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Hellblazer #34
Hellblazer: Bloody Carnations
John Constantine’s grip on sanity has always been tenuous, but now he’s really lost it. Haunted by memories of striking Epiphany, the cracked magus tries appeasing his demonic tormenter by making a bloody offering of his own flesh. Things get so desperate he even attempts to summon the high prince of madness, Shade, The Changing Man. But Shade is not the gentle soul he once was – he’s desperate and dangerous. In fact, Shade’s harboring a nasty grudge and has more problems than Constantine – if that’s even possible.
Assisted by Shade, Constantine must regain his sanity, find out why he grew a white beard, lost a thumb and went out of his bloody mind. It will take a trip to Shade’s home planet to learn the truth – and to settle an old score between Shade and Constantine.
232 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 2011
2 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Peter Milligan
1,308 books392 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 21, 2021
So this whole arc starts off with Constantine beating up "Epiphany" a 22 year old girl... and I get the impression that I'm supposed to think "But how could JC do something so terrible? He must be insane!" even though Peter Milligan's version of the character is a skuzzy, old date rapist.
So that's just my critique of the first few pages of this. It gets worse.
SPOILERS
We get a self indulgent crossover with Peter Milligan's old cancelled creation "Shade: The Changing Man" - another series that shared Peter Milligan's obsession with rape and punching up women. Psychedelic and kooky Shade the Changing Man turns up and talks some shit for a few issues. Then there's some time travel crap. Some nonsense referring back to old Constantine stories like a man pretending to be Gary Lester from Hellblazer issue 1 (making me remember that this used be a good series until Peter Milligan came along), and then John Constantine gets married to Epiphany (even though he's 40 years older than her, and this version of him is a stinky old creep; with no redeeming qualities) and his niece Gemma gets raped by his evil twin... which wouldn't be so bad, because Hellblazer has had horrible content in the past, but it's Peter Milligan so there's no purpose to it. There's no real shock to it either. It's just a load of bollocks. A waste of time. Just like this review, I dunno why I've let this comic piss me off so much.
So that's just my critique of the first few pages of this. It gets worse.
SPOILERS
We get a self indulgent crossover with Peter Milligan's old cancelled creation "Shade: The Changing Man" - another series that shared Peter Milligan's obsession with rape and punching up women. Psychedelic and kooky Shade the Changing Man turns up and talks some shit for a few issues. Then there's some time travel crap. Some nonsense referring back to old Constantine stories like a man pretending to be Gary Lester from Hellblazer issue 1 (making me remember that this used be a good series until Peter Milligan came along), and then John Constantine gets married to Epiphany (even though he's 40 years older than her, and this version of him is a stinky old creep; with no redeeming qualities) and his niece Gemma gets raped by his evil twin... which wouldn't be so bad, because Hellblazer has had horrible content in the past, but it's Peter Milligan so there's no purpose to it. There's no real shock to it either. It's just a load of bollocks. A waste of time. Just like this review, I dunno why I've let this comic piss me off so much.
October 14, 2016
This was quite the volume. Peter Milligan wrote it, and Shade the Changing Man makes a pretty lengthy appearance. Constantine is in love, and most of the story deals with his relationship with Epiphany. First we have the Shade storyline, and then we end up with Epiphany in 1979, before things finally end up with...and yes, this is a big one..
Milligan's writing is a little far out for me sometime, but this wasn't bad even though parts confused me. The story ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, so I'm curious to see what happens next.
Milligan's writing is a little far out for me sometime, but this wasn't bad even though parts confused me. The story ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, so I'm curious to see what happens next.
March 16, 2023
Bloody Carnations collects two storylines that are closely tied together. Unfortunately this is not a good thing as the this means there's even more to follow and only the main, very-thin, I may add, storyline is what connects them together. John is wants to settle down is the main theme of this, but between the first and the last page, there is so much senseless... stuff, that it does not hold together.
