Hellblazer: Shoot TP

Hellblazer #15

by Warren Ellis, Phil Jimenez (Artist), Andy Lanning (Artist)

An assortment of Hellblazer stories written by Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS), Warren Ellis (PLANETARY), and others. In these stories by some of comics' top writers, John Constantine faces school violence, a desperate, occult family and more. Plus: A group of documentary filmmakers try to find out what happened to Mucous Membrane -- an up-and-coming punk band led by John Constantine that met a mysterious end.

Collects HELLBLAZER #144, 145, 245-246, 250 and VERTIGO RESURRECTED: HELLBLAZER--SHOOT #1.

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

168 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 2014

About the author

Warren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.

The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.

He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.

Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.

A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.

Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.

Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.

Reviews

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of Hellblazer short stories written by some excellent authors. From Brian Azzarello to Warren Ellis. For the most part the artwork is pretty good throughout. But it is the stories that really makes this a great one-shot volume for JC fans.

From a screwed-up occult family to a school shooting, to a look at Constantine's past- these stories are well steeped in the Hellblazer lore. While if you are unfamiliar with the original Hellblazer run, then these stories will make little to no sense. But if you've had the pleasure of experiencing that great series, then "Shoot" is a great addition to your collection. Highly recommended for Hellblazer fans.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This awesome book collects a very diverse bunch of Hellblazer stories by a few regular contributors and some random writers and artists as well. The following are my favourite of the collection:

1. SHOOT. Script by Warren Ellis, pencils by Phil Jimenez.& Andy Lanning

This follows Constantine investigating a bunch of murders involving kids pulling guns on their mates before eating the bullet themselves.
Apparently when Warren first pitched this script, DC were very reluctant to publish it, citing it as too controversial, which it is, the same way the truth always is. DC's refusal to print the comic in its original form led to Warren Ellis withdrawing from the Hellblazer series. He wouldn't stand for their cowardice. Way to go, Ellis!


2. ASHES AND HONEY. Script by Darko Macan, pencils by Gary Erskine.

Constantine's attending a funeral of an old beekeeper he met about a year ago when his grandson, Samir, stole his magical-healing boots and was going around trading miracles for stuff like VCRs. Everything comes with a price, and Samir learns the hard way when he tries to revive a dead girl. A life for a life, that's the going fare.


3. NEWCASTLE CALLING. Script by Jason Aaron, pencils by Sean Murphy.

A bunch of American Rockers travel to Newcastle to film an episode of "Bands You've Never Heard Of" This episode takes them to the condemned Casanova Club where Mucus Membrane played way back in '77. Shit gets trippy very fast and keeps hitting the fan and the next fan and the next fan till Constantine has to get on a train to sort things out. As far as Constantine is concerned, Newcastle will never be put behind him.


4. CHRISTMAS CARDS. Script by Jamie Delano, pencils by David Lloyd.

It's Christmas, John, Chas and the rest of the derelicts are holed up in Dave's Poker Bunker, playing Poker when this foreign sod walks in and starts to play, problem is, he's playing against Barry, a vicious wanker if there ever was one. Barry always wins, but this foreign sod has a lot riding on the pot, and through Constantine's eyes we see why. We empathize fully. Question is, will Barry do the same or take him for the ride?


5. ALL I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS. Poem by Brian Azarello, pencils by Rafael Grampa.

An old disgruntled man lays a curse on the Cubs and it comes true. It takes a wandering English man to raise up to the challenge and break the curse, but the cost of breaking the curse will turn out to be more than the local pubbers can pay, or can they?

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shoot is a grab-bag of Constantine short stories from quite a few big name creators like Warren Ellis, Brian Azzarello, Jamie Delano, Peter Milligan, China Mieville, and Dave Gibbons but the name that got my attention the most was Jason Aaron’s.

His two-part Constantine story with artist Sean Murphy (with colours by Lee “Deadly Class” Loughridge and covers by Lee “Batman: Noel” Bermejo - what a line-up!), Newcastle Calling, is THE reason to pick up this book. In his youth, John was in a punk band called Mucuous Membrane who played a gig in a now-condemned building where six people were murdered in the basement in ‘78. Set in the present day, a documentary crew break in to film an investigative piece - and then shit goes very far south for them!

Aaron’s story is spooky, unnerving and totally compelling by itself and then he brings in Constantine who’s written both so damn cool and such a total bastard. If only DC had been quicker than Marvel to sign Aaron to an exclusive contract years ago, imagine the Constantine books we’d have now - but then we wouldn’t have all the great stuff Aaron’s done at Marvel either so I guess things worked out for the best. Newcastle Calling is far and away the best Constantine story I’ve read so far.

Ellis’ story is about a psychologist investigating the causes of school shootings who notices John appearing in the background news footage of each of the most recent shootings. It’s not a bad story but it’s not great either - Ellis ranting about the fucked up state of the world through Constantine as his mouthpiece.

Darko Macan’s two part Ashes and Honey is about Eastern European mysticism and bringing the dead back to life. It’s an ok story if a bit too miserable at times to call it very fun. The volume closes with some seasonal themed stories by Azzarello, Milligan, Delano, Mieville and Gibbons most of which are amusing little supernatural snapshots in the life of Constantine though Mieville’s was an overcomplicated mess - he’s not a very good comics writer.

Newcastle Calling is easily a five star story, the rest of the volume is three stars average - let’s split the difference and call Shoot a four star book!

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection is a little scattered as it reprints issues from different places in the run, but still a good read. Warren Ellis issues are included along with some various holiday stories that appeared in different Vertigo one shots. There are too many themes to go into detail but they are all nice and creepy.

The quality is a little varied, and the lack of cohesiveness was a little disconcerting, but still not a bad read.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

When originally published, this volume was the apocrypha of Hellblazer, containing all the issues from the original run that had never been collected, including: Warren Ellis' censored comic; the two fill-in issues that were suddenly needed because Warren Ellis left when DC censored his comic; two fill-in issues from late in Andy Diggle's run; and the rest of the cruft from the 250th issue. As you might expect, the result is a mish-mash, but more of these stories are good than bad, and one is great ...

(The new collections are slowly filling in this content, even the censored issue, which is slotted right in with the rest of Ellis' run in Hellblazer, Volume 13: Haunted, so it's now largely obsolete.)

Shoot (The Censored Issue). I'm a big critic of censorship, but I can kind of understand why this was censored, since this comic was about school shootings and was scheduled to appear not long after the Columbine shooting occurred. (Shockingly, the Columbine shooting is now only the 13th worst shooting in American history, with eight worse ones since, including Sandy Hook and Parkland.) It's not just that "Shoot" was just about school shootings, but that it presented a strong point of view about why they happened. It's amazing, but I can see why many people wouldn't like the answer, so soon after a horrible massacre actually occurred. Generally, this is a very well-told story that really shows Ellis' strength as a plotter. It's one of the best Hellblazer issues in the entire 300-issue run (or rather: not in the 300-issue run) [5+/5].

Ashes & Honey (144-145). This is a very muddy and unfocused story. First it's about magic having a cost, which is a definite Hellblazer theme. But then with the second issue it jumps all over the place, and I have no idea what it's trying to say. As a result, it's unsatisfying [2+/5].

Newcastle Calling (245-246). Jason Aaron's two-parter nicely details some modern-day metalheads getting in over their head with Constantine coming to clean everything up, all wrapped up in the history of Mucous Membrane. It's a strong story that's true to Constantine's character and backstory, so it's a shame Aaron didn't do a full run [4+/5].

Shorts (250). There's a bunch of shorts from issue #250, most of them focused on Christmas. Some are good, most are OK, and all are unmemorable [3/5].

[Soteralzobooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 biblio Some great John Constantine short stories and some less so…

[Tarique Ejaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah! John Constantine!

I must admit that slowly and steadily, I am getting addicted to this freelance walking judiciary meting out swift and at times, messy judgements to the dark and the underworld dwellers.

A solid collection it was indeed. Despite the fact that there wasn't such a hell lot of clear cut-throat butchery and supernatural antics as one would normally associate with someone like Constantine, each of the story was well scripted and there wasn't a shallow moment in most of them.

Playing with the charade of human emotions, Hellblazer highlights the very statement that "evil dwells in us" with such finesse and ease that it is almost dumbfounding to comprehend it completely.

The artwork in the Mucous Membrane is so frigging brilliant and elusive that it almost got me hooked onto it so badly that I couldn't stop until I had traversed through the entire story.
:)

An interesting and inquisitive read, to say at most.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tomo misceláneo dedicado a John Constante y que recopila Hellblazer #144, 145, 245-246, 250 y el "polémico" número prohibido de Warren Ellis que terminó siendo publicado como Vertigo Resurrected: Hellblazer Shoot.

[C. Varn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this volume is scattered and highly uneven as it covers when the comic lost its way after Ellis abruptly ended his run and there is no real consistent arc writer. While some of these have been collected since this was released when it originally came out, this collection including a lot of stuff that was hard to come by.

SHOOT, written by Warren Ellis, pencils by Phil Jimenez.& Andy Lanning

This was the script that Ellis could not get published originally in his run and the topic of school shootings after Columbine made it a little too hot for even Vertigo to publish. Ellis's point of view about why they happened probably overwhelmed the otherwise solid frame narrative and pacing. It's a good issue but its abrupt end is a little jarring. Ellis's indulging in his tick of using characters as a misanthropic mouthpiece is a little boring here.


ASHES AND HONEY. written by Darko Macan, pencils by Gary Erskine.

The shift in art and tone here is very unsatisfying--the layers of the narrative seem to muddy the point and while the theme of "magic's real cost being hidden" is a little well-worn for Constantine. The Eastern European mysticism and immigrant stories here do at some flavor to the comic but is very underexplored. The character design here also a little distracting.


NEWCASTLE CALLING. written by Jason Aaron, pencils by Sean Murphy.

American metalheads go to find out more about the 70s band Mucous Membrane in Newcastle. Jason Aaron's story here may be strongest--as things get more trippy and escalate into a horror show. Aaron has a gift for combing Ellis and Delano's tone in John Constantine. Aaron would have done a strong run for Constantine if he has stayed on beyond this two-issue arc.

The shorts including pieces written Azzarello, Milligan, Delano, Mieville, and Gibbons--generally set around Christmas are interesting. Mieville's is hard to follow for length, Azzerallo's poem piece is fun but brief. Delano's story harkens back to early Constantine. Milligan's is fun.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Constantine didn't do much in the first few stories. The concepts were ok.

I just liked the last story.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection of Constantine stories from various points in the history of the title, most by top-shelf creators. As with any collection like this there are highs and lows, but all of the stories effectively capture the mood and style of this great long long running series. I especially enjoyed the background story on John's punk band, and the special Christmas issue, which brings a decidedly different attitude to the holiday. Worth a look for fans of the character.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice anthology with some great talent. Warren Ellis has a quick intro, more of a monolog than a story, but things pick up from there. I picked this up because I am hoovering up anything with Jason Aaron's name attached, and he does not disappoint here. Brian Azzarello wins Miss Congeniality for a Christmas poem about Cubs fans vs. a monstrous ScapeGoat.

['kris Pung · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good collection of 3 or 4 short Hellblazer stories by various writers and artists.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic collections of one-shots and two-parters.

[Xavier Marturet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este número fue originalmente programado como el 144 de la colección regular John Constantine Hellblazer, con fecha de enero de 2000, pero la historia presentada por Warren Ellis (y dibujada por Phil Jimenez) fue lo bastante controvertida como para que la censuraran. Previo a la salida de este cómic, hubo un incidente real de la misma naturaleza: un estudiante arremete a disparar contra sus compañeros en una escuela.
DC Comics solicitó a Warren Ellis que cambiara el contenido de la historia, y este se negó. La historia no se publicó.
Pero aunque no apareció en la serie regular, esta historia se filtró al público y años más tarde (muchos, demasiados) se publicó dentro del especial Vertigo Resurrected. Fue en 2010. Diez años tardaron.
La historia es en sí una lectura y crítica dura de Ellis a quienes buscan una justificación de estas actitudes asesinas en el consumo de videojuegos, cómics, series y similares. Es una bofetada en toda regla del autor a quienes, tal como dice él, intentan justificar y censurar esos contenidos al tiempo que olvidan que la gran mayoría de asesinos en serie justifican sus actos agarrándose a las páginas de la Biblia.
Brillante ejercicio, perfecto en lo que a Constantine se refiere, con la sutileza habitual de Ellis y un buen hacer de Phil Jimenez que sabe reflejar escenas ciertamente complicadas por lo que deben expresar los personajes.
MUY recomendable.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I identify strongly with the kid in the last panel of the title story ... and have done so for nearly 50 years. Granted, my interpretation of this short Hellblazer graphic novels may not fit with yours. The story is vague enough so that just about anyone can fit their own interpretations in here. That usually doesn't work with Hellblazer, but in this case, it does. It resonated with me so much that I finally bought my own copy a few years ago.

This was written pre-Columbine (and I think it was to have been the April 1999 issue), so I don't think Warren Ellis had any intention of trying to blame school shooting victims for being bullseye targets. The cancelation of this issue caused Ellis to quit Hellblazer.

The first story overpowers all of the others. Some genuinely disturbing stuff that actually gave me nightmares ... and very rarely what I read or see on the screen ever gives me nightmares.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of one shots; one of which talks about school shootings. Also, a few more Christmas season stories as well. We also revisit Newcastle. All in all, these stories are helpful in back filling pieces of the mythos of Constantine. Due to their shortness, they seem to be a little more preachy and overt than the longer arcs that have time to breathe.

There is something to being hit over the head with a blunt instrument of meaning. The dry and dark humour comes through almost like a quip in an action movie. I still prefer the longer stories with time to burn and watch the embers blow out and flare at moments.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of John Constantine stories is mainly notable for the significant number of Christmas themed stories. I have may now have a whole new take on the holidays--in Constantine's world. The last Christmas story had such a plot twist that I had to check out who wrote it which was China Mieville. I gave this 3 stars because as a collection of different stories by different writers, there was no depth or significant plot development. Constantine seems to be on the edges which makes him a good character for different writers to share their visions. Just know that this volume could jump start your holidays especially if you like them sick, twisted, and dryly funny.

[Ani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gods help me, I love John Constantine.

Throughout the series, new writers would come and create the next story arc. In general, I enjoyed the subtle variations on Constantine’s character, Moreover,I thought that overall it having many writers helped the long running comic stay fresh

I devoured monthly comics and collections alike.

That said...... this was one of my least favorite collections. Unless you love the series and need continuity, just pass.

[Sai Rahul Poruri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Constantine stories are weird. Very very weird. I love the movie and I loved parts of a different Constantine book so I took this up. All I can really say is that it's a weird character with weird stories. This book didn't put me off Constantine though, which I guess is a good thing. But I'm not going to immediately go out an pick up another Constantine graphic novel. I need time.

[Benjamin Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool art absolutely love these comics

[Yusuf Ks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like the art and the story was not good in my opinion. I prefer Constantine on Justice League Dark or Trinity War than on this book.

[Steven W · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories just on the edge of horror...

[Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you ever get to feeling too cheerful and optimistic, this is the book to read to bring you back to depression. These are some dark stories. The worldview depicted here is bleak at best.

[Alexander Ballantyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of off cuts and extras, all of them better than the titular one.

[Nate Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, and sometimes punchy and vivid, but uneven.

[Edmund Bloxam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great example of why I don't like one-shots. So much potential! So little achieved!

The stories that weren't one-shots were thoughtful and smart

[Andrew Knighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Constantine remains one of the darkest and most interesting characters to have emerged from DC comics, and this volume of short pieces by different writers and artists lives up to that promise. It's the usual Hellblazer mix of cynicism, horror and social commentary, and the art has a wide range of American comic book styles with occasional European influences.

In terms of writing the standout story for me was Darco Macan's 'Ashes & Honey'. I'd never heard of Macan before but his story is touching and clever. My favourite art was Sean Murphy's angular, detailed work on 'Newcastle Calling', which had some captivating panels.

A good read for any Hellblazer fan, though new readers should probably start with a longer arc first to get to know the character.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This assorted collection sees Constantine dabble in cases at Christmas, revisit his punk past in Newcastle and encounter eastern sacrifices - and he generally moans about it all as he does it. Giving the book its name, Ellis opening story is, alongside Jason Aaron's take on Constantine, are the strongest contributions collected here; others lose their thread in confusion caused by over-plotting (Macan's effort) and the rest are mostly too short to ever get going. As with most books of this ilk, a mixed bag - but, if you're a newcomer like me, a solid introduction to the John Constantine canon.

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mingid nopped siit ja sealt, avaldamata lood jne. Ainult fännidele, kogu avaldatud Hellblazeri kogumise mõttes. Järjest lugemise mõttes osad #144-145 olid huvipakkuvad, ainult et miski serbia või sloveenia autor suutis neist suht tüütud teha. Jugoslaavia maagia, tüütu sitt.
Osad #248-249 viisid tagasi Newcastle'sse ühe teatava ööklubi varemetesse ja olid väga verised. Kas sel ka suuremat pointi oli...
Kogumiku lõpetab lühikeste jõulugude kogumik. Noh, oli kah, nii ja naa. Koondhinne "3" on suht paras.