Hellblazer #28

Hellblazer (Single Issues)

by Jamie Delano, Ron Tiner, Kevin Walker

After several months of indecision, John Constantine finally decides to go after The Family Man killer. It's quite a coincidence, because The Family Man has plans to go after Constantine! ''The Family Man'' storyline continues here with part 2 of 4.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels

30 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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 4 out of 5]

He is baaaaaack!
This works for two men, Jamie Delano is back.
But also the serial killer the family man!
Here's the crazy thing about the family man. Before, he was just a sick serial killer.
Now, he is an extremely Intiligent former detective. A serial killer who is completely untraceable!
And a child who murder his mother and father!
His character is growing layers upon layers.
He is still a sick bastard, but now it is more interesting.
This is a battle of wits, who can get to the other first. Constantine or the family man?
I would have loved to finish my review with that question but I am honestly wondering. What is Hellblazer about?
Maybe the only connection between all the stories so far is Horror.
It's about Constantine for sure.
But me personally when I read this I thought occult. This story is anything but occult though.
So it's still up in the air, I feel we are still missing direction for this series.
But by me! It's entertaining as hell. And these writers are extremely talented.

[Eddie B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10
"The Family Man" returns and strikes again.

[Devin Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the art is pretty impressive (though also unnecessarily graphic, if I'm honest), but this Family Man deal just isn't grabbing me very much. There are interesting observations on morbidity stitching the story together, but the story itself just feels a bit underwhelming to me.

I think the main problem is that other Hellblazer stories so far have tended to have a strong element of John having relationships with people, and he's very independent-feeling here in a way that doesn't work as well for me.

And I have to be honest: I just find some of the story hard to follow. Sometimes I feel like there's a missing panel (not actually, but in effect) here or there. For as clever as some of these layouts are (and they are; when time passes across multiple panels but they cohere into just one space... surely there's a name for that technique), I think that there is some missing connective tissue at times.

Also... I just feel like this series has spent kind of a lot of time (literally too much) straying from the premise that John Constantine can do like... magic. I don't mind if they try to keep it special, but too often I'm a little confused about why he seems so helpless. (The helplessness adds pathos, but you also want characters to have some agency.)

[Ｆｒａｎｋｈ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Family Man story arc started in issue #24 but took a backseat to give us two issues written by Grant Morrison and one issue by Neil Gaiman (which were acceptable distractions). Now Delano is back to continue with this arc for the next three issues and IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. My expectations were already set for The Family Man because issue #24 really took me by surprise of how well-paced and structured it was from the get-go. I'm also a sucker for serial-killer storylines and I've always thought that Hellblazer would be a perfect fit to tell such a tale of woe and gore.

For the Family Man, Delano has merely taken the well-known formula of the genre and only enhanced the ingredients that made such stories appeal to the masses in the first place. Now after twenty-plus issues into Hellblazer, I also realized that the series truly shines and finds its edge when John Constantine is the center of the story (in fact, the reason why the Fear Machine story arc was uneven was because its titular hero was merely a set piece, a secondary element that had barely anything to do with a rather convoluted plot). I think that it's a good thing that Delano has turned the focus on John again because Constantine is so incredibly dimensional and he captivates the imagination as long as he's in the hands of a capable writer who understands him, and Delano has proven with the Family Man story arc that he does know John Constantine well, and what kind of material works best for the character.

The tonality and atmosphere set by this issue, Thicker than Blood, is a psychological drama-thriller where John and the serial killer Samuel Morris a.k.a the Family Man take turns being the hunter and the hunted.

I would just like to state once and for all that I think this is why this story arc was so daring and engrossing; scenes and monologues are equally divided between these two characters as they get more and more involved in each other. Morris is relentless in his pursuit, convinced that John will be his downfall if he didn't find a way to exterminate him. Meanwhile, John has ignored his discovery of the Family Man's identity for three months, but has now come to terms that he has been allowing an evil man to commit heinous acts, which only makes him more responsible than he could ever imagine.

While all of this is happening, we also get to know Samuel Morris better and the motivation behind his killing sprees that had spanned for decades. He is very interesting to read about even if I literally fear for John's life whenever he's in the pages, scheming away to take down our titular hero in the shadows.

There is a lot to enjoy about this issue. The pacing was just astounding because it kept me on the edge of my seat as I watch and cringe while Morris set his traps to get to John Constantine. For his part, John was still trying to get a sense of what he's up against and carefully sets his own traps, playing it smart as always. However, I also think John is underestimating what his foe is capable of and he could be in a great disadvantage unless he changes his game plan. In fact, Morris is at least three steps ahead and has killed someone significant in John's life. Ignorant of this development, John was forced to contemplate whether or not he has to kill the killer, which was something that admittedly shocked me because John has done some pretty murky things in the past--but then again he battles the supernatural and the human casualties in between are not by his own hand. Sure, John had been indirectly responsible of his friends' deaths but he had never tried to kill someone and it clearly shows in this issue how torn and apprehensive he is if it does get to that point.

I'm pleased that we get that kind of moral exploration for this story arc. After all, Delano never forgets to always write his stories about ghouls and monsters using a realistic backdrop, such as the society and politics of the era Hellblazer was written in, and a morally ambiguous character like John Constantine who is driven by actions that are not always heroic. Nevertheless, by the end of the day, he is a decent man who just takes a while to do the right things. I'm satisfied with the direction this story arc is going so far and there is hardly a dull moment while I was reading. The suspense just keeps building up, and I can't wait for the climax!

RECOMMENDED: 9/10

[Pritesh Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Family Man is back, bringing with him a fresh dose of fear and death and all things despair. And John's in a world of trouble.