Hellblazer: Rise and Fall

Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #1-3

by Tom Taylor, Darick Robertson (Artist)

If a billionaire falls out of the sky and dies...who gives a damn?!

A wealthy man plummets from the sky and is gruesomely skewered on a church spire. Bizarrely, angel wings are attached to his back. More such deaths follow until, hallelujah, it’s raining businessmen. Detective Aisha Bukhari is stumped by this strange phenomenon, until she’s visited by her childhood friend, occult investigator John Constantine, who discovers a link between the falling elite and a shocking moment in his and Aisha’s misspent youth. How are these killings tied to the first death on John’s hands? How does this involve heaven and hell? Even if this is kind of John’s fault, will Constantine be happy to let a few more rich bastards fall from the sky, like a vindictive Robin Hood?

DC Black Label presents Hellblazer: Rise and Fall—an occult mystery from the all-star team of writer Tom Taylor (DCeased) and artist Darick Robertson (The Boys)! Collects all three installments of the degenerate and debauched miniseries along with a variant cover gallery and behind-the-scenes artwork.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Dc Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published April 27, 2021

About the author

Once a professional juggler and fire eater, Tom Taylor is a #1 New York Times Bestselling, multi-award-winning comic book writer, playwright and screenwriter.

Well known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel, Taylor is the co-creator of NEVERLANDERS from Penguin Random House, SEVEN SECRETS from Boom Studios and the Aurealis-Award-winning graphic novel series THE DEEP. Taylor is also the Head Writer and Executive Producer of The Deep animated series, four seasons of which is broadcast in over 140 countries.

He is perhaps best known for the DC Comics series, DCEASED (Shadow Awards Winner), NIGHTWING (nominated for 5 Eisner Awards), SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL (GLAAD Award Nominee), INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, SUICIDE SQUAD, EARTH 2 and BATMAN/SUPERMAN as well as Marvel's FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, ALL NEW WOLVERINE, X-MEN: RED, DARK AGES and SUPERIOR IRON MAN. Taylor is also the writer of many Star Wars series, which include STAR WARS: INVASION and STAR WARS: BLOOD TIES (Stan Lee Excelsior Award winner). Taylor has written for Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom Studios, Wildstorm, 2000 AD and Gestalt Comics.

He can be followed on twitter @TomTaylorMade.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun Constantine story with a decent pinch of humor.



I think this is a good addition to DC's Black Label Horror, even though it will probably not be dark enough for actual Hellblazer fans.
And there is a difference between Constantine fans and Hellblazer fans.
Sure, there's a demon possessing a creepy child who should be either dead or middle-aged by now, but that's just magic for you.



And said demon is killing rich sleezebags in ever more gruesome ways, but that doesn't hold the same depressing weight that it needs to ring true as Hellblazer.
John has to do something truly sleazy that eats away at his soul while slurping on a cig for most fans of the character to consider it a real Hellblazer comic.



This is, however, a fun story for fans of Constantine.
So.
When John was just a wee lad in short pants, he tried to summon a demon to impress a girl.
As you do.
Unfortunately, he actually managed to bring the demon into our world - with tragic results.



Fast forward a bit and the young girl he was trying to impress is now a cop in London. When she and her partner witness what can only be described as an occult murder, she realizes that she needs a little help from her childhood friend.



However, anything Constantine touches eventually goes tits up.
But this time around Tom Taylor manages to make dead children, demonic forces, and the Devil himself pretty fun.



Honestly, I thought this was great. But as I said, your mileage is really going to vary depending on what you're looking for in this character.
Recommendedish.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this tale of demonic possession and sins of the past. It actually made me wonder why, when I like this character so much, I haven’t read more Hellblazer stuff. I’m going to have to do something about that.

I’m not a huge fan of Darick Robertson’s artwork but he does a solid job on this one, with only one panel where Constantine had the wrong number of fingers.

Story: 5 stars
Artwork: 3 stars
Overall: 4 stars

P.S. Many thanks to whichever Goodreads librarian corrected the error in the title of this book’s GR entry!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Members of the wealthy elite are turning up dead in unusual circumstances: nekkid, impaled, and wearing angel wings. Coincidentally the beat for all these deaths is Liverpool, John Constantine’s hometown, and, with the help of a childhood friend we’ve never seen before (and prolly won’t see again) and Lucifer Morningstar, the Hellblazer is on the case to find out wha happen, like.

