Hellblazer #16

Hellblazer (Single Issues)

by Jamie Delano, Richard Piers Rayner, Mark Buckingham

John Constantine discovers hints of the horrifying, sprawling conspiracy behind the Fear Machine in part 3 of the 12-part epic.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

25 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Jamie 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.

Reviews

[Tawfek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feels like we are witnessing history, Hellblazer as a series is finding its feet, its direction.
The stories are feeling more and more consistent.
John just became serious for the sake of saving Mercury.
Is this the transformation in John's character that we were waiting for? That we needed?
I hope that's the case, I hope next issue is better.

[Ｆｒａｎｋｈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Now I know where I stand. I've taken sides, made a commitment. I'm going back to war--but this time I know what I'm fighting for."

Oh, John. Sometimes you say, do and feel things that greatly upset me; but only because I can see myself saying, doing and feeling the same things. That's what makes it almost impossible for me to keep reading Hellblazer so far. It's rather interesting, however, that I feel more connected to John now than I ever was before when I started reading. I feel like seeing John interact with other people in the last three two issues; how he tries to fit in and accept the eccentric way of life of the community he's been a part of for a few weeks now, has helped soften the harshness of the earlier strokes he's been painted with.

Little by little (and oh-so-subtly), John is learning to grow from his mistakes since Newcastle. He's also starting to show how much he cares about people's feelings instead of tuning them out in fear of exposing his own vulnerability. If we follow that progressing characterization, then The Fear Machine storyline will be an enjoyable experience. I think the narrative itself merely serves to further John's character more than anything, particularly when it comes to his relationships with the mother and daughter Marj and Mercury.

This issue is the third instalment of said storyline, and finally there's an actual plot to follow and look forward to. The latter one is still something I can't confidently say is happening for me right now but then again I'm getting the sense that Mercury will be a central figure for the next issues and that is an encouraging thought because I really like her. I think she's just so engaging and mesmerizing every time she's in the pages so my sympathy for her continues to deepen. Her interactions with John are just endearing because the surrogate father-daughter dynamic is very much alive between them, most especially now that John has shagged the mother. As for Marj, I don't think I care much about her and every time she has a conversation with John, I would either roll my eyes in annoyance or sigh deeply out of dread (or boredom). There's not a degree of excitement in their sexual congress either. With Zed, I felt a spark at least. With Marj, I feel like John wants comfort sex and Marj is giving him pity sex so it all evens out, apparently.

I did like that panel at the beginning where Marj and John were sleeping after their shag and Mercury was on the top bunk (THE ENTIRE TIME of shagging as we found out last issue) and then she creeps down and tries to get in bed with the two of them, particularly next to John. There was a timely interruption courtesy of the plot, so we never got to see John's reaction in case he wakes up and realizes that Merc has made herself comfortable beside him under the sheets next to her mother. That would have been hilarious, I bet. I know for a fact John would ask her gently to get out of bed (or at least to move to her mother's side if she gets insistent on lying in bed with them). But just imagining the conversation itself is already making me giggle. As for Merc's decision to do that: she struck me as lonely and in need of affection, and seeing her mother and this man she is quite fond of sleeping in a bed, looking very warm and inviting--why wouldn't she try to be a part of that? There's no malice in her part when she tried to get under the sheets with John (though yeah, he's naked). For Merc, she has a right to John because she found him first but such a justification lacked any kind of sexual overtone. It's a child's logic which is all the more poignant for me to read.

The quote I used at the beginning of this review was optimistic. The sabbatical has come to an end and harsher realities have to be dealt with, now that another girl's life is at stake. John looks primed and ready for another round of battle He exudes calm, determination and confidence, something I haven't seen him in a while. I'm excited! I can't wait to see what he plans to do next. Also, more of Mercury, please. She's such a delight to read, and I definitely want more of her and John together.

RECOMMENDED: 7/10


DO READ MORE OF MY HELLBLAZER REVIEWS

[Cybernex007 · Rating 4 out of 5]

John has once again been driven to war, but this time he knows what he is fighting for, and pity any fool who dares get in his way. It is such a tragedy that any time John finds a semblance of peace, reality begins to drag it right back down to a level he is used to. But speaking of peace being disrupted, as we pickup directly from the last issue we find a restless Mercury unable to sleep and having the same dreams. Ever since the man from the R&D site on the ley line got into her head she has seen a vision of him dying, or being hung from a bridge. But just as she is able to climb into bed with Constantine and her mother, Marj, the window to their camper is broken into. It’s the police raid that we saw commencing at the end of the last issue, they are busting up every camper and dragging everyone out, but this group is orchestrated and commanded and they specifically order them to take Mercury and her mother. John fights every step of the way, even without many clothes on, and they end up beating him to unconsciousness. Mercury also tries to fight back as she senses the cruel intentions from the leather clad men taking them, but it’s no use and as they drive into town they separate her from her mother then dose Marj with a drug to make her believe they are taking a Mercury on a vacation. Leaving her blissful and drugged in the middle of the road. Paradise lost.

