Hellblazer Presents: Chas - The Knowledge

Hellblazer: Miniseries

by Simon Oliver, Goran Sudžuka (Illustrator)

Cab driver Francis "Chas" Chandler leads an unremarkable existence. His greatest moments have come tagging along with John Constantine -- as a chauffeur. His home life is nothing special, and his beloved London is becoming a soulless metropolis. In middle age, Chas is stuck in a rut.

But Chas is a master of "The Knowledge," the elaborate system of routes and landmarks which every London cabbie must memorize. Until now, The Knowledge has been just a tool for Chas. But now, he's about to discover a more sinister significance of The Knowledge.

An ominous entity from London's grim history has reemerged, and only someone with The Knowledge can stop it. Is Chas up to the task, on his own?

From the feverish mind of Simon Oliver (THE EXTERMINATORS, GEN 13) with lush artwork by Goran Sudzuka ( THE LAST MAN, LADY CONSTANTINE), THE KNOWLEDGE is Chas's chance to make his own mark on the dark universe of HELLBLAZER.

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

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 29, 2009

About the author

Simon Oliver was hatched in South London in 1969. Since that date he has consistently strived for mediocrity in a number of fields of employment, from cooking at the legendary Hacienda Club of Manchester in the late 1980's, scuba diving instructor in the planet's more tropical climes, to a career as a camera assistant in Hollywood. With such a spotty and heterogeneous employment record is seemed only fitting that the comic book would industry welcome him with open arms in 2005 for his writing debut in THE EXTERMINATORS.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throughout the Hellblazer series, we've been used to seeing Chas fuck things up when left to his own devices, he's a lovable block, that doesn't come off as bright in most circumstances, that I blame on constantly being under Constantine's shadow. Well, this time there's no Constantine's shadow to crawl under and the stakes are frankly, too high for him to fuck up. Chas the knowledge, follows Chas' godson, named Nicky, and his friend, taking their "Knowledge" a kind of test cabbies have to take before they can get their stripes. The knowledge is basically trivia about the different routes and streets and how to navigate London. What they don't know, is that the knowledge is actually some component of a spell, a Magus used to bind a demon during the Black Death years in the 1600s, and know that demon has risen and is out to consume London as it once did with the plague. Constantine is in Ibiza with his PYT, and can't come to the rescue, so Chas has to go the whole nine yards on his own lonesome. It's not as neat as Constantine would've done, but it saves the day.
This comic is a welcome distraction from Constantine's manipulative antics and the chain smoking, it's worth a read.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mais um John Constantine: Hellblazer Especial, dessa vez protagonizado pelo braço direito do mago inglês, o taxista Chas Chandler. A história é interessante: Chas é o cara certo para deter um demônio que sai de dentro da pedra de Londres porque ele e seus companheiros taxistas londrinos precisam decorar a Proficiência, um sistema de ruas e rotas da capital da Inglaterra. Acontece que o feitiço que encerrou o demônio dentro da pedra foi inbuído dentro das rotas e ruas da cidade - uma inspiração de Do Inferno, talvez? -por um mago que também era condutor de charretes em tempos idos. Mas na história temos bastante subtramas, como por exemplo a tentação de Chas em trair sua esposa e dos moleques que estão treinando para se tornarem taxistas. Também temos as férias de Constantine em Ibiza. Um roteiro divertido, mas cheio de palavrão e palavrório que, pra mim é o ponto negativo dos ditos "quadrinhos adultos". A arte Goran Sudzuka está ainda melhor do que seu trabalho em Y: O Último Homem e a narrativa também. Que venham os próximos especiais de Constantine. O Volume 4 já foi anunciado pela Panini Comics Brasil.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feeling a bit like a failure at reading and enjoying graphic novels after the last one, I was reluctant to start on Chas. My fears were unfounded, however, as I really enjoyed my first experience with the Hellblazer series, even if I started with a stand alone featuring one of the minor characters of the main series. I labeled this one a horror novel, but it really is a combination of horror and mystery. When an evil is unleashed in the city of London, seeking to finish what it had started hundreds of years before, cab driver Chas must pull himself out of his funk and try and stop it. Not only is his friend's son's life at stake, but so is the city.

While the main plot line was interesting, my favorite aspect of the novel was in the details. The artwork in addition to the writing gave the characters depth, in particular Chas. I look forward to reading more by Simon Oliver in the future.

[Matej · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows the solo adventure of John Constantines cab driver who knows a lot about demons, but usually just plays the role of the driver/extra muscle.
The story seemed forced, and just did not fit together well.
Goran Sudžukas art looked pretty good, even though it was a bit cleaner than I would expect from a Vertigo title.
All in all, pretty skippable adventure from the Hellblazer universe.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

AADL has tons of graphic novels, and I love just skimming through them when I go to visit. It's given me a chance to catch up on John Constantine, though not necessarily in the right order. Chas holds himself up well here, and I like the idea of the hack driver's "knowledge" being a spell of sorts.

[Justin Labelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid read, fantastic art but there’s little real insight I to how the knowledge, the names of all these roads were b London, contained the villain of the graphic novel in the first place.
Is it a spell? Is it to know the location?
It’s not something that really matters as it’s one hell of a ride but there’s a definite hole, plot wise.

[Beatrix Tung · Rating 4 out of 5]

HELL YES A CHAS STORY

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5
Una historia solvente con una atractiva idea de fondo, que el conocimiento de los taxistas de las rutas de Londres esconden un encantamiento.

[Jaimie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, after how many years reading the John Constantine, Hellblazer series I’ve finally reached the final graphic novel. Sure, it’s technically not part of the main story arc, but it proved to be the hardest to track down - I had to stoop to asking the library (three library systems through the ages) if they could special order it for me (internet purchasing is cheating, obviously)! Thankfully, the RPL is more willing to go the extra mile than the HRL or TNRD, so after a few months waiting it finally arrived!

Taking the form of a typical Constantine supernatural adventure, we finally get to see Chas Chandler (driver, muscle, and surprisingly useful compatriot) front and centre as he goes head to head with a demon bent on wreaking revenge on the City of London through the magic contained in the original taxi-cab routes. Now, I don’t know London well enough to really get the importance of the mini-cabs in the ancient city, but I can definitely see this little branch of urban magic being particularly potent in a city where transportation has always been a key feature. I’ve seen it done particularly well in relation to the underground tube station and the night buses (in Hellblazer and elsewhere), but giving the mini-cab drivers (and therefore Chas) their moment in the spotlight is quite a nice touch that speaks to the age and evolution of London transport systems.

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hellblazeri sarja ühekordne spin-off. Constantine tõmbab ise koos mingi verinoore tšikiga Brasiiliasse, Londonis ootamatult kerkivat hädaohtu - 400 aastat kivi sees istunud hingedesööja deemoni ootamatu vabanemine ja kõik sellega kaasnev - jääb lahendama ainult tema ustav sidekick/ajutine ihukaitsja/zabutõlnik Chas. Esimest korda lugedes tundus selline mõttetu ja kergekaaluline. Nüüd teist korda üle lugedes aga paljastusid sügavamad hoovused ja lõpphinne tuli üsna kõrge, olgugi et mulle ei meeldinud eriti Goran Sudžuka (Y-The Last Man) lapselik ja primitiivse moega pliiatsijoon.
Eks nende Constantine'i spin-offidega ole nagu ole, põhisarjaga (eriti selle legendaarse esimese kolmandikuga) võrreldes on nad nagu e-raamatud - oleks nagu päris raamatu moodi, tegelikult aga mitte sinnapoolegi. Ütleme nii et nad suurt juurde ei anna, aga kõrvalepõige Constantine'i süngest maailmast võib teinekord - nagu praegu - päris värskendav olla, eriti kui kollase tolmumantliga ahelsuitsetava härra vanusevahest tulenevaid äpardusi ookeani taga oli jälgitud päris suure muhelusega.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways, this is a bog standard Hellblazer story: demon slips free from ancient bonds, tries to eat London, while also endangering the friends of our hero. The twist is that our protagonist isn't 'ole Johnny Boy, but instead his best bud, Chas. And, it's rather delightful for that minor change. We get to know Chas better than we did in all of Hellblazer: his morals, his hopes, his family life. It's a wonderful look at a character who is all to peripheral in the Hellblazer comic.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came to the Constantine/Hellblazer comics because of the TV series and picked this up because I love Chas. I was worried this book might mess with my image of him because, having read the first three Hellblazer volumes, I'm aware that they softened some things up for TV.

I was presently surprised to find Chas in this book, though flawed, is still a good man. The story was fun and brought depth to a character who isn't well served (so far as I've read at the moment) by the Hellblazer series.

[Poonam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took me just an hour to finish - occult John Constantine is away chasing a girl his age. Behind his back, a ghost is trying to regenerate to hit the city - as the title suggests - driver Chaas steps in. Lukewarm comic story.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[Devowasright · Rating 4 out of 5]

a typical hellblazer plotline, but as always, quite fun. great writing and dialogue, and lots of creepy London history thrown in. plus you get to see constantine on X.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/bo...

[Robert Hudder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Constantine story where Chas is the hero. It is okay.

[Daniel Burton-Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sophomore slump; hopefully Oliver will get it back!