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Hellblazer (Single Issues)
Hellblazer #4
Constantine's niece is kidnapped by a bizarre and dangerous religious cult known as The Resurrection Crusade. Can the urban mage safe her--or will he lose his soul while trying?
- GenresComicsHorrorComic Book
25 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1988
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23 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
August 5, 2014
I liked the creepiness factor of this issue, but it wasn't that strong of a story for me unlike the last three before it. Nevertheless, what I enjoyed most is that John Constantine becomes very personable in this one, most likely because we get to see him in different roles: as a brother, uncle and a lover.
To recap, we have already seen him as a man who makes hard decisions that would often cost him sacrificing people he cares about for a utilitarian purpose, and as a man of impulses but with of discerning attitude when caught in a pinch.
For this issue called Waiting for the Man, we see Constantine in a pub somewhere in London, I assume, having a good time playing pool with some chaps and his BFF Chas Chandler. There is a noticeable change in the way he inner monologues too, which gave readers the impression that Constantine is indeed very relaxed. And the guy does deserve some break, you know. In just a span of three issues, he sacrificed a friend to bind a demon, and he was almost eaten by a collective of them later on. I don't know about you, but I simply admire the fact that he can still get himself out of bed and be John Constantine.
A few drinks and some good company can be quite enough for someone with his career choice, and Constantine is determined not to let the opportunity for fun pass because he can't possibly know when the next good times will come around again. In line with this newfound optimistic living, Constantine meets an enigmatic woman named Zed whom he spotted in an alleyway somewhere. He was easily taken with her and invited her for dinner. It was a very random meeting which is so Constantine, isn't it? There was just something inherently magnetic about Zed that he responded to and in the next pages he knew he was going to sleep with her. Why not? You deserve a good lay, John.
But as things are about to heat up between him and this alluring woman, he picked up a news story from her radio which talked about a missing ten-year-old girl named Gemma Masters. The kid turns out to be his own niece, the daughter of his sister Cheryl. He quickly went to Cheryl's place to aid and Zed tugged along with him. It's worth noting that the issue jumps from Constantine's scenes to Gemma's own scenes as she is somewhat hypnotized by a group of girls who claimed to be wives of one man, and they promised her that she will become his bride as well. The eerie atmosphere of these events is very well-executed. I was really uncomfortable reading Gemma's monologues (especially whens she starts talking way out of her depth which led me to believe that she is being controlled or brainwashed telepathically). I guess that's all I'd like to talk about the plot. I sometimes do take time to discuss important plot points for Hellblazer issues so far but I think this one requires more of my insights on how John Constantine is characterized at this point of the story.
I like that we got to meet his family already because now we can understand that Constantine does have loved ones who are still alive, even though he and his sister Cheryl do seem to be estranged from each other. Could it be because of his way of living? Perhaps. It's notable that Cheryl seems like a woman of faith herself, but I don't really see Constantine a religious man in spite of his calling as an occultist. Perhaps this could be one of the things that has caused tension between them. However, I also get the sense that his niece Gemma might have something in common with him, particularly her affinity for the supernatural and occult. She also grew up a lonely kid, and that seemed to worsen when her parents started fixating on this religious, fundamentalist sect, and they had to move closer to the ministry which meant she had to leave her old life and friends behind.
I felt like Constantine sympathizes with this and so hurries to rescue her. I don't think he even knew that there was something mystical about her abduction. I get the sense that John hasn't been around in his sister's life and her kid's and he's trying to make amends. I think I want to see more of his family in the later issues. It certainly makes me feel for his struggles more, knowing that he has blood relatives to depend on and who can depend on him; and what he could do about that or not do about it. He's not exactly a stay-around kind of guy, is he?
