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Hellblazer (Single Issues)
Hellblazer n. 43
John Constantine's search for a cure for his terminal illness leads him to two acquaintances, one a demon...and one far, far worse. "Dangerous Habits" part 3 of 6.
48 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1991
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About the author
Garth Ennis
2,622 books3,174 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 23, 2014
Gabriel: For all your bluster and your arrogance, you are doomed because hell has laid claim to your soul. And it is to hell that you shall go.
Constantine: Yeah? Well, maybe I'm not the only one...I hope your dad doesn't know the sort of people you hang out with. I don't think he'd approve.
John makes the worst enemies. Last issue, all he wanted to do was to save his friend from eternal damnation so he ended up playing Satan for a fool in the most demeaning way possible (seriously, it was straight-up HILARIOUS too!) and now the King of Hell has placed a bull's eye on his back. But hey, there's a silver lining; it's yet another incentive not to die from a terminal illness, right? With John's track record of bad deeds outweighing his good, his soul is bound to be sent to Hell which would suck ass because John's not exactly a popular guy among demons in a good way, if you know what I'm saying. So what is our titular, wretched hero to do in this situation? I've made remarks once that Constantine is a self-preservationist type and he always has tricks up his sleeves. I guess this is why I don't feel disheartened as he goes through the motions. The sheer capacity of his will to fight another day has never failed me before and I am not about to give up on Johnny meself.
I'm still reading this series for a good reason--and it's because John Constantine is ME to a certain extent and in the most unpleasant way possible that he has made me examine the choices I made in my life. And I'd like to think I became a better person once I was brave enough to overcome my bullshit baggage--so call me an optimist but I want to see John survive all of this as if it's some sort of affirmation that what I've been through also mattered in the long run.
ANYWAY. We're at the Bargaining stage of the story. First, John meets up with a female demon named Ellie whom he seems chummy with. He gets quick updates about the situation in Hell where Satan definitely wants to make him his bitch. Ellie, unfortunately, cannot aid him in his quest for a cure but she suggests that John should see the "Snob" and the immediate furious reaction from John was outstanding! I have never seen him so worked up! By this point, I was rather curious to know who this Snob person is. It turns out he's one of the archangels, Gabriel. In the few adaptations of this angel, he's always been portrayed as a douchebag and Hellblazer presented him as some prejudiced aristocrat who belongs in a very high-esteemed society, and he couldn't be bothered with us average folks. John was forced to meet him and they had a rather...delightful conversation.
Gabriel, true to his moniker, does not have any compassion to spare and refuses flat-out to help John from his quandary. They had a heated argument but it was mostly John calling him out of his arrogance and narrow-mindedness. Really, Constantine? First the Devil and now an archangel? But I was on John's side all the way because Gabriel is a dismissive arsehole who considers himself above humanity--and isn't pride the first sin and what got Lucifer banished from Heaven in the first place? So better be careful, Gabs.
My favorite moment in this issue has to be when John visited his new acquaintance, Matt, the ageing cancer patient he met in #41. The friendship was easy because there were no false pretenses. I like that John has at least someone to talk to and it's someone who gets exactly what's he's going through. At this point, John still has plenty of drive to live and Matt shared a story that I think only encouraged him to find a solution fast.
The issue ends in a rather unexpected cliffhanger. John was left to contemplate his next course of action but that plan wasn't revealed just yet. But, based from his visceral reaction after coming up with it, I get the impression that it's definitely the last resort, something borne of madness that just might work.
RECOMMENDED: 8/10
Displaying 1 of 1 review