John finally woke up a few hours later and was immediately rearing to go, none of this makes any sense and while the others believe that they were just trying to get them to leave and they will release the two in no time as they don’t have anything…John isn’t so sure. He gets some clothes and heads towards the town, the fastest route being to follow the ley line. It begins to rain and he comes across an odd site with a butchered cow outside of a house that resides on the ley line. Turns out the same time John was having his drug trip and seeing some really nasty things on the ley line, elsewhere on the exact same line a vicar was wielding a knife and yelling about Satan coming for his sister, sending her into a shock and out into the greenhouse where a cow has wandered and in the fight trampled the girl to death. The cow had to be put down and the vicar has gone insane. The fear machine at work? Once John finally gets into town he heads straight for the local police station who has no idea what he is talking about when it comes to a raid and two women being arrested. John believes him, this small town cop couldn’t have been part of such a large scale and calculated operation and now he isn’t sure what they are dealing with. But the cop was able to inform Constantine they did pick up a woman wondering around, and that woman is indeed Marj and still off her rocker from the drugs they gave her. John took her into his care and got a taxi to get them back to the camp, stopping at a clothes store along the way for some extra materials (he also already had clothes for her), and along the way desperately trying to get Marj to remember what happened and see past the haze of the drugs. By the time they finally get back to the camp the drugs have worn off and the remorse has set in at what happened. The rain is still coming down and the camp is in shambles, john describes it as what the circus leaves behind once they leave town. John finds out Eddie is in the sweat lodge for a purification ritual and decides to join him. Eddie is a lot bigger of a resource than I could of given him credit for, very in tune with the world and the side of magic he represents as after mercury told him of John and hers encounter with that group on the ley line he took a look for himself and discovered the line had been completely corrupted, a positive charge turned into a black stream and the group that was there was completely gone. John also overheard earlier that the security guard at that R&D location has a temporary office in the police station and a lot more things are starting to click about who he is dealing with. But one thing John has that Eddie needs is the knowledge to fight, John is the one to recognize that they cannot fight on their level, they exist in two completely different worlds but they do have one thing on their side…magic. As such the main caravan decides to head out and link up with the pagan group in Scotland, which might mean we get reunited with Zed? Most of the group is convinced this is the right call, but Marj isn’t. Who exactly is going to magic Mercury back…well that would be John. Suddenly he steps out, he has completely shaved and he has a new black trench coat and black sunglasses. He looks completely different and is barely recognizable. One of the other members, Sam, gives John a contact in London for a discreet hotel to stay at and john says farewell to Marj as he promises her he will get Mercury back. As he gets a train leaving towards London it seems that he is already being followed. And as the issue comes to an end we check in on Marj, she has of course been taken by the R&D group we saw earlier and it seems she is having different visions, one of a thing man with dog tags who slices his own throat with scissors. It’s very similar to the dream she has about the fungus face man with glasses and as she screams in fear from that vision he runs in to comfort her and is quickly pushed away. She isn’t frightened but she tells the man he should be, and projects the image of him being hung from the bridge into his mind. This causes him to step away, but this also confirms everything they thought about this girl she is powerful and exactly what they could need. Mercury doesn’t actually seem that worried, she is used to institutions and has been in one before and understands the need to be tough. What she is really worried about is her mom, and who will look after her.

[Devin Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's an absolute page-turner, but also with the added depth of Delano's trademark introspection. I love what he does with this medium, both in terms of that reflective writing style but also his tastefulness and restraint in terms of the macabre and the fantastical. The vision that Merc shows the doctor is wonderfully impactful in the moment, in large part because (with her vision in the mirror aside) it's been many pages of far less violent fare. (It's also just drawn in a very dynamic way.)

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I wonder where I got the idea that it was peaceful in the countryside. It's a bloody war-zone. Slowly but surely, everything's slipping into bad craziness again."

[irene ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5