Now as for my thoughts on this new character, Zed: I know she's going to be a more significant character later on and I look forward to knowing more about her alongside John. He does seem intrigued by her presence because he could tell that she's keeping him at arm's length and for possibly valid reasons. Also, Constantine is a man with needs and it'll be great to see him shacking up with someone. That could get complicated, him being in a relationship while working cases. I mean, look at what happened to Emma (and when she got screwed over, they weren't even together anymore). I don't know why I sound like I'm giddy about any foreseeable tragedies in Constantine's life. If it was up to me, I wish he gets a happy life; but then we wouldn't have 300 issues of Hellblazer now, would we?
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
DO READ MORE OF MY HELLBLAZER REVIEWS
To recap, we have already seen him as a man who makes hard decisions that would often cost him sacrificing people he cares about for a utilitarian purpose, and as a man of impulses but with of discerning attitude when caught in a pinch.
For this issue called Waiting for the Man, we see Constantine in a pub somewhere in London, I assume, having a good time playing pool with some chaps and his BFF Chas Chandler. There is a noticeable change in the way he inner monologues too, which gave readers the impression that Constantine is indeed very relaxed. And the guy does deserve some break, you know. In just a span of three issues, he sacrificed a friend to bind a demon, and he was almost eaten by a collective of them later on. I don't know about you, but I simply admire the fact that he can still get himself out of bed and be John Constantine.
A few drinks and some good company can be quite enough for someone with his career choice, and Constantine is determined not to let the opportunity for fun pass because he can't possibly know when the next good times will come around again. In line with this newfound optimistic living, Constantine meets an enigmatic woman named Zed whom he spotted in an alleyway somewhere. He was easily taken with her and invited her for dinner. It was a very random meeting which is so Constantine, isn't it? There was just something inherently magnetic about Zed that he responded to and in the next pages he knew he was going to sleep with her. Why not? You deserve a good lay, John.
But as things are about to heat up between him and this alluring woman, he picked up a news story from her radio which talked about a missing ten-year-old girl named Gemma Masters. The kid turns out to be his own niece, the daughter of his sister Cheryl. He quickly went to Cheryl's place to aid and Zed tugged along with him. It's worth noting that the issue jumps from Constantine's scenes to Gemma's own scenes as she is somewhat hypnotized by a group of girls who claimed to be wives of one man, and they promised her that she will become his bride as well. The eerie atmosphere of these events is very well-executed. I was really uncomfortable reading Gemma's monologues (especially whens she starts talking way out of her depth which led me to believe that she is being controlled or brainwashed telepathically). I guess that's all I'd like to talk about the plot. I sometimes do take time to discuss important plot points for Hellblazer issues so far but I think this one requires more of my insights on how John Constantine is characterized at this point of the story.
I like that we got to meet his family already because now we can understand that Constantine does have loved ones who are still alive, even though he and his sister Cheryl do seem to be estranged from each other. Could it be because of his way of living? Perhaps. It's notable that Cheryl seems like a woman of faith herself, but I don't really see Constantine a religious man in spite of his calling as an occultist. Perhaps this could be one of the things that has caused tension between them. However, I also get the sense that his niece Gemma might have something in common with him, particularly her affinity for the supernatural and occult. She also grew up a lonely kid, and that seemed to worsen when her parents started fixating on this religious, fundamentalist sect, and they had to move closer to the ministry which meant she had to leave her old life and friends behind.
I felt like Constantine sympathizes with this and so hurries to rescue her. I don't think he even knew that there was something mystical about her abduction. I get the sense that John hasn't been around in his sister's life and her kid's and he's trying to make amends. I think I want to see more of his family in the later issues. It certainly makes me feel for his struggles more, knowing that he has blood relatives to depend on and who can depend on him; and what he could do about that or not do about it. He's not exactly a stay-around kind of guy, is he?
Now as for my thoughts on this new character, Zed: I know she's going to be a more significant character later on and I look forward to knowing more about her alongside John. He does seem intrigued by her presence because he could tell that she's keeping him at arm's length and for possibly valid reasons. Also, Constantine is a man with needs and it'll be great to see him shacking up with someone. That could get complicated, him being in a relationship while working cases. I mean, look at what happened to Emma (and when she got screwed over, they weren't even together anymore). I don't know why I sound like I'm giddy about any foreseeable tragedies in Constantine's life. If it was up to me, I wish he gets a happy life; but then we wouldn't have 300 issues of Hellblazer now, would we?
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
DO READ MORE OF MY HELLBLAZER REVIEWS
April 29, 2025
This issue struck me with so much terror, thrill, and anxiety like none of the others have with this story and John’s desperate hunt in this issue. Just wow. In this issue we meet a girl named Gemma, she is lonely and distraught and spends her time outside the suburbs her family just moved her to on the playground overlooking the subdivision. She wants to go back to the city, her parents only moved out there because they joined some group called the resurrection crusaders and they put the idea in their parents head that they were living in the armpit of satan. Now she has to live out here and can’t even listen to her music or watch tv, unless it’s the sermons her parents now sell, because everything is produced by agents of Satan. But in this particular evening Gemma surprisingly found she was not alone at the park. Three girls approached her and began talking to her. They told her that they all live together in one house and are married to one man, but he is never there and they get to do whatever they want. To Gemma this is starting to sound quite nice and she wants to check it out for herself. Even just for the chance to get away from her parents for a bit. Once they arrive she finds that the house is dirty and it smells, and when they talk about “him,” it sends a shiver down her spine. But for some reason when they talk about her getting married as well, she becomes open to the idea. He isn’t there that night but the girls show her up to the bed where they can all sleep together. One girl even shows her the mark around her neck, what she calls her wedding ring, apparently it hurts at first but then it feels really nice.
As you can tell, Gemma has be lured into quite a terrible situation. But where is Constantine, and how could he be connected to this girl out in the burbs? At the same time all of this is happening we see Constantine enjoying his nightly routine of placing bets with Chas and snatching the spray paint out of racist little British boys and spraying it right back in right back into their faces. By this time of night he could go for a bite to eat, but he has no one to share it with. But who knows what could be around the corner, and that’s when John meets Zed. When he meets her he finds her sitting in front of a piece of graffiti she no doubt made. It depicts a big shadowed man standing over a little girl. I can’t help but think the girl is a representation of Zed. But we really don’t know a lot about her other than her name and that she can go through curry like air. They end up going back to her place, John describes it as a cathedral and she has faces painted on the wall of people she sees in the streets. One of them is even Johnathan. Suddenly a radio she has sitting in the corner comes alive with a news report about a police search after a 10 year old named Gemma Masters failed to return home. Zed tries to apologize as sometimes a loose switch can make it turn on, but John needs to hear it. Seems that his lucky winning streak is over, and he asks if Zed could drive. She can and he says he can get a car, they are going to Liverpool…that’s his sister’s kid!!! JOHN HAS A FAMILY?!
We then jump back to that suburb in Liverpool where it seems that John’s sister actually has some sense compared to her husband who got them in that “crusaders” group in the first place. They have people out looking but there real answer to her is to pray, and they even tried to say that it was Gemma’s fault and that there was a “bad spirit” around her. Yeah screw these people, she is very right to scream and call them traitors to their faces. John was able to get Chas car and Zed’s only speed is flat out, lol. Seems that Chas owes John a lot of favors, I wonder where that came from and when that will run out. John used Chad for quite a lot. They have some very nice conversation acorn his sister Cheryl and her kid Gemma and that no good husband of hers, and Constantine points out how kind Zed is by referring to Gemma in the present tense. But John decides to sleep the rest of the way and hope that Gemma has a nice dry place to wake up to. We do see that morning that Gemma does wake up in the same bed, but her memory continues to allude her. She doesn’t remember how she got there, but she remembers that today is her wedding day… but it doesn’t feel quite right. “Tears scald her cheeks, but by the time her tongue savors their salt, she’s forgotten why she’s crying.” But then the other girls wake up and dressed in her wedding gown, they are so hopeful that he will like and fall for her.