I was quite looking forward to this one because the Hellblazer cameo in DCeased was by far the standout part of that otherwise crappy book. It was really funny and it seemed like Tom Taylor had a good handle on the character. Unfortunately, Hellblazer: Rise and Fall isn’t nearly as fun and is another unmemorable outing for Constantine.

The story is no great shakes. We’re told almost immediately who’s behind it all so there’s no mystery or tension there, and the reason behind the nekkid angel deaths is tossed off with an unremarkable meh towards the end. Most of the book then is John and contrived old bestie Aisha going through the usual police procedural motions with the occasional bit of magic thrown in. There’s the creepy kid cliche, and the resolution is too neat (the villain’s a challenge until he doesn’t need to be!) and overly sentimental for Hellblazer.

Which isn’t to say the whole book is a bust: Darick Robertson’s art is great (lots of body horror and explicit gore means this comic isn’t best suited for the littles ones) and, as cliche as the character was, the creepy kid did look proper creepy at times. The Devil is a fun character and I enjoyed most of the scenes he was in, and “cockwomble” is a terrific insult.

Still, I wasn’t taken with this one and found myself unengaged with the dull goings-on for the most part. Despite the talent involved, Hellblazer: Rise and Fall is a slight, unremarkable and almost instantly-forgettable story.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy successor to the original Vertigo run. Taylor's Constantine is smarmy and smart even when talking to the Devil. This Devil is not the First of the Fallen or Lucifer, but a new creation I guess since this is a Black Label book. The story is dark and violent with a dash of humor. Darick Robertson's art is great. It reminded me of his Transmetropolitan art for some reason.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

Guilt has a way to gnaw at your consciousness in a frustratingly distressing manner. If left to proliferate throughout your mind without any prudent solutions, it can destroy lives and send individuals down a dark road. For John Constantine, there’s no context for an upbringing more devastating than his own when his very existence is a burden for his father. Growing up, his rebellious self leads him to find refuge in the occult yet such a playground in heaven and hell opens up a world of terrifying possibilities that could only promise misery and regret if he doesn’t thread carefully. But who ever thought John Constantine would ever play by the rules? Collecting all three issues of the DC Black Label miniseries, writer Tom Taylor (Injustice, DCeased) and artist Darick Robertson (The Boys) form an exciting new creative team to explore a careless and cynical hero’s journey of redemption.

What is Hellblazer: Rise and Fall about? On one fateful night, a billionaire falls from the sky, skewered on a church spire, with angel wings attached to his body. Detective Aisha Bukhari doesn’t have much of a lead on this case, especially when they’re unable to identify the animal from which those feathers are from. It’s when occult investigator John Constantine, a childhood acquaintance, knocks on her door and unveils to her the link of this mystery to a tragedy they were all part of as children, that everything starts to make sense. This tragedy that marked John Constantine’s first foray into mystic art, but also the first death on his hands, has now come to haunt them all once again. Working together, accepting all conspicuous help that comes along the way, they race against time to stop a demon from wreaking havoc and plummeting their world into an unforgiving calamity.

In an effort to showcase John Constantine in all of his glory, from his out-of-the-blue ability to counter and defend himself against occult and mystical creatures to his weakness for personal vices, mostly revolving around his drug consumption (alcohol and cigarettes) or his homosexuality, writer Tom Taylor sacrifices creative and engaging narrative elements, that could have made this murder mystery much more memorable, for a shallow exploration of a hero’s complex personality. The story’s intrigue also mostly resides in the denouement of the mystery, quickly putting aside the whodunnit to focus on the how-do-we-undo-it and making the story much less memorable as the source of evil and everyone’s problem is revealed quite early. While the adventure in itself is engaging, paced with some great horror moments to capture the insanity of many of the situations that take place, it remains unrewarding due to its simplicity.

If you’re familiar with artist Darick Robertson’s artwork from The Boys, you won’t be surprised by this graphic novel’s artistic vision. Taking advantage of the prestige format of the graphic novel, the panel structure never sticks to a predetermined number of squares or arrangement. Whether it’s larger rectangles, panels that superpose themselves on one another, or splash pages, the artwork offers more breathable room to play with, to expose the character’s emotions or to display the flagrantly gory moments that implicate more blood than humans are ever supposed to encounter in their lives. The excellent colouring also help establish a darker atmosphere for the story that unfolds, mostly taking place at night, perfect to highlight the characters with vivid colours by soaking them in a lot of blood or lighting them up on fire. If anything, it’s through the artwork that the story finds any footing to justify its relevance.

