn't have page upon page of explanations and introductions, rather the world is shown to us as needed to serve the story. Sure the world building is secondary as Delano already did A LOT of that on his run, Ennis is taking full advantage of it.

Story: There are a couple of short 3 issue arcs in this trade and most of them are very strong. I like the refocusing on the supernatural which was lost at the tail end of the Delano run. The first tale being a simple ghost story was a great start. I won't go into story details here as I find the tales to be fun and going in blind is the best way to read Hellblazer. They are paced well, the tension is great, the dialog excellent and straightforward. I really enjoy that after all the mystic craziness Ennis brings a steady hand to storytelling. It's good. I like the slow build-up towards multiple adversaries that John will have to deal with in the future, it's a slow burn and that takes good writing to pull it off.

Characters: One of the best things about Ennis is that he takes advantage of characters that Delano has created and puts a new and more detailed spin on them. Chas has taken a place as a sidekick best mate and Kit is a good balance for John. John is also a much more likable rogue under Ennis while not losing any of the mopey broodiness. The other characters that are present in the tales are also strong, but I don't want to ruin them for you. They serve their purpose but their characterizations is clear and interesting, you wonder and you know that some may play bigger parts in the future, Ennis has simply put them on the shelf for now.

Strong second run of issues from Ennis and the new direction feels like Hellblazer going back to being Hellblazer.

Onward to the next book!

[Ola G · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10 stars

Vignettes from Constantine's surprisingly content life with Kit are interspersed with a lot of gore and horror, sometimes more satirical, as in Royal Blood, sometimes more literal, as in The Diary. The one story that really stood out for me was Guys & Dolls, which nicely sets up a big showdown between Constantine and Hell.
Ennis is a much sharper writer than Delano, funnier too, with a very brutal, gallows humor, and he gives Constantine the much needed edge. Looking forward to the next volumes.

[C. Varn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ennis continues a strong run

The Ennis run of Constantine continues to impress, and the mythology around hell becomes more consistent and ties into the events of Sandman in subtle ways. Ennis seems to have a clearer vision of Constantine than anyone since Alan Moore created him as a secondary character although Ennis is respectful of most of the Delano material. Great run. You do seem themes here that bubble up that Ennis would explore in Preacher.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Kit leaves for work and I go looking for trouble. Well, that's not really true... It's what I usually do when there's nothing else on the go - find something nasty and piss it about a bit, get my fingers burnt, and burn the other bastard's arm in return.
But I can't do it forever, can't I?"

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The large Hellblazer trade paperbacks are a double-edged sword. Yes, it's a better deal to get so many stories in one book, and you end up saving money if you're a completionist. But it's difficult for some authors and artists to be consistent over six issues, nevermind fifteen issues.

I was excited to dive into Ennis's run on the series, which is considered by many of the people I talk about comics with, to be the best. His first storyline in the last volume, Hellblazer, Volume 5: Dangerous Habits was, by far, the highlight, so I had high hopes.

This volume was mostly okay, but inconsistent.

I found the first storyline, "The Pub Where I was Born" to be pretty humdrum. Every character and plot point seemed incredibly predictable, and I didn't find myself caring for any of them. Its resolution was also unsatisfying.

The one-shot "Lord Of The Dance", sadly, had nothing to do with Michael Flatly, but was a sort of average Holiday issue of a comic.

I skipped a great deal of "Remarkable Lives" as well. There is a bit of a connective tissue from "Dangerous Habits" to "Guys And Dolls" but I'm just not interested in vampire stories unless they're inventive and really well-written. This one didn't do it for me.

"Royal Blood" was The Hellblazer By Garth Ennis that I'd been waiting for. Depravity, class warfare, demons, Constantine being a dick. It was fairly predictable but I still really enjoyed the read.

"This Is The Diary Of Danny Drake" was a cool balance to "Royal Blood", "RB" being a four part story that gave Ennis lots of time to stratch out interpersonal drama and long-term stakes, while "TITDODD" is a one-issue sondensed story that's just as impactful. Lots of mythology and demonology packed solidly in a very human story.