That same morning we finally see John and Zed arrive at his sister’s house. Cops are swarming the place, and she is so happy to see him. Can’t say the same for everyone else, and the pyramid crusaders try and forbid him from using “black arts” to try and divine her location. But John is rightfully not listening to any of their crap and heads up to Gemma’s room following right behind Cheryl. Diving involves using an object from the person you are looking for to try and find them. John is able to use one of her toys, which she now has very little of, to try and circle a location on a map for where she may be. At the same time Zee scribbles furiously and is able to produce an image of a house. She’s quite upstaged him on this hunt lol. But it is around this time I start to feel really anxious, Constantine and Zed are on the hunt but will they be able to make it in time? Back at the house we see as the man finally arrives home. He is a very large man with combat shorts and a wife beater and looks like he has a potato for a brain. He is very pleased with her and begins to take her downstairs for the ceremony so they may live happily ever after, the entire time Gemma is just responding with the things she feels like she is supposed to say. Meanwhile the map John cobbled together doesn’t seem to be doing the trick, no house in the area looks like the one Zed but together. Eventually they stumble upon a kid and show him the picture. He knows the house, even says it’s haunted, and shows them where it is for a fiver. But once he brings them there he won’t get any closer even for 50. Constantine doesn’t blame him, he doesn’t even want to get close, but he sends the kid off with another 5 to tell Cheryl where they went. In the basement the ritual before a Satanist goat head and an upside down cross begins to commence. The man speaks his prayer and speaks of joining them together to serve his lord. He then takes the rope and begins to wrap it around Gemma’s neck. John and Zed are inside the house at the point and I am getting even more worried, they begin I look around and see the setup. They walk upstairs and find the bed…it’s not empty…and they are horrified to find the corpses of three little girls. Suddenly it clicks with John and he runs for the cellar. Right as John is running down the stairs Gemma is feeling the pain of the rope around her neck…it is staring to feel nice…but then John busts down the door. He yells at the man to let her go, and he tosses Gemma to the side right as he throws a plate at John’s head. The man somehow knows John and thinks he is bad and here to take his “wives” away, but he isn’t going to let that happen and plans on killing John instead. As he beats and throws John against the wall, Zed comes from behind and bashes the man’s face in wi a bottle, then brings it back down hard until he is out. WOW am I glad he found Zed. Match made somewhere, maybe not heaven, but certainly somewhere.
John is able to get up and muster the strength to carry Gemma int f there. As they are leaving they notice a message carved into the man’s chest: “Damnation Army.” Zed has seen this message before, sprayed on the need of an alley with a burned tramp alongside it. Constantine gets the feeling that something else is going on that he has missed and someone is trying to tell him something. As soon as they get outside everyone else arrives with Cheryl at the front. They are lucky John came but those “crusaders,” have a funny way of showing it. Zed slips away right as they show up, and Johnathan not wanting to get between a mob and their target slips away right behind her. As they walk away the flames from the house burning down can be seen in the distance.
As the issue comes to a close John and Zed end up grabbing a motel together. He asks her about her experience with the crusaders and if she has ever seen them before. She says no, but he can tell she is lying and is looking forward to figuring out why. He also knows that there is more to this damnation army, something he should have already noticed. But that will be for tomorrow, for now John has earned a small rest. Once again, wow this issue was amazing. There are so many interesting contrasts to be made in this issue. Especially when looking at those crusaders and their “escape from Satan” out to the suburbs, only for an actual evil to be right under the noses the entire time. Oh also, on the final page of this issue we see that John sent Satchmo an apology gift for missing the interview. A record from the bands old days…although it seems to be shattered.
As you can tell, Gemma has be lured into quite a terrible situation. But where is Constantine, and how could he be connected to this girl out in the burbs? At the same time all of this is happening we see Constantine enjoying his nightly routine of placing bets with Chas and snatching the spray paint out of racist little British boys and spraying it right back in right back into their faces. By this time of night he could go for a bite to eat, but he has no one to share it with. But who knows what could be around the corner, and that’s when John meets Zed. When he meets her he finds her sitting in front of a piece of graffiti she no doubt made. It depicts a big shadowed man standing over a little girl. I can’t help but think the girl is a representation of Zed. But we really don’t know a lot about her other than her name and that she can go through curry like air. They end up going back to her place, John describes it as a cathedral and she has faces painted on the wall of people she sees in the streets. One of them is even Johnathan. Suddenly a radio she has sitting in the corner comes alive with a news report about a police search after a 10 year old named Gemma Masters failed to return home. Zed tries to apologize as sometimes a loose switch can make it turn on, but John needs to hear it. Seems that his lucky winning streak is over, and he asks if Zed could drive. She can and he says he can get a car, they are going to Liverpool…that’s his sister’s kid!!! JOHN HAS A FAMILY?!
We then jump back to that suburb in Liverpool where it seems that John’s sister actually has some sense compared to her husband who got them in that “crusaders” group in the first place. They have people out looking but there real answer to her is to pray, and they even tried to say that it was Gemma’s fault and that there was a “bad spirit” around her. Yeah screw these people, she is very right to scream and call them traitors to their faces. John was able to get Chas car and Zed’s only speed is flat out, lol. Seems that Chas owes John a lot of favors, I wonder where that came from and when that will run out. John used Chad for quite a lot. They have some very nice conversation acorn his sister Cheryl and her kid Gemma and that no good husband of hers, and Constantine points out how kind Zed is by referring to Gemma in the present tense. But John decides to sleep the rest of the way and hope that Gemma has a nice dry place to wake up to. We do see that morning that Gemma does wake up in the same bed, but her memory continues to allude her. She doesn’t remember how she got there, but she remembers that today is her wedding day… but it doesn’t feel quite right. “Tears scald her cheeks, but by the time her tongue savors their salt, she’s forgotten why she’s crying.” But then the other girls wake up and dressed in her wedding gown, they are so hopeful that he will like and fall for her.
That same morning we finally see John and Zed arrive at his sister’s house. Cops are swarming the place, and she is so happy to see him. Can’t say the same for everyone else, and the pyramid crusaders try and forbid him from using “black arts” to try and divine her location. But John is rightfully not listening to any of their crap and heads up to Gemma’s room following right behind Cheryl. Diving involves using an object from the person you are looking for to try and find them. John is able to use one of her toys, which she now has very little of, to try and circle a location on a map for where she may be. At the same time Zee scribbles furiously and is able to produce an image of a house. She’s quite upstaged him on this hunt lol. But it is around this time I start to feel really anxious, Constantine and Zed are on the hunt but will they be able to make it in time? Back at the house we see as the man finally arrives home. He is a very large man with combat shorts and a wife beater and looks like he has a potato for a brain. He is very pleased with her and begins to take her downstairs for the ceremony so they may live happily ever after, the entire time Gemma is just responding with the things she feels like she is supposed to say. Meanwhile the map John cobbled together doesn’t seem to be doing the trick, no house in the area looks like the one Zed but together. Eventually they stumble upon a kid and show him the picture. He knows the house, even says it’s haunted, and shows them where it is for a fiver. But once he brings them there he won’t get any closer even for 50. Constantine doesn’t blame him, he doesn’t even want to get close, but he sends the kid off with another 5 to tell Cheryl where they went. In the basement the ritual before a Satanist goat head and an upside down cross begins to commence. The man speaks his prayer and speaks of joining them together to serve his lord. He then takes the rope and begins to wrap it around Gemma’s neck. John and Zed are inside the house at the point and I am getting even more worried, they begin I look around and see the setup. They walk upstairs and find the bed…it’s not empty…and they are horrified to find the corpses of three little girls. Suddenly it clicks with John and he runs for the cellar. Right as John is running down the stairs Gemma is feeling the pain of the rope around her neck…it is staring to feel nice…but then John busts down the door. He yells at the man to let her go, and he tosses Gemma to the side right as he throws a plate at John’s head. The man somehow knows John and thinks he is bad and here to take his “wives” away, but he isn’t going to let that happen and plans on killing John instead. As he beats and throws John against the wall, Zed comes from behind and bashes the man’s face in wi a bottle, then brings it back down hard until he is out. WOW am I glad he found Zed. Match made somewhere, maybe not heaven, but certainly somewhere.
John is able to get up and muster the strength to carry Gemma int f there. As they are leaving they notice a message carved into the man’s chest: “Damnation Army.” Zed has seen this message before, sprayed on the need of an alley with a burned tramp alongside it. Constantine gets the feeling that something else is going on that he has missed and someone is trying to tell him something. As soon as they get outside everyone else arrives with Cheryl at the front. They are lucky John came but those “crusaders,” have a funny way of showing it. Zed slips away right as they show up, and Johnathan not wanting to get between a mob and their target slips away right behind her. As they walk away the flames from the house burning down can be seen in the distance.
As the issue comes to a close John and Zed end up grabbing a motel together. He asks her about her experience with the crusaders and if she has ever seen them before. She says no, but he can tell she is lying and is looking forward to figuring out why. He also knows that there is more to this damnation army, something he should have already noticed. But that will be for tomorrow, for now John has earned a small rest. Once again, wow this issue was amazing. There are so many interesting contrasts to be made in this issue. Especially when looking at those crusaders and their “escape from Satan” out to the suburbs, only for an actual evil to be right under the noses the entire time. Oh also, on the final page of this issue we see that John sent Satchmo an apology gift for missing the interview. A record from the bands old days…although it seems to be shattered.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2023
Haha, I was reading this wondering "how is this story going to get interesting for John...?"
And then it does!
"...etched into her face, like an acid attack" feels like it should be an excruciatingly tired phrase, but I don't think I've ever encountered it. Bravo!
I think that "spooky bride" can be a pretty underwhelming trope, but I think this issue is proof that just about anything can work if you justify/develop it well. And it almost goes without saying that Gemma's situation leading her to this fantasy is pretty believable (not to mention resonant; it's a familiar rebellious moment that could be cloying if it were more ordinary).
Just so that it's not taken for granted: I want to express continued admiration for this art! The use of color is so judicious and the lines have such a loose anger to them, and it all comes together in a very appropriate and cohesive aesthetic.
And then it does!
"...etched into her face, like an acid attack" feels like it should be an excruciatingly tired phrase, but I don't think I've ever encountered it. Bravo!
I think that "spooky bride" can be a pretty underwhelming trope, but I think this issue is proof that just about anything can work if you justify/develop it well. And it almost goes without saying that Gemma's situation leading her to this fantasy is pretty believable (not to mention resonant; it's a familiar rebellious moment that could be cloying if it were more ordinary).
Just so that it's not taken for granted: I want to express continued admiration for this art! The use of color is so judicious and the lines have such a loose anger to them, and it all comes together in a very appropriate and cohesive aesthetic.
June 29, 2024
Does it matter? Where do any of us come from? The sordid passions of our parents? God's emporium of jokes?
God's emporium of jokes I love it.
Starting this issue Constantine finally gets a long term goal, we know he is a magician, we know he fights demons, but that was about it.
This issue he meets a member of the army of damnation, and he is already speaking of taking care of them.
Count me in for that ride.
October 28, 2023
3.5/5
February 19, 2025
Okay, I need to take a little break from these.
December 16, 2016
Todo es tan raro, pero el estilo de la historia me está gustando.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews