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Hellblazer (Single Issues)
Hellblazer #14
John Constantine looks to reconnect to humanity, but can such a ruined man ever find inner peace? Constantine latches onto a new-age group in search of some answers in part 1 of the 12-part "The Fear Machine" storyline.
26 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
24 people want to read
About the author
Jamie Delano
459 books351 followersJamie Delano aka A. William James began writing comics professionally in the early 1980s. Latterly he has been writing prose fiction with "BOOK THIRTEEN" published by his own LEPUS BOOKS imprint (http://www.lepusbooks.co.uk) in 2012, "Leepus | DIZZY" in April 2014, and "Leepus | THE RIVER" in 2017.
Jamie lives in semi-rural Northamptonshire with his partner, Sue. They have three adult children and a considerable distraction of grandchildren.
Jamie lives in semi-rural Northamptonshire with his partner, Sue. They have three adult children and a considerable distraction of grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 10, 2024
Hellblazer is probably going to become my favorite now, especially that I am not planning to continue One Piece even though I love it too, but it was a spur of the moment thing, unlike Hellblazer that I wanted to start reading or X-men that I am trying to progress to a certain point.
The writing is great but much lighter than the last issues, very easy to read.
The story is interesting, Constantine allows us to get closer to humans living on the fringe of society, and that's super interesting, you get to see another side to life.
And wonder if you are where I am in life, if it would have been better to join these people, but we don't really have them in Egypt sadly.
The writing is great but much lighter than the last issues, very easy to read.
The story is interesting, Constantine allows us to get closer to humans living on the fringe of society, and that's super interesting, you get to see another side to life.
And wonder if you are where I am in life, if it would have been better to join these people, but we don't really have them in Egypt sadly.
August 22, 2014
This issue opens with John Constantine once again having vivid and symbolic nightmares. We covered this already and I'm frankly more interested in the stuff happening in his head than what is around him. However, Touching the Earth strategically places our titular hero in direct interactions with people (and for once no one gets killed or dies horribly--yet). It's truly queer to watch unfold, honestly, considering the social awkwardness on John's part is so palpable it's slightly humorous. Actually, reading this issue has made me either smile of chuckle to myself because I've enjoyed seeing John in a lighter shade where he's not harming his friends, getting chased down by demons and ghosts or brooding about his failures and regrets.
That's all fun, sure, but it's just so refreshing to see John acting like a normal human being for once even if he's anything but stable and well-adjusted.
I was also quite pleased to see Marj and Mercury here (I encountered them in Dangerous Habits volume) and to also understand the difference between John's treatment of either of them. Mercury is a young girl though I agree with John that ir's simply hard to tell if she's only a child of ten or twelve years or already a teenager. She was the one who finds John while he tries to escape the cops (apparently, he's now a fugitive because of what happened in his old flat where his landlady and a friend were brutally murdered which was, once again, something John is indirectly responsible of). Merc was clearly fascinated with him and brings him to her community. Said community is composed of runaways, activists and your usual pariahs led by a man named Eddy whose real identity seems to be shrouded in complete mystery. Meanwhile, John has no problem cozying up with these people. He does, after all, need to stay low-key until the murder charges against blow over.
So far I think it's great to see John in such an unremarkable scenario and with strangers who are easily just as aimless and laid-back as he currently is. Sometimes, though, I forget that this comic is written in the eighties therefore a few commentaries about UK politics and atmosphere would slip in every now and then. This issue gave us conversations explaining the living conditions of these people and why they are a traveling community in the first place. Now I don't really care much for this but it is still rather nice for Delano to contextualize the times that Constantine is a part of, and how such factors can become significant, depending whether or not the writer himself would consider it relevant (just like in Go For It issue #4 which was one of my favorite satires in Hellblazer so far).
Still, my feelings for this issue are rather lukewarm. There is no excitement here or any grand turning point for the story. It's just John acting like a normal bloke, hanging out with some people just to get away from the usual drama and chaos of his life. So this is like some sort of a self-imposed sabbatical and I like that he's doing this especially because I enjoy his interactions with Mercury (and Marj, to a lesser extent, even though I feel like he has a much richer interplay with Merc).
RECOMMENDED: 6/10
DO READ MORE OF MY HELLBLAZER REVIEWS
That's all fun, sure, but it's just so refreshing to see John acting like a normal human being for once even if he's anything but stable and well-adjusted.
I was also quite pleased to see Marj and Mercury here (I encountered them in Dangerous Habits volume) and to also understand the difference between John's treatment of either of them. Mercury is a young girl though I agree with John that ir's simply hard to tell if she's only a child of ten or twelve years or already a teenager. She was the one who finds John while he tries to escape the cops (apparently, he's now a fugitive because of what happened in his old flat where his landlady and a friend were brutally murdered which was, once again, something John is indirectly responsible of). Merc was clearly fascinated with him and brings him to her community. Said community is composed of runaways, activists and your usual pariahs led by a man named Eddy whose real identity seems to be shrouded in complete mystery. Meanwhile, John has no problem cozying up with these people. He does, after all, need to stay low-key until the murder charges against blow over.
So far I think it's great to see John in such an unremarkable scenario and with strangers who are easily just as aimless and laid-back as he currently is. Sometimes, though, I forget that this comic is written in the eighties therefore a few commentaries about UK politics and atmosphere would slip in every now and then. This issue gave us conversations explaining the living conditions of these people and why they are a traveling community in the first place. Now I don't really care much for this but it is still rather nice for Delano to contextualize the times that Constantine is a part of, and how such factors can become significant, depending whether or not the writer himself would consider it relevant (just like in Go For It issue #4 which was one of my favorite satires in Hellblazer so far).