"Mortal Clay" and "Body And Soul" give us some quality time with Chas, who was used sparingly by Delano, but to good effect. Ennis fleshes him out a little bit more without letting him know too much about what Constantine does. We also get a full-scale Ennis human villain that seems nearly competent, as opposed to the villains from "The Pub Where I Was Born". The villain is still a stereotype whose fate is clearly spelled out almost as soon as we meet them, but their dialog and actions show that Ennis was having fun when he wrote them.

The book ends with "Guys & Dolls" which showed me that I was way behind on where to put certain volumes of Sandman in this chronology. The final chapters of this volume truly felt like they belonged in the same pantheon as Gaiman's Sandman, not just because of their shared universe, but because of the mythological depth and conniving demons.

The art in this volume is mostly really crisp, as well. Will Simpson, David Lloyd, Mike Hoffman, Mike Barreiro, Kim DeMulder, and Stan Woch are all top notch 90s Vertigo. It's also fun to see a pre-Brubaker-exclusive Sean Phillips show up for an issue. And, naturally, there's something magic when Steve Dillon shows up. The two of them worked so well with each other on Preacher, Volume 1: Gone to Texas and The Punisher, Vol. 1: Welcome Back, Frank.

If you love the Sandman series and want to get into Hellblazer, I think it's between this volume and Hellblazer, Volume 3: The Fear Machine. This one has a more satisfying ending, and a bit more of the Hellscape connection, but The Fear Machine has a tad more humanity in it.

[Arnis · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/201...

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's only now that I've been away from Delano's run for 1.5 entire books that I realize just how much of a breath of fresh air Ennis has brought to this series. His writing is just 500% more readable. Gone are the long, purple treatises on how broken the world is, the vague, ill-defined characters who serve no clear purpose in regards to Constantine or the villains he faces. Now it's just solid character writing and big, fun demon-fighting insanity. I'm really loving it.

This volume picks up where Dangerous Habits leaves off, with Constantine having a new lease on life thanks to his conning three demons at once to prevent him from dying. Now it's kind of business-as-usual, and while that may not be quite as emotional as the last book, it's still a whole lot of fun. There are a few multiple issue arcs and a few standalones, but it all speaks to Constantine's current status as a man utterly despised by Hell but still just trying to do his best to defeat evil in his own self-interested way.

The art in this volume is also a breath of fresh air. William Simpson's art gets consistently better throughout this volume, which is cool to witness, as I didn't love his pencils back in Dangerous Habits. Also, we start to see Ennis's first collaborations with his longtime creative partner Steve Dillon (of Preacher and Punisher), and it genuinely excites me for future volumes of this series. Dillon's art is such a perfect complement to Ennis's writing that it's almost tough to go back to the other artists in this book when he leaves.

As for the stories themselves, a couple stand out. First is "Royal Blood," a story about a secretly depraved member of the English Royal Family who has been possessed by a demon and is literally preying on his subjects. The incidents begin at a secret club for the rich and powerful where they're allowed to do anything they want, and in light of the recent revelations about Prince Andrew, this story feels oddly prophetic. It's kind of eerie, honestly.

And then the final arc in this volume, which doesn't seem to have a specific title, shares a lot in common with Ennis's future storytelling in Preacher. It's the story of a demon and an angel who have fallen in love and gotten pregnant, and while the story doesn't necessarily "pay off" here, it does feel like it's setting the stage for more to come, specifically in relation to the events of Dangerous Habits. I like how Ennis seems to be using the one-off comics format to gradually build out a larger threat and mythos, which is something I've always loved in my favorite comics like Alan Moore's Tom Strong or Grant Morrison's New X-Men.

So, it's fair to say this book has lifted me from a casual Hellblazer reader to a full-on fan. I can't wait to see what else is coming.

[Max's Comic Reviews and Lists · Rating 4 out of 5]

Try the snob
My second summer event. The rest of Garth Ennis' run on John Constantine Hellblazer. Yaaaayyy! Anyway so I read Dangerous Habits a while ago and it is, of course, my favourite Hellblazer story and one of my favourite comics of all time. I was actually anticipating this volume for a while because I really wanted to see the continuation of the Dangerous Habits storyline. And I pretty much frickin loved this volume. I really did. The reasons for why I gave this book 4 stars I will get into later. But for now, I will just say this near 400-page book will be breezed through in a day. Garth Ennis' characterization of John Constantine is one of my favourite characterizations of any character. He is such a likable, relatable, charismatic, and bad-ass lead that you really do feel for him and his struggles. Even the relationships with the other characters like Kit, Chas, Martson, Ellie etc. are all frickin fantastic.

The first issue The Pub Where I was Born is a perfect introduction to the new Hellblazer we got after Dangerous Habits. It's a really fun issue that sets the stage for things to come. The continuation of that issue Love Kills is fine. It was a good enough issue until the end which I just feel was lazy and confusing, to be honest. I was not a big fan of the Christmas issue because of the same reason I didn't love any of Warren Ellis' Hellblazer after the Haunted storyline. When someone just tells John an uninteresting and very wordy story that doesn't have much of an interesting plot besides that, I just don't like that style of writing. But this issue is pretty important near the end. The big 50th issue is......fine. John basically argues with the King of Vampires for a while and then outtalks him. Nothing AMAZING happens for the big 50th issue in my opinion. The next issue goes by the name of Counting to Ten. And I personally hated this one. I have seen other reviews for this issue. Some people say it's a smart and entertaining issue, and other people say it's worse than any of the bad stuff that Jamie Delano wrote. I'm on the side that hates it. I just felt angry while reading it because I felt stupid that I didn't understand what the fuck was going on. Nor did I care. But when that issue was done I started to enjoy the ever living fuck outta this book.

All 4 parts of Royal Blood were extremely entertaining and fast-paced. I also loved the new characters brought into the loop by Constantine and Marston. Like Hezlet and Nige. I love Nige. But Goddamn! I thought Warren Ellis wrote some gruesome stuff. Royal Blood is almost on par with fucking Old Man Logan in the level of Blood and Guts. So ya. Definitely a highlight of the book. Although John does some questionable things in this storyline. I guess his nerves and reluctance to be responsible for death got wiped out in the Family Man story. The next issue This is the Diary of Danny Drake is possibly one of my favourite stand-alone Hellblazer issues. This is a frickin great issue. It shows someone else who also sold their soul for an amazing life. Just like Brendan Finn. This issue went in a very unexpected way and ends with John threatening to kill someone. So ya. Pretty bad-ass stuff. The 2 issues with John and Chas going to find Chas' Uncle are very entertaining and funny at times but they end really abruptly and with one quick action. Which was disappointing but I still had a lot of fun reading those issues. The villain also was a complete cartoon. And that didn't bother me at first but I think the villain shouldn't have been another crazy methodical lunatic. Steve Dillon draws these issues with his amazing artwork. The last 3 issues are also fucking great. This is some of the best Hellblazer I have ever read. Everyone said these 3 issues were great and I didn't just want to be that guy that went "Aw yeah they are some of the best ever!" But I can't help it. These issues are so well written and actually pretty hilarious. The title of this review is a line in this book that made me actually laugh out loud. I haven't found something that funny in a book since Kick-Ass said: "DID SOMEONE ORDER A FUCKING SANDWICH!?!?" I loved seeing John's past with Ellie and what went down. And John does it again at the end of the last issue. (Y'know what I'm talking about.) Usually, I would have been disappointed with something like that being done 3 times. But I loved it.

In the end, this book was awesome. Besides the 2 or 3 issues, I didn't like that much I had such a great time reading the continuation to one of the best books of all time. Steve Dillon and William Simpson. THESE GUYS ARE FRICKIN AMAZING. I love their artwork so much because it is detailed, expressive and absolutely perfect for Hellblazer. I think after Ennis' run the artwork just started to not fit as well. This is a high recommend if you can get past the little tedious problems I have with this book that ultimately led to me knocking it down a star. Letter Grade: (A-)

If you follow along with my long-ass reviews, I will be continuing my reviews for the rest of Garth Ennis' run. So my next review will be for Hellblazer Vol. 7 Tainted Love

[Philip James Ahlschlager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally getting to Ennis’ run and what a breath of fresh air for ole Johnny.

[Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when I read a comic or a series, I have a difficult time figuring out why people like the character or the series as much as they do. I've read many Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett and obviously people love those novels so much that someone felt the need to create a non-linear reading guide that didn't follow publication order for reading the series. Of course I decided to start with the Rincewind/Wizard track (all things being equal The Colour of Magic was the first Discworld novel published) and to date, I haven't found what makes people love these novels so much. Yes, there are moments, but nothing that justifies the devotion to the series that people have. Until I read Hellblazer: Bloodlines, I had much the same feeling about the titular Hellblazer, John Constantine. Certainly, Constantine's popularity couldn't be a result of the fact that he was once a mouthy ally-antagonist to the Swamp Thing during Alan Moore's run on the book? Nothing I read during Jamie Delano's run on the book justified the popularity as I saw it either. Delano's work was solid horror fare, but given that he was trying follow up Alan Moore's act at the time with Hellblazer and the fact that he decided to fill in some of the blanks about things that Constantine referred to in Swamp Thing made it so that he was always going to have Moore's previous art casting a giant shadow over the book. I made a note of this in my review of the previous collection Dangerous Habits in which the change from Delano to Garth Ennis immediately makes the book more palatable. However, for completeness' sake Dangerous Habits has work from both Delano and Ennis. Bloodlines is the first proper collection of just Ennis' work on the book and after reading this volume, Constantine's popularity immediately begins to make sense. Finally a character that I am sure Moore considered a throw-away on the pages of Swamp Thing has finally come into his own with Ennis at the helm. The stories contained within are great, and as a bonus, we get a preview of the Ennis/Steve Dillon team that eventually did Preacher which came after Ennis proved his chops on this book. I certainly would have given Preacher the green light after seeing the quality of work in this collection.

It is apparent to me that the best "horror" comics often transcend the boundaries of what we consider "horror." The trend in Hollywood is to pander to the lowest common denominator, leading to films where the gore and violence are the only point. But if we think of works like Frankenstein and Dracula (and their film adaptations) the "horrors" addressed therein are a commentary of the society that produced them--existential crises caused by technology, perceived sexual deviancy, etc. motivated Wollstonecraft Shelley and Stoker among others to write their novels. The point is not the gore, but the commentary on society. Ennis gets this--I'm not sure Hollywood does. Fortunately for me, the printed page is usually what wins the day with me.

[Tulpa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this is the worst volume of Hellblazer yet, and that's saying something after the agony of hokey new-age hippy John Constantine back in Delano's worst days. The surfeit of bloodshed and entrails is entirely ridiculous. It's poorly drawn shock at the expense of good writing. All of Ennis's worst habits could be seen here. Still, I liked two stories from this volume, thus one star for each.

"The Pub Where I Was Born" was a simply boring ghost story, with a petty infatuation for bloodshed. That'll be a common note with this volume, the over-use of bloodshed, jumping straight past horrific and funny to boring.

"The Lord of the Dance" was ridiculous, though I can't fault it too much for being a bit of light-hearted fluff. Still, it's a little too stupid: the secret origins of some holiday song in a pagan god ousted by evil Christians.

"Remarkable Lives" I actually liked quite a bit. It's campy as hell, but I thought the Lord of the Vampires was a delightful character, merely introduced here but certainly he feels like a worthy foe for Constantine in the future.

John Smith's story, "Counting to Ten" was the only one not penned by Garth Ennis in this volume. It was muddled and dull, and I can barely remember what happened in it though I only read it a few hours ago. Such a waste of time.

the "Royal Blood" arc, one of the two major arcs in this volume, was simply atrocious. Obvious and even juvenile commentary on British politics—Royal Family incest jokes? Are we stooping so low?—shoddy "From Hell" fanfic, turgid splatter and generally risible writing and art ruin a good chunk of the volume, justifying the low score I'm giving this volume even though I really enjoyed the next major arc. The worst was how out of character Constantine himself acted. Gone is the man that seriously contemplated the cost of murder, or dealt with the torrents of guilt from the incident in Newcastle. Instead, Constantine callously bludgeons and murders his way through the House of Lords.

What followed was a one-off story about some asshole selling his soul and then sacrificing babies to keep living. It served to introduce Triskele, who has an interesting character design, and benefited from David Lloyd's art, but otherwise... light-weight. It's rehashing, and so early in Ennis's run.

The next two-part story was also frivolous. Steve Dillon's art is better than William Simpson's, so that's pleasant. Still, a stupid story.

The final arc, "Guys & Dolls", is obviously just laying down pipe for the rest of Ennis's run, but it's nice pipe. Ellie is an interesting character—finally, we can get away from the played-out trope of evil demons and get to something a little ambiguous. Constantine works best in moral ambiguity and this arc sets that up for us. Sadly, the impact that this arc could have is somewhat hampered by William Simpson's primitive chickenscratch pencilling. It's made all the worse because he obviously has some talent for laying out and composing panels, but isn't up to the task of rendering.

[Kinan Diraneyya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume contains some of the best Constantine stories of all time! There are 7 stories in here, I am going to rate and review each of them individually without spoilers:

#47 - #51 are your occasional Hellblazer independent one-shots; mostly stories of lost souls seeking redemption. #47 - #48 [3/5 stars] is the story of two ghosts seeking revenge against a street gang that burned down their pub. #49 [3/5 stars] Is the story of a forgotten ancient holiday god who wants to be remembered. It is also the first story to feature Steve Dillion's art. I hate Steve Dillon's style, but he is the most consistent artist on the series so far and his lines are very clean. #50 [5/5 stars] The King of Vampires invites Constantine to join his side in exchange for eternal life as a vampire. This issue is basically a long philosophical conversation and it is one of my favorite issues of all time. #51 is written by John Smith, I honestly didn't get this one. I thought it was boring.

#52 - #55 [4/5 stars] A serial killer is on the loose. Unlike regular killers though, this guy eats the flesh of his victims. Looks like another job for Constantine, the Demonologist! Constantine is contacted by a man called Marston seeking his help on the matter. Marston is not a good man, but these recent events had affected his business, and Marston cares most about his business. Obviously, somebody's fuck up had released this demon from hell and caused it to possess and turn a man into a serial killer. And now, Constantine is out to find this man in order to trap the demon once again.

#56 - #58 are two other one-shots.#56 [5/5 stars] is a great story featuring another man who made a deal with hell and how Constantine tries to understand what that man did to become cursed. This one has the live-action series vibes which makes me like it even more. #57 - #58 [1/5 stars] totally brings back Jamie Delano's late volumes' feel. A group of arms dealers digs dead bodies from cemeteries to use them as test subjects for their guns. They dig up Chas's father's body and take it to their base; Constine and Chas go after them to get the body back. The story features a lot more action and fistfights than it does magic, which is the last thing I am looking for in Constantine.

#59 - #61 [5/5 stars] is the final and best story in this volume. It is also canon to Constantine's background (you really shouldn't read this one before reading "Dangerous Habits" #41 - #46). Remember when Constantine had lung cancer? He was looking for someone to cut him a deal, and among those people there was a demon girl that owed him a favor. Her name is Chantelle, and now she needs another favor; she needs help against the new ruler of hell! This story includes the birth of Genisis; although Preacher (the comic series) has its own contained universe, many of its ideas came from Enni's work on the Hellblazer series.

This volume sets up the scene for great things and I am looking forward to seeing where Ennis is going with it!

[Traummachine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely my favorite Constantine collection so far. While other individual stories by Delano might have been better than these, my overall interest level is a lot higher where Ennis was the lead writer. I felt like Delano issues were uneven, had a lot more mundane issues than I’ve seen so far from Ennis. I appreciate the character building and growth, and even agree with Delano’s politics (mostly), he just didn’t integrate these nearly as well as Ennis did.

I love the continued normal life storylines being interwoven with classic Constantine themes and plots. I’ve also really enjoyed the 2-3 issue arcs here and how they’ve been threaded together with overarching plots and themes.

Really looking forward to collection #7!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most notable thing about this collection is that it contains the issue that first established Constantine as bisexual. The issue itself is pretty weird and reminded me a lot of Delano's work.

As for the other stories, some are better than others. The longest, "Royal Blood", was also my least favourite. Which is unfortunate, but that's how it goes sometime.

As for the stories I enjoyed, "The Diary of Danny Drake" and "Guys and Dolls" are probably the stand outs. And they both come towards the end, so the collection ends on a high note.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not an Alan Moore comic today, but it kinda, sorta, is anyway😃 John Constantine was created by Alan Moore and Steve Bissette and made his debut in Saga of the Swamp Thing 37 writen by Moore. Turned into his own series first writen by Jamie Delano and one of the biggest succes stories of the Vertigo imprint, with 300 issues and many many great runs. This trade by Garth Ennis is pretty wild ! Vampires, ghosts, and a incredible story about the demon who possesed the Whitechapel Murderer (Jack the Ripper ! ) connecting this story to Moore's From Hell, made me a very happy reader. Also the team up of Ennis with Steve Dillon who together  later created one of the best Graphic novels out there, Preacher. this is a great collection.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars from yours truly.

[Petr Nakasharal Fabián · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zezačátku trošku slabší, pak se to zase skvěle rozjelo. Navíc dvě issue ilustroval Dillon. A pro tandem Ennis a Dillon mám fakt soft spot.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of me feels as though the "John in his prime" run ended, and this is getting into stories that were surely edgy in 1992 but come off at corny now, the way that 1990s horror has that particular vibe. Then again, I also feel that more good runs are coming. Just not this one for the most part.

[Michael Emond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hellblazer is one of those series I would have been collecting if it hadn't come out when I was in my "not reading comics" phase. Constantine is a great character, the flawed trickster hero, that lends himself to a lot of great stories and many different writers have done great story runs with him, all with slightly different takes on his character. I think one of the strengths of the stories in Hellblazer is that the magic plays a part in the story but doesn't take over the story. These are human stories with a magic backdrop not magic stories first and foremost. I think it is fair to say Garth Ennis' take and run on Hellblazer is one of the gold standards in the series. He really knew how to make him a flawed hero while still making us root for him. He knew how to weave magic in without it overtaking the characters.
This collection is a great example of his run. Not all the stories are classics but they are all well done while advancing the character. For me, the highpoint is "Royal Blood" which tells the tale of one of the Royal family being possessed by a demon. It works so well because we have the man hiring Constantine hating him and Constantine hating him right back.
The art? Mostly forgettable. William Simpson, who does most of it, is solid but nothing memorable. David Lloyd (from V for Vendetta) does one story and stands out but it is only one story.
If I had to say why this isn't a five star, it is because some of the resolutions to the problems come a bit too quick and easy without much tension. The stories are good reads but I don't know if I would race to read them again.

[Fernando Gálvez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contando con un amplio apoyo de artistas, este sexto TPB (del #47 al #61) de John Constantine: Hellblazer va desarrollando de a poco los hilos presentados en el libro anterior por Garth Ennis mientras arma su visión del personaje y su entorno (pareja, amigos, bares, enemigos presentes y del pasado) dejando claro que, a pesar de que "Hábitos Peligrosos" es un hito muy importante en su vida, aún queda mucho camino que recorrer y varias historias que compartir, desde números unitarios, como la historia navideña del #49, primer aporte del artista Steve Dillon, hasta el secreto tras la familia Real en "Bloodlines" o el "buen" uso que hacen de los cadáveres en un laboratorio para probar armas en "Mortal Clay".

Es en este tomo donde encontramos a nuestro amigo John agradecido de la vida, y de una nueva oportunidad que se le ha dado para redimirse y disfrutar, por ejemplo, de un amanecer caminando por un parque, sabiendo que su chica lo espera cuando vuelva y que, luego de tanto deambular por el extremo más oscuro arriesgando su pellejo y enfrentando al mal como nadie más lo puede hacer, al final del día puede sentirse realmente "feliz" y seguro. Uno de los fuertes que tiene Ennis es su facilidad para humanizar y acercarnos a los personajes con los que trabaja, nos hace cómplices de sus aventuras, aunque hay momentos en que pudiera notarse que el personaje o la historia se le fuera de las manos Ennis nos demuestra lo contrario cuando llega a la resolución de sus historias.

Si quiere conocer al verdadero John Constantine aquí hay momentos que reflejan bien lo complejo e interesante que puede llegar a ser.