It's a shame as I quite enjoyed the first part of the collection where Constantine gets insane for reasons unknown. All he knows that the reality around him is rapidly falling apart, the streets are crumbling into nothing while in turn, nothing is happening in the real world. The idea is tempting and full of potential, but this is resolved unnecessarily fast and then almost entirely forgotten. We have timetravelling, betrayals and... well, everything.
I somewhat liked the storyline until the very last chapter that is so full of events that I was not sure which were dreams or jokes, as they were just shown without fully having them explored, but apparently it all really happens in a neckbreak speed to the point of stupidity.
Personally, the greatest shame is that Binsley's artwork is quite uneven, to the point of being rubbish, throughout the few chapters he draws.
It's a shame as I quite enjoyed the first part of the collection where Constantine gets insane for reasons unknown. All he knows that the reality around him is rapidly falling apart, the streets are crumbling into nothing while in turn, nothing is happening in the real world. The idea is tempting and full of potential, but this is resolved unnecessarily fast and then almost entirely forgotten. We have timetravelling, betrayals and... well, everything.
I somewhat liked the storyline until the very last chapter that is so full of events that I was not sure which were dreams or jokes, as they were just shown without fully having them explored, but apparently it all really happens in a neckbreak speed to the point of stupidity.
Personally, the greatest shame is that Binsley's artwork is quite uneven, to the point of being rubbish, throughout the few chapters he draws.
February 10, 2020
Hellblazer is one of the best series of graphic novels I have ever read. Though I had read a lot of Judge Dredd when I was growing up, thanks to the neighbour donating their son's collection of 2000AD comic books to me, but I never quite became interested enough to pursue such media in my adult years. I found Hellblazer when I first moved away from home. I'd seen the film Constantine, but Keanu Reeves is a good actor but he's nothing like the dark and sinister persona that is John Constantine. When I found out how dark the material could be, covering every one of the mortal sins, I was hooked. I had found a protagonist who was more anti-hero than hero. He was someone who I both wanted to be like and despised.
Bloody Carnations is just as sinister. It's full of punchy shock factor, as well as managing to pull off some risky story arcs that could have shattered the overall epic one. I enjoyed every page of Hellblazer: Bloody Carnations. Anyone who has found any of the Hellblazer series interesting would enjoy this release I am sure.
Bloody Carnations is just as sinister. It's full of punchy shock factor, as well as managing to pull off some risky story arcs that could have shattered the overall epic one. I enjoyed every page of Hellblazer: Bloody Carnations. Anyone who has found any of the Hellblazer series interesting would enjoy this release I am sure.
October 27, 2018
I could tell by the squiggly circles that Shade was back. I have read several versions of Shade and I think it was Milligan's that made me happiest though the Gerard Way reboot is pretty good so far. I am worrying that this is slipping into camp. There were moments that could have been genuinely horrific but the art let it down in a slight campyness. Maybe that is just me.
The story is decent but every now and then there is a tinny sound like a plug dropped in a tin cup. There is a specific incident that happens here and it is cut away for good purpose. That sets up the next arcs but I know that it was a fine line but something is missing. It was hinted at and not made "real". Not that I was expecting graphic content but there is emotional heft missing.
Maybe we shouldn't have been let in on the secret for a while longer. Let the reader experience the horror too.
The story is decent but every now and then there is a tinny sound like a plug dropped in a tin cup. There is a specific incident that happens here and it is cut away for good purpose. That sets up the next arcs but I know that it was a fine line but something is missing. It was hinted at and not made "real". Not that I was expecting graphic content but there is emotional heft missing.
Maybe we shouldn't have been let in on the secret for a while longer. Let the reader experience the horror too.
March 7, 2020
I'd give it 4.5 if I could. Can't stand what happened to Gemma, even if it does set up a good deal of the least overall arc. Didn't think I'd like Pif as much as I do, she's crackin' as John might say.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2021
Great fast paced story, great artwork (when you slow down to look that is) and a fantastic ending. Love the understated "this is confusing" line. Peter Milligan knows what he's doing.
A great library borrow.
A great library borrow.
August 28, 2024
I like Hellblazer, but this wasn’t my favorite of the comics. I did enjoy parts of it. Don’t look to me for an in depth review-
April 12, 2012
This book collects issues 267 to 275 of the ongoing Hellblazer series. It was written by Peter Milligan, who has been the series writer since issue 250, with art from Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Landini and Simon Bisley.
The book has two stories. The first called Sectioned sees Constantine violently losing it with Epiphany and then starting to lose his grip on reality and ending up in a psychriatric hospital. He summons Shade to help him escape and figure out what is going on but Shade's madness contaminates a potion Epiphany has made to heal her facial wounds which disfigures her even more. But Shade has a price for his help that John is unwilling to pay. The second story, Bloody Carnations, has Shade take Epiphany to Meta to heal her face but while there he tries to convince her that she is the dead Kathy George. Angry when she refuses him, Shade sends her back to Earth but in 1979 as a punishment both to her and to Constantine of whom he was jealous. Having decided that he wants to marry Epiphany, John must disrupt the plans of Nergal, who is determined that he not find happiness, and rescue his bride-to-be from his younger self.
Milligan takes Constantine back to familiar territory with this volume. Echoing episodes from his past with the incarceration in a mental institution and the return of Nergal and Gary Lester amongst others who gather for the wedding. I much prefer this kind of Hellblazer story where John is on his old stomping ground rather than when he is off on road trips such as in the last volume India. One reference to the old days that was a bit off for me was the reappearance of Kit, his true love from Garth Ennis' run on the series. Apparently, he loves Epiphany more than he loved Kit which I find hard to swallow given his seeming indifference to her in the last couple of collections. Also someone should have given the artists a sample of what Kit looks like as I only knew who she was as she was referred to by name. But these are minor quibbles from a big fan of the Ennis run. On the whole this is a great book with Constantine at his tricksy best.
The book has two stories. The first called Sectioned sees Constantine violently losing it with Epiphany and then starting to lose his grip on reality and ending up in a psychriatric hospital. He summons Shade to help him escape and figure out what is going on but Shade's madness contaminates a potion Epiphany has made to heal her facial wounds which disfigures her even more. But Shade has a price for his help that John is unwilling to pay. The second story, Bloody Carnations, has Shade take Epiphany to Meta to heal her face but while there he tries to convince her that she is the dead Kathy George. Angry when she refuses him, Shade sends her back to Earth but in 1979 as a punishment both to her and to Constantine of whom he was jealous. Having decided that he wants to marry Epiphany, John must disrupt the plans of Nergal, who is determined that he not find happiness, and rescue his bride-to-be from his younger self.
Milligan takes Constantine back to familiar territory with this volume. Echoing episodes from his past with the incarceration in a mental institution and the return of Nergal and Gary Lester amongst others who gather for the wedding. I much prefer this kind of Hellblazer story where John is on his old stomping ground rather than when he is off on road trips such as in the last volume India. One reference to the old days that was a bit off for me was the reappearance of Kit, his true love from Garth Ennis' run on the series. Apparently, he loves Epiphany more than he loved Kit which I find hard to swallow given his seeming indifference to her in the last couple of collections. Also someone should have given the artists a sample of what Kit looks like as I only knew who she was as she was referred to by name. But these are minor quibbles from a big fan of the Ennis run. On the whole this is a great book with Constantine at his tricksy best.
September 3, 2012
The unthinkable comes to pass and John Constantine finally ties the knot. Along the way, the reader is treated to quite a few faces from John’s past, including former flames Kit Ryan and Angie Spatchcock, Shade the Changing Man, the demon Nergal, and the parts of himself that John banished to Hell. And, through the power of time travel, Epiphany and Constantine both get to spend some time with John’s much younger self...with wildly different results.
Despite the fact that I’m still not sold on Epiphany as a match for John, at least she knows what she’s getting into. And I have enjoyed this collection and its predecessor, “India” more than a lot of the issues in recent history. It will be interesting to see how marriage changes John, and if Epiphany can put up with being Mrs. Constantine. Or whether she will exit through the usually tragic means that seem to find anyone John is remotely attached to.
Despite the fact that I’m still not sold on Epiphany as a match for John, at least she knows what she’s getting into. And I have enjoyed this collection and its predecessor, “India” more than a lot of the issues in recent history. It will be interesting to see how marriage changes John, and if Epiphany can put up with being Mrs. Constantine. Or whether she will exit through the usually tragic means that seem to find anyone John is remotely attached to.
April 18, 2015
If anyone had told me that John Constantine would eventually get married I would have assumed that they were full of shit. But good old Constaintine never ceases to amaze as he does tie the knot - after setting the church on fir, dying, reanimating himself, messing around with his neice, and fending off his old-time foe Nergal (not specifically in that order, of course). WHat's a John Constantine wedding without the maximum amount of drama after all? It's actually kind of amusing that as John "becomes a new man" when he walks down the aisle that we're thamtically back where we started with the reintroduction of Nergal into the plotline. It's been so long since any word has been said of him that I've basically forgotten him - which may be the whole point.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2011
Wedding bells for Constantine?
We coulda guessed that things would not go smoothly! Heh heh.
Milligan can leave me hot or cold. I remember digging his "Human Target" stuff, but some of his stuff is hit or miss.
Here he deftly handled the characters, and so brought them to life for me.
As I said in my review of "Doctor Voodoo" writing magic stories is tough, and if you can create tension and deliver a resolution that does not leave the reader feeling cheated you did a good job.
Here they did a good job.
Loved Bisley's gorgeous artwork and the way it was used for the past scenes.
We coulda guessed that things would not go smoothly! Heh heh.
Milligan can leave me hot or cold. I remember digging his "Human Target" stuff, but some of his stuff is hit or miss.
Here he deftly handled the characters, and so brought them to life for me.
As I said in my review of "Doctor Voodoo" writing magic stories is tough, and if you can create tension and deliver a resolution that does not leave the reader feeling cheated you did a good job.
Here they did a good job.
Loved Bisley's gorgeous artwork and the way it was used for the past scenes.
November 4, 2011
If Mr. John "Hellblazer" Constantine is about to marry, you can expect things to go terribly wrong and all hell to break loose. Well, they do and it does and it's entertaining to watch the fray. The horror-aspect is toned-down a bit, though. And I'm not sure I like Simon Bisley's portrayal of the young Constantine. I find it too... tame? Guess that's it.
August 3, 2016
La temporada de Milligan es la más floja, con diferencia, de la saga Hellblazer. Con todo hay algunos aciertos, como ese retorno a la época Punk y, por supuesto, el ocasional dibujo de Bisley y sus maravillosas portadas. Aún así se malogra un acontecimiento tan increíble como la boda de Constantine.
December 15, 2011
Can it all end happily? Some great writing by Milligan who can be hit or miss at times. The Shade crossover was nice as an old time fan of Dikto's Shade, but it does work. Some great art in comparison to John Ridgway, a bit more claire ligne, but overall a great read.
October 12, 2015
The first story, "Sectioned", is really off-kilter, and that confusion keeps it from being great, though it's nice to not only see Shade, but also his issues again [6/10]. Milligan makes up for it in "Bloody Carnations", which is not only a great story, but makes good use of continuity [8/10].
September 24, 2011
It's been ages since I've actually enjoyed reading a Hellblazer book, instead of just doing a bunch of page-gazing.
December 17, 2013
Fun but not the most interesting Constantine story out there, and I didn't love Milligan's take on Shade in this collection.
December 11, 2015
Utter garbage. I'd give it negative stars if I could. It is sad to see how far this series fell at the end.
April 24, 2017
Drugs/Overdoses. Rape. Dismemberment. Suicide. Graphic. Sex. Blood. Torture.
Yet somehow I truly enjoyed this one. The story was well written. In true fashion, Hellblazer is anything but subtle. The way John reacts to everything is the way you might expect most people to act. He was very in character.
Yet somehow I truly enjoyed this one. The story was well written. In true fashion, Hellblazer is anything but subtle. The way John reacts to everything is the way you might expect most people to act. He was very in character.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews