John Constantine: Hellblazer: Dead in America #2

John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America (Single Issues)

by Simon Spurrier, Aaron Campbell (Artist, Main Cover Artist), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

With the specter of mortality breathing down his neck, John heads to the Big Easy, where he enlists the skills of old friend Clarice Sackville to heal the fractured mind of Alec Holland, the Swamp Thing, and use that elemental power to kickstart his own dead heart. Perhaps she can do that-but it will require a drug-induced journey into distant realms that’ll shake John to his rotten core. And meanwhile, Nat and Noah learn the magical lengths Clarice is willing to go to in order to extend her own terrifyingly long life…

Genres: Dc Comics, Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror

33 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 20, 2024

Reviews

[John Nygma · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, personally, this was only almost on the same level as issue #1, but this was still quite entertaining.

The opening to this is metal as f*ck and let's you know right off the bat what the tone for this story is going to be. I love Clarice and the exploration of her background, and I'm glad that Spurrier and Co brought back an old character that seasoned Hellblazer readers might remember. Clarice talks a lot about feminist, folklore, and horror issues, making the great point that not all monsters are always supernatural. I'm glad that this Hellblazer story includes plot beats and characters from earlier continuities; it makes us feel like this story doesn't take place in a vacuum.

This does very much feel like the middle part of a longer arc. Some story beats are either dragged out a little too much or talk about issues in an unnecessarily convoluted way. But that's honestly more of a personal opinion because many of the themes and topics addressed in the dialogue scenes between Constantine and Clarice are very interesting.

The art style continues to be magnificently haunting and downright horrifying in some panels. It adds to the overall melancholic, violent, and nihilistic vibe that we know from the world of Hellblazer. There are some panels in this that look truly gorgeous, and some that had me close my eyes for a second because they captured the supernatural violence way too well.

As always, I'm happy we finally have a dark and deeply layered Hellblazer story again and I can't wait to see where this series will take us next, considering a certain swampy friend finally joins Constantine...

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had no idea what was going on, Swamp Thing needed help there was some rambling old lady. An energy draining vampire and a mad cop that is setting John up. Nothing really meshes well or makes any of the plot lines interesting. I know Constantine can be confusing at times, usually to be explained later on but this was very dialogue heavy and gave us nothing to grip us or keep me intrigued.

I still like the art but that isn't enough to keep me invested in the series, hopefully this issue was just a hiccup.

[Mysticreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread the first issue but fuck me it only just got better! The dialogue is a level beyond and although the art, colouring and set up in issue 1 is so good the continuation and vocabulary in this one is so good.

I just love spurrier man i have since i read his first constantine book and the horror and drama in this is just pure bloody gold

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another arm bites the dust. Is this going to be a theme? (＾∇＾)ﾉ haha

At first, I was curious to know if this would tie in with Swamp Thing or Ivy's current title. I read 1-4 back to back, so I might be misremembering when it's mentioned, but Swamp Thing vaguely recalls using John's body to have make love and having a child, and I remember that, so it ties in at least in some regard. Since this is definitely leaning heavier into the Sandman side and less JLD, I'm going to guess that Ivy's title has no impact here.

[Will Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

John's starting to sound a bit more like himself, we get the return of an all-time fave Hellblazer character, and the mystery heats up in earnest. Of course, there's also Swampy, and since I don't really pay much attention to the larger DCU, I don't know what they've been up to, but it's always nice to see these 2 work together, so hoping for some classic JC & ST shenanigans. Would also like to get more into just why Noah and Nat came with John, but figure we'll get there in due time.

[Ziyad Baksh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old friends reunite.

John reunites with 2 old friends as a double cross happens, and we get glimpses of what lies next for John.

[carys · Rating 3 out of 5]

every time i read a constantine comic i just leave confused

[Rachel Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weird, good

Really weird instalment, even by the standards of the series, highly recommend to everyone out there, read it, read it

[James B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feels like it's written by Morrison. This is easily my favourite series of 2024. Long live Constantine

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spurrier on the American Dream is great.

[Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW: Some disturbing mentions of SA in this one.

[Teemi Shaata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb
Loving the feel of vertigo in the series✨✨⚡️

[Rafael Suleiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good graphic novel.