Hellblazer: All His Engines

by Mike Carey, Leonardo Manco (Illustrator)

When a mysterious worldwide plague starts putting millions of people into deadly comas, Earth's foremost expert on the bizarre, John Constantine, steps in with the "cure," After traveling from the dreary alleys of London to the glittering boulevards of L.A., Constantine realizes that a cadre of wicked demons and hellish monsters is behind the outbreak, and he'll have to sacrifice more than himself to put an end to the nightmare. Suggested For Mature Readers.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Mike Carey was born in Liverpool in 1959. He worked as a teacher for fifteen years, before starting to write comics. When he started to receive regular commissions from DC Comics, he gave up the day job.

Since then, he has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics, writing storylines for some of the world's most iconic characters, including X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, LUCIFER and HELLBLAZER. His original screenplay FROST FLOWERS is currently being filmed. Mike has also adapted Neil Gaiman's acclaimed NEVERWHERE into comics.

Somehow, Mike finds time amongst all of this to live with his wife and children in North London. You can read his blog at www.mikecarey.net.

Reviews

[Kirstine · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's not to love about a gritty, noir-ish hero, with a smoking habit and a soul not worth a damn kicking demon ass? NOTHING. I would marry that guy if I could (and that would most likely end with me getting strung up and worn as demon-skin, so it's a good thing I can't).

I want to call Constantine an anti-hero, and he kind of is, but then again... Isn't sending demons back to hell a pretty heroic thing?

So, protagonist I instantly love? Check. Story? Well, this is my first Hellblazer comic, so I have no idea if this is one of the better stories, but I rather liked it. It shows both the good and very humane side of Constantine, while still not leaving any doubt about what he's willing to do to send some suckers back to Lucifer.

Also, it has some really awesome, umh, I mean, horrifying and blood-boiling terrible demons. One has a little girl trapped in a cage inside of him. Handy, eh?

It just has so many things I love to death. I adore kick-ass people, but people who kick demon/ghost/hellish-creature ass? Even better. God, The Devil, demons, angels, all of that shebang, it just sort of pulls me in. I don't know what it is, I just find it endlessly interesting. I'm definitely continuing with this series.

I also really loved the movie, but I'm not sure it can really be compared to the graphic novels. They are... different. Ha.

[Sooraya Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing stand alone story.
Those not familiar with Hellblazer comics would have no problem accessing this (I think).
On a quest to save a little girl's life, John Constantine gets mixed up in demon politics.
Never expected his buddy Chas to be a badass.
Loved the dark humor, banter between characters and also Constantine's cockiness.
All in all, excellent writing!

[KK · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ko vrata!

[Hugo Emanuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Constantine: Hellblazer - All His Engines" is a graphic novel with stand-alone story featuring John Constantine from the (now extinct) "Hellblazer" monthly series. It's written by Mike Carey, who also wrote one of the longest and widely acclaimed run of "Hellblazer". As the story is very much a self-contained one it requires little to no previous knowledge of the characters from "Hellblazer", so any reader can pick this up and read it without feeling lost as it does not reference plotpoints from other Constantine stories.
A strange coma inducing epidemic is spreading all across the globe, causing a great many people to full into a state of sudden coma. One of the people affected by this plague is Chas' grandaugther. Chas enlists the help of John Constantine who soon figures out that the epidemic has a demonic origin that directly concerns himself.
The art is provided by Leonardo Manco, a recurrent artist on the "Hellblazer" title and who is on top form on this Graphic Novel. The artwork fits the story perfectly and it's occasional one-page long panels are amazingly realized.
I reccomend the "All His Engines" graphic novel not only to the hardcore fan of "Hellblazer" but also to the reader who is unfamiliar with he title and it's characters and that whises to sample the dark, gloomy and demonical world that John Constantine expertly moves in.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just great. Pretty much the quintessential Constantine story.

A "plague of comas" strike children all over the world, including the niece of Constantine's friend Chas. It turns out to be a plan to lure Constantine into doing away with a demon's competition, as in, blackmailing Constatine into killing a lot of demons. Of course, Constantine never takes anything lying down, so it's on.

Also some of the best Leonardo Manco artwork I've seen. Just a great book all around.

This was released as an original graphic novel to coincide with the release of the film, but the way the chapters were divided leads me to believe it may have originally been a five issue storyline intended for the regular series. There's also some really good background material on the character included. This is required reading for Hellblazer fans.

[Mery ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

If you're looking for an introduction to Hellblazer, but obviously don't want to invest in a lot of books for a comic you haven't read, this is perfect. All His Engines is a self-contained story that is enjoyable whether or not you've read the series beforehand or not.

The art is fantastic as well, easily my favorite artist who worked on the comic.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is genius. Pure genius. Mike Carey is up to his usual self, producing stellar writing to match his crazy plotting, and Leonardo's artwork is one of the best I've seen on the Hellblazer series. This is genius, plain and simple.

[Nađa Pavlica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note to self: Kupi/ pročitaj Enisovog Helblejzera.

[João Jorge · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent and enjoyable graphic novel but one that never really takes off! Constantine is a “noir-ish” character, very charismatic with a huge personality and some nice inner monologues. He´s quite likable but at times it seemed like the writer almost tried too hard to make him the cool anti-hero who´s always a step ahead of his enemies and does the right thing with questionable means. But he´s a very appealing character and more than capable of carrying the comic. The rest of the characters unfortunately are highly annoying, especially Constantine´s sidekick, Chas who is so badly written it comes close to completely killing the story. The villain is a demon named Beroul that the writer also tries too hard to make sick and disturbing and ends up being a bit over the top silly but he´s also somewhat funny and I must say i enjoyed the evil bastard.
The story is good enough but the pace seems a bit off. Constantine has to recover Cha´s granddaughter´s soul from Beroul and he´s forced to to the demon´s bidding. Beroul wants to get rid of his demonic competition and Constantine is sent to destroy it in return for the child´s soul. But Constantine knows Beroul will never follow up on the deal and he must find a way to destroy him while saving the girl and to do it he must make an even worse deal with someone even more dangerous than Beroul.
The comic is never boring but many times it seems like its just bidding its time until the inevitable showdown and climax. Somehow I never had a sense of danger or desperation and right from the start you just know Constantine will find a way to get out on top! The ending is very satisfying and even tense but the story never really finds its stride.
The art is, again, decent but nothing to really blow your mind. There´s nothing really wrong here, the artist just seemed a bit too safe and no page ever truly shines.
The comic is entertaining enough but nothing about it really stands out and in the end there´s not much here to remember.
Constantine is the real star and he has some very cool moments but other than that, “All His Engines” lacks a spark.

[Trin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh. I saw this on the shelf at my friend John’s, flipped through it there, borrowed it, and read the whole thing, and I am still not sure if I have read it before or not. This may be attributable to my failing brain, but I’m sure it’s also due in part to the fact that All His Engines is a fairly standard John Constantine outing: there are creepy icky demony things, and John (Constantine, not my friend) snarks at them and gets in over his head but ultimately outwits everyone and is awesome. I like all of that, and Carey pulls off that formula here with aplomb. Still: this is obviously not a standout tale, as I’m still not 100% on whether I’ve read it before. (I think the answer must be yes, or at least yes in part, or else I’m simply experiencing some weirdly specific déjà vu.)

Since this review seems to be turning into an extended episode of someone tapping a microphone and saying, “Hello? Is this thing on?” I will now use this space to complain: why hasn’t any of Paul Jenkins’ run on this title been collected as trades? I loved that run. Am I the only one?

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you only ever read one John Constantine story, this is the one I would recommend. It is a self contained story, that requires no previous knowledge of the character, and is quite brilliant.

[Tucker Stone · Rating 1 out of 5]

Commissioned for the purposes of putting something hardcover and classy on the shelf while the film Constantine was in the theaters, All His Engines reads like, well, something hardcover and classy put out to capitalize on a movie. Oddly, the story is not one that incorporates anything from the movie--this is still the same John Constantine who looks like Sting and is absolutely British. The story itself is yet another boring trudge down the road of John-as-flawed-hero, which, if you've ever read Hellblazer, you already know that is about the worst choice a writer can make with John. He is just not believable as a guy who cares about people, and although Engines throws in some decent one-liners and a relatively engaging plot, it's all geared on a premise that strains believability. Manco's art ranges from good to great, but with it being in service of such banality one judges it harsher than it probably deserves. Hellblazer will never be a blockbuster seller, but this work carries more of an insult than that--it's one thing for Hollywood not to respect a comic, hell, that comes with the territory, but Mike Carey should know better. All His Engines stinks of a paycheck, and for that, there's no excuse.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

three and a half stars really.. i guess i may sound like an old man, but i don't think these later Hellblazer stories are as good as the early ones. i mean, this book is good for what it is, but the original writer created a much more fascinating character in John Constantine (in my humble opinion of course). the Constantine of yore was a sarcastic, chain smoking ex-punk rock dude filled with internal pain who I found kind of likable and interesting. The later one as featured in this book seems a bit more macho, emotionally distant from the reader, and well, less likable. He seems kind of normal, oddly, and I'm not particularly interested in reading about normal, macho straight guys - OH WELL. I mean, he's even buffer than the original character - what's up with that? (Chain smokers are typically not gym bunnies, know what i mean?) Otherwise, the story was pretty good and neatly wrapped up by the end which I'm not sure is a good thing or not. I kind of like unendings that leave you wondering a little.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good story, and it does have nice art, but…
It's a pretty run-of-the-mill sort of story,
with pretty run-of-the-mill sort of art.

Not that it's anywhere near bad, as John Constantine stories and art go, well, it's not all that original.

I couldn't help but feel that this nice hardcover was put out to simply to capitalize on the, eugh, Keeanu Reeves Constantine movie that came out at pretty much the same time. Hey, it's even set in America.
For newcomers to the Constantine world, it probably would look pretty "original".

Basically, Constantine has to outwit a bunch of demons and an aztek god by pitting them one against each other while keeping his traditional Mr. Cool act all the while, yada, yada, yada... sound familiar? yeah, me too.

Nothing in this story stands apart from the stories you could read in the ongoing Hellblazer series, some of which are better both in story and art. Had this been published in the ongoing series, then collected into trade, it would have earned a much better review.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly solid Hellblazer story, and a fine standalone tale built for those unfamiliar with Constantine's long history. There are some sharp bits of dialogue and a few terrific character moments. But the plot just isn't unique enough to really stand out to a longtime reader. I need more at this point than another reckless deal with a double-crossing demon.

Also, Constantine is always more interesting when the horror is subtle and you're unsure whether the monsters are really there in the room or not. Too much here is stated explicitly, and long conversations with the demons rob them of their mystery. No amount of gore is as scary as something that never strays from the shadows.

For a newbie who wants a couple short Hellblazer stories that do a better job of freaking you the hell out, try the "Setting Sun" trade by Warren Ellis.

[Heath Lowrance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many great writers have tackled the character of John Constantine, but my personal favorite is Mike Carey. He invests Our John with a world-weary maturity that's been a long time coming, and still manages to demonstrate that Constantine is still the tricky, manipulative bastard he's always been-- just better at it now than he's ever been.

This volume, All His Engines, is a stand-alone that makes for a perfect intro to the character, if you've never read him before. Constantine and his long-suffering pal Chas leave London for Los Angeles to head off a nasty supernatural plague that threatens to destroy the world. Along the way, Constantine meets some pretty unsavory types, both human and demon, and Chas has a moment of illicit happiness that he may regret.

The art is by Leonardo Manco, in my book one of the best Hellblazer artists.

[Brini · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME. I love John Constantine and it's not that I don't like the "new" DC- Justice League Dark- Constantine but this comic does him justice. Darker, more gloomy and a few dozen other things I can't grasp right now. I'm a little speechless. It's perfect, just how I imagine John Constantine. The artwork is brilliant!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, good art, good running monologue and some really creepy moments along with the noir sensibility. If Harry Potter took place in hard boiled London or LA with Sting in the lead role it would be Hellblazer. And it would be awesome.

[Milo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Carey is excellent.

[Rafa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent graphic novel. A story that captures who is John Constantine, and makes you want more. Accompanied of great art, by Leonardo Manco, this is really pleasant reading.

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

LO QUE DIJE FUE UNA MIERDA, PERO FUNCIONO

Una epidemia de sueño corre por el mundo, y sus victimas son moneda de uso para los demonios, ¿que podrá hacer el buen Constantine?.

LO BUENO: John intenta hacer las cosas bien, que nadie salga herido pero no, nadie le pone cuidado y termina metido en una batalla contra fuerzas que lo sobrepasan, y esos demonios, omg, asustan, dan asco, cuando te explican cómo se esta armando su piscina o esa mirada a su infierno particular o que aparezca ese demonio azteca que come otros demonios, y súmale un arte opresivo y oscuro de Leonardo Manco, que siempre cumple.

LO MALO: Al final, esa resolución se dio de manera rápida y le falto no se, un poco más de explicación.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a very peculiar pseudo-tie-in to the film Constantine, Mike Carey sends the comics' version of John to L.A. in this standalone graphic novel. Chas' niece is afflicted by the coma epidemic, which we find out is caused by a demon stealing souls to create Hell on Earth, literally. John makes some complicated deals with other demons, uses his knowledge of arcane rules of existence, and plays everybody against everybody to get what he wants. In short, it's a Hellblazer story. You like 'em or you don't.

Manco's art isn't his best, a little chunky and loose, but he's still a very good artist.

[Sam Noland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic was a great introduction to the John Constantine of the comics. (Previously I was familiar with John as he is presented in Justice League Dark, the Constantine series, and the movie with Keanu).

This story is gritty and raw, as it should be. The plot became a bit garbled towards the middle, but maybe that was just how I read it. The ending made up for this, and had a brilliant turn that I wasn’t expecting. It left me with several burning questions that I hope I can find the answers to. Tacked on a 5th star for the gruesomely dark (awesome) art throughout. A great read! I tore through this issue quickly. Can’t wait to read more.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will shock you if you're a regular Hellblazer reader, but a bunch of demons cross purpose when one of them harms someone whose life intersects with john Constantine, and it's up to him to double cross a demon by using other demons to double cross yet other demons to save the person in peril.

Also, he smokes, his friend Chas is put upon, and the people he's helping are annoyed that he's involved.

It's pretty much a typical Hellblazer story but distilled to five chapters without a single wasted panel.

Unlike Carey's overall run on the series, you could pick up just this book and not feel lost at any point in the story.

[Nate]

I read this in one of the newer Hellblazer collections, but wanted to read it again on its own because I remember thinking it was great. And after a second read, yeah, I agree that it’s great. This is John Constantine the bastard trickster, walking into danger while ultimately trying to do the right thing. It’s a kind of quintessential Hellblazer and wouldn’t be a bad introduction to the series and the character. You’ve got John’s banter and narration, Chas, and demons. I guess this book came out to coincide with the release of the Keanu movie, and while there might be a “paycheck” quality behind it, the story is well-written, well-drawn, and engrossing. I have no complaints.

[Brian Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Constantine, weird “superhero” that probably doesn’t get invited to mega parties. I guess he’s necessary in that “we need a demon from hell,” role that comes in handy at times, I think. More than that, he can “play” demons who don’t want to keep their word, saving those who may have inadvertently stumbled across the underworld, or innocently thrown into it. Creepy, but the story was solid.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Constantine finds himself in LA tricking the Aztec blood god to help save a friends granddaughter in London. A gross and fun Hellblazer story that hits all the classic moments- short and enjoyable read!

[Orlando Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this one in a single sitting! John Constantine is a great character and this storyline is a perfect representation of his wit, snark, and power. My biggest criticism is that some of the villains are too easily overcome and some segments get confusing. Still, very much enjoyed the read.

[Mik Cope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Gaiman describes this as "quintessential Constantine" on the cover and for all the hyperbole, there isn't much wrong with this old classic. Demons, a Death God, various forms of Magick and dirty deal breaking - also, Chas! What more could a true believer ask for?

[The Geeky Viking · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've never had the pleasure of reading Hellblazer before than the collected edition of Mike Carey's All His Engines is a perfect entry point. It's a twisted little tale of Constantine playing chicken with a demon for the soul of a little girl, who just happens to be the niece of his sometimes partner Chas. It illustrates perfectly the type of man that John Constatine is and the artwork by Leonardo Manco is simply gorgeous.