Hellblazer: Rise and Fall is a trivial adventure where a ghost, a magician, and the devil look to stop a demon’s evil endeavor before countless humans plummet to their death.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[A.J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truly captured the spirit of Brian Azzarello's Hellblazer.

Sarcastic sentiment aside, books like that run and this title just prove to me why British & Irish writers are the only ones who should ever touch Constantine. Jesus this was actually awful.

I thought Tom Taylor & Darick Robertson on a Black Label Hellblazer story would be awesome, but this was one of the more disappointing reads I have had lately, with Robertson’s gory art being the only highlight in an otherwise extremely dull and forgettable Black Label story. The devil may be one of the most eye rolling characters in all of comics, like seriously, this dude’s dialogue only could appeal to 14 year olds. Cringey dialogue & terrible pacing make for what is probably my least favorite Black Label book ever. At least we have Spurrier’s & Campbell’s incredible run.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm apparently in the minority here, but I really enjoyed this.

I've loved John Constantin since his appearances in Moore's Swamp Thing run, but it's hard to find stories that aren't team books or exercises is masochism. Rise and Fall reads like a palate cleanser tale between between darker story arcs, and as that it suits me just fine.

Darick Roberston's art has the same vibe as Steve Dillon's Hellblazer Run and gives me that good, good late '90s Vertigo nostalgia.

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Constantine comic, and I absolutely loved it! This book really said “be gay, f*ck capitalism,” and I said “yes, thank you.” Tom Taylor doesn’t disappoint! 5/5 stars and a new favorite graphic novel.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fairy generic John Constantine adventure has him facing off against a demon who has possessed an old friend.

Buried as a story arc in an ongoing Hellblazer monthly series this would just be a mediocre string of filler issues I'd shrug off as I tucked them away in a comic box to keep my run complete. But I have to wonder, how does this bland horror fluff qualify as worthy of Black Label distinction?

[Mik Cope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually read this as single issues, but it seems like cheating to count each one towards my Reading Challenge! The story was okay, with some nice ideas which fit the character and some ties to John's past which, while not really canon, at least made sense in the context. The artwork wasn't brilliant, but served its purpose.

Re-reading this, I was surprised to learn that Tom Taylor is Australian, not a scouser - the football stuff all seemed very believable and he captured the essential hopelessness and resigned misery of being British perfectly; therefore, the book is well researched. I now recognised Robertson from his work on "The Boys", where his artistic style was just right. Here, it didn't 100% fit, but wasn't by any means bad.
Overall, a trope-heavy effort which is ultimately saved by the fact that Taylor is obviously a fan.

[Ondra Král · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nejconstantinovější Constantine na českém trhu. Pokud máte tuhle postavu v základním povědomí a chcete fajn komiks, Vzlety a pády jsou jasná volba.

Mainstream, co se nesnaží o nic víc.

[Trike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taylor is a worthy successor for writing John Constantine, whose appearances in the Injustice and DCeased series have been standouts. This tale is lighter than those but still great fun, flowing along effortlessly to a satisfying conclusion.

I’m sure there will be people complaining that this isn’t the usual hardcase Constantine, but not every single story has to be utterly grimdark from top to bottom. John is still a right bastard here, even if he does edge closer to the side of the angels on this outing. Fallen angels, though, as he does the buddy cop thing with Satan himself, but still a lot of goodness. Which I think is fine.

The art by Darick Robertson is terrific throughout, telling a straightforward story but still with lots of verve. Which is to be expected of the co-creator of Transmetropolitan and The Boys.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this is my first story I’ve read of Hellblazer and I really enjoyed it. First off, it being a self contained story and seeing some of Constantine’s childhood made for a really good starting point as a new reader for the character. I think maybe this hit some soft spot for me as he’s and English character which definitely added to my enjoyment but the story itself was enjoyable and fun and has left me definitely wanting to check out the Garth Ennis run.

[Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing scares me more than the idea of Tom Taylor trying to be dark, edgy, and horrific. And then it got announced he got a Black Label book, with John Constantine none the less, and wow. Nightmares upon nightmares! This series is utter shit, with screwed up artwork to match. Everything is ugly as sin and not in a sexy noir way. Tom Taylor gets a big old soap box to stand on and say "I think billionaires are bad" and await the applause from the crowd. When they finally stop calling he says "dads can be bad but they're still good" and, for some reason, the crowd continues applauding. Louder, this time, with many of them crying tears of joy for his bravery. At long last he completes his trilogy with the most controversial statement yet: "capitalism bad sometimes". Everyone in the audience screams at the top of their lungs until they can scream no more, then they bring out horns and trumpets and blast a victory chorus of the working man as Tom Taylor exits into night, now a proud author of a successful R-rated book.

[Pavel Pravda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johna Constantina moc načteného nemám. Ve filmu se mi líbil, v komiksech, které jsem četl a on se mihl, už méně. V této knize jsem očekával, že si ho oblíbím. A to se moc nepovedlo. To, že je to cynický parchant, to jsem očekával. Očekával jsem ale také dobrý příběh a ten jsem nedostal. Ona nosná myšlenka celého příběhu není špatná, ale jeho vyprávění značně kulhalo. Bylo mi v podstatě jedno, jak to dopadne. Navíc mi v tom scénáři nehrály některé věci, které nebyly dotažené do konce. Jako třeba to, že zmasakrované miliardáře v podstatě nikdo moc neřeší. To, že spoustu lidí na veřejnosti za bílého dne sežral obrovský démon, to neřeší už vůbec nikdo. Večer se prostě zcela bezstarostně paří, protože na účtech se objevily nějaké prachy. Ten svět kolem prostě vůbec nefunguje.


Co se týče kresby, tak s tou, bohům žel, taky nejsem spokojený. Moc mě nebere, jak jsou kreslené obličeje. Někdy jsou nakreslené docela pěkně, ale jindy je to bída. Panely mají často pozadí vyplněné jednom barevným přechodem. A co se týká samotného panelování…. hrůza a děs. Třeba mi ten komiks někdy v budoucnu sedne více.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Com os nomes Tom Taylor e Hellblazer juntos parece que a história em quadrinhos vai ser boa, certo? Errado, porque toda a regra tem uma exceção. E este Hellblazer: Ascensão e Queda me pareceu uma das piores histórias de John Constantine e uma das piores históris escritas por Tom Taylor. Me pareceu na verdade ser escrita por Garth Ennis wannabe, querendo chocar o leitor com algumas bizarrices do tipo John Constantine indo para a cama com um Lúcifer nada a ver. Aliás esse Lúcifer aqui nada tem a ver com o das séries em quadrinhos e nem com as séries de TV. Está mais para o Diabo com D maiúsculo genérico, vermelhão com chifres e rabinho pontiagudo. A arte de Darick Robertson, parceiro de longa data de Ennis em The Boys também dá essa impressão de Ennizização do roteiro de Taylor, mas pegando só as partes ruins das piores histórias do Garth Ennis. Enfim, um quadrinho bem frustrante e decepcionante principalmente tendo em vista a temática e as posibilidades que um match entre Constantine e Taylor poderia ter rendido.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely the most I have liked a standalone Constantine comic. Still think I like him in the confines of JLD most though.

[Alex Sarll]

Tom Taylor is probably the last writer regularly doing good stuff at DC, and Darick Robertson's art here is almost back up to scratch, with only a handful of panels where characters appear to be gurning for no reason, but this is an utter mess all the same. OK, it's a Black Label book, not exactly in continuity, so I can grudgingly overlook John and Chas now being based in Liverpool, or the confusion occasioned by having John tangle with a third version of Satan (and to be fair, those tangles do take entertaining forms). But having a giant demon on a kaiju rampage, or spells straight out of Harry Potter, those just feel like not getting Hellblazer. And as for getting Britain, well: a black and a brown copper opting to go for a drink in a pub with a George Cross flying outside felt like a stretch, but that's nothing compared to all the places the plot requires our police to be as routinely tooled up and as casual about using them as the Yanks. Somewhere underneath that is a story which sort of gets the Hellblazer essentials - bad shit from John's past bubbling up, social evils intertwined with infernal ones - but never feels like an addition to or distillation of what's gone before so much as an exercise in ticking boxes. Yeah, the coda coincided quite nicely with recent events, but even then you'd be better rereading Royal Blood.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Not the worst Hellblazer ever by far but it goes both ways. 2,5* really but I don’t feel li’e bumping it up.

Constantine’s spirit is there on the whole but the Taylor fails to give him the subtle touch of cynism that makes the damned scouser so great. The ending is somehow way too "nice" to be an honest Hellblazer book. Some lines are typical (and fun) though.
I didn’t like the class war aspect much too. Fitting but boy, is it heavy handed!
I was kinda surprised to see John’s dad since I thought he’d been killed by the Family man 30 years ago.I’m kind of stuck with the original character I started to follow in 1990 or 91 and forgot this was in a bloody rebooted universe. I’m afraid no new version have stood its ground against the original up til now...

Art is unimpressive from beginning to end with the exception of a few really creepy shots of Billy.

So... True fans of the original series might feel a tad disappointed but there’s enough substance not to throw awy the book. New readers will discover a somewhat watered down version of Constantine’s universe but pleasant enough.

Toldja. Goes both ways.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hellblazer: Rise and Fall is a fun, fast, classically Tom Taylor read. John Constantine's childhood antics with spellcasting and demon-raising comes back to bite him in the butt. John must team up with an old friend to deal with the demon currently possessing another old friend. Oh yeah, and the literal Devil has arrived on the scene, eager to bring the demon back home.

Rise and Fall is pleasantly fast-paced, if rarely surprising. Darick Robertson's artwork is appealing until you look closely and realize that any one character's face morphs wildly between panels. No consistency. Still, the book is a good read for Hellblazer newbies and old fans alike.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just your run of the mill Constantine story. Bad things have happened in Constantine's past, he fells bad, tries to help. Things happen. The art is kind of bad, but like really life like unless the image is focusing on Mr Hellblazer. The devils look amazing though. I don't know why this was a black label comic they have done worse in the regular Justice League Dark. It was also super expensive for physical copies as well as a weird giant sized paper that would not fit in my comic boxes or on a book shelf.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most authentic Hellblazer since the close of the original Vertigo series. Oh, some of the later nu52 works, especially the Spurrier run, were excellent. But this more than anything else feels like Hellblazer. And it's a fun, well-told story too.

(My only complaints? Annoying shape of book. Seriously: why? Your artistic vision isn't more important than my bookshelf. And, annoying decision to clearly make Lucifer different than in the original series, when otherwise this could have fit straight into continuity. Nonetheless, a very fun read.)

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good. Has all the hallmarks of previously read, favorite Constantine stories, but that's also the problem. For the most part, it's kinda boiler plate. Something John did in the past comes back to haunt him and he has to make it right. One bit that I hadn't really seen was some character building dealing with his dad. Otherwise, it's a tad generic. Robertson's art is satisfactory. Worth reading, but not as tremendous as some of Taylor's other work.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

ehh, felt like Taylor was trying to force as many Constantine-isms into this as he could, but missed on the soul (pun intended). Very surface-level stuff. Kind of like a Jurassic Park sequel - we get all the glitz, but none of the heart. If you're looking for more of the latter, go read Simon Spurrier's 12-issue run instead.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hm. On one hand, it's a perfectly competent Constantine adventure. On the other hand, that's about all it is. This didn't feel like it tread new ground for the character, and the ending felt weirdly neat and optimistic for a Constantine story.

[Richard Howlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. This was fine, maybe even good, but I hoped for better than that. If I could give half points then this would probably be a 3.5.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting from Tom Taylor, but still an interesting, standalone story.

There's a lot that goes unexplained, so it's probably not a great introduction for people looking to know more about John Constantine. There's a mention of him doing magic to impress his friends when he's younger, and then adult John is a full blown magician with no further explanation so you're forced to kind of just go along with it. So if you want the origin story look elsewhere.

As it is, though, this is a fun lil demonic story with some ... interesting ... characters.

The artwork is decent, with some great gory bits, too. It reminded me a lot of the artwork that usually accompanies a Garth Ennis comic, so I felt pretty at home with the style.

It's short but coherent and well structured. Not a lot of character development, but with a limited story like this I guess it's expected.

Not for newbies to the character, but not too bad as a standalone story.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and clever Hellblazer story, probably the closest we got to the Vertigo series before Si Spurrier got hold of Johnny. Taylor's plot is smart and very Constantine, and Robertson's art suits the book, reminiscent of Steve Dillon's run on the original book. There are a couple of neat twists, a few laugh out loud moments, and some nice cameos from Chas and Renee along the way too.

(We won't talk about Lucifer/The First Of The Fallen/Satan being different people in the main Hellblazer continuity.)

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Podobała mi się historia (szczególnie spadający z nieba miliarderzy i flirty z Szatanem) jednak kreska to nie moja bajka, przez co jednie trzy gwiazdki. Nadal dobra rozrywka i polecam się zapoznać.

[Lukáš Pokorný · Rating 2 out of 5]

Co to mělo být za divnou fanfikci?