Still, my feelings for this issue are rather lukewarm. There is no excitement here or any grand turning point for the story. It's just John acting like a normal bloke, hanging out with some people just to get away from the usual drama and chaos of his life. So this is like some sort of a self-imposed sabbatical and I like that he's doing this especially because I enjoy his interactions with Mercury (and Marj, to a lesser extent, even though I feel like he has a much richer interplay with Merc).
RECOMMENDED: 6/10
DO READ MORE OF MY HELLBLAZER REVIEWS
March 2, 2020
This issue of Hellblazer kicked off "The Fear Machine" story arc. I've read this issue quite a few times, and it's probably the best Hellblazer story Jamie Delano ever wrote. The art by Richard Piers Rayner is fantastic. Any artist can make a character look hip wearing a trenchcoat and a suit. Rayner's Constantine just oozes cool wearing a gray t-shirt, a sweater, jeans, and a pair of brown leather hiking boots.
April 4, 2015
JC joins the Glastonbury traveler community...
November 22, 2025
A little annoying that the entire 12 part fear machine storyline isn’t collected in one volume, but I don’t hold that at all against the comic itself as this was a very interesting read. After all the trouble with finally conquering Newcastle, John is a new man and it’s time to reconnect with humanity. Unfortunately humanity has other plans. Other than slipping back into his old ways and not being able to stay in one place for too long, he is also a wanted man. Remember when Nergal killed John’s landlady and the other tenant…that’s not just going to go away and now he is suspect number 1 as the police search for him. He also isn’t ready to just turn himself in, so after a bit of car hoping and meeting some of the worst people imaginable, he ends up walking to who knows where on the side of the road…until a cop car sees him and immediately whips around to come after him. Now they don’t recognize him and just want to know who he is, but he books it into the brush and woods nearby. John didn’t get very far but past all the thorns tearing into him it was far enough from the cops, one of which looks very interesting with a large scar down one of his eyes. Wonder if this dude will come back. John overheard them give up the search and this left gun to continue on his way, now soaked after falling into a creek I can’t help but think how easier things could be going if he still had a trench coat. But if you are going to reconnect with humanity it’s best to literally start from the ground up and that’s exactly where John finds himself. As he began to change clothes a little girl approached him and complimented him on his tattoo. John still doesn’t know Alec put a tree tattoo on his ass as a bit of petty revenge so he is confused by that compliment but even more confused as to how a little girl found him there as he rushes to get dressed so he doesn’t get charged with any other crimes. But this little girl is special, she has a way of seeing auras of people and she can tell he is a nice guy and invited him back to her camp. Turns out, alongside two other people named Ur and Eddie, Mercury here is part of a nomadic group that constantly move around and connect with nature as they meet up at other hubs and spend some time working for farmers sympathetic to their cause and connection to the earth before moving in again. They had a camper where John was able to get some tea and rest and as it turns out if Mercury says you are cool then not many questions get asked about you. This was a pretty perfect starting place for John. As their camper got moving John immediately fell asleep, only waking up in the middle of the night as they passed by Stonehenge, before going back to sleep. I will admit what I find odd is that they passed a sigh that said ministry of defense. This isn’t one large psyop, is it? At the very least as they make camp and find a lot of other groups in a secret hub site they seem pretty chill. John comments on how time seems to move differently here, with people smoking and communicating before getting up and tending to their chores without anyone asking. They guide John through building his own bender, which is a small tent that John immediately takes accustom to, and he is able to meet some of the other members that have spent their lives with these groups and are the only family they know. John feels like a stranger on a different planet, he wants to build his tent properly and cut potatoes but he feels so out of place and clumsy. It’s a strange adjustment for the character we have know to be in the city he entire life and as night rolls around and a campfire is started be finally gets some shut eye. It also seems that they have a newspaper about his wanted status and are fully aware, but Mercury says he is good so they are good with him. As Constantine sleeps he hears a jet high over him, and it feels as though it is centuries away, as it clears out it gives way for the night breeze and the noises of the environment to take gun over. Rain begins to fall and suddenly in the night he wakes up drenched…he forgot to dig a drainage gully around his bender so he wouldn’t get soaked…lol.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2024
Given my recent run of enthusiasm for Hellblazer, giving anything less than five stars feels like something I need to apologize for!
But I don't think anybody could read this issue and fault someone for being somewhat underwhelmed. There's very little drama; it's quite literally a pretty meandering episode in John's life as he becomes a nomad. There are sources of tension, for sure, but there's only so much conflict.
But it's still written in Delano's super compelling, introspective style and the art continues to impress. I have no real complaints, just a ceiling on how excited I can be about what does and doesn't happen in this issue.
But I don't think anybody could read this issue and fault someone for being somewhat underwhelmed. There's very little drama; it's quite literally a pretty meandering episode in John's life as he becomes a nomad. There are sources of tension, for sure, but there's only so much conflict.
But it's still written in Delano's super compelling, introspective style and the art continues to impress. I have no real complaints, just a ceiling on how excited I can be about what does and doesn't happen in this issue.
December 8, 2015
JC meets the gypsies and gets in touch with the Earth. Not much happened in this issue, except John getting to have - what was by his standards - a normal day.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews