Writers: Jamie Delano, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Michael Bonner
Artists: Richard Piers Rayner, Mark Buckingham, David Lloyd, Sean Phillips
Publisher: DC Comics
Reprinting: Hellblazer #11, 25-26, 35, 56, 84, “Years Gone By: A Hellblazer Timeline,” and “John Constantine’s London” from Vertigo Secret Files: Hellblazer #1
Wow.
I am not a regular reader of Hellblazer. I’ve read a couple of the trade books. I once tried to collect the whole series. I was more interested in the challenge than the book. I got the first 20 issues and about two years worth of Garth Ennis's run before I got sick of it. Rare Cuts makes me want to read the whole series.
To me, Hellblazer is the story of John Constantine, a dangerous bastard whose magic powers have saved the world at the cost of his own soul. He’s one of the most complex characters in comics, and probably the only corporate-owned character who’s aged and evolved throughout his existence. Rare Cuts presents key moments in Constantine’s life; tragedies that shaped him and cursed him; horrors that only he can defeat; and sometimes, there’s a bit of black humor.
These comics are being reprinted for the first time, which is unusual when you consider that Hellblazer was one of the “founding comics” of the Vertigo imprint, and remains a core title in the line. I’m surprised the entire run hasn’t been collected, or at least more of the first 50 issues. Then again, if DC/Vertigo only published more of these “Best of” books, I’d be quite satisfied.
Included here are a look at John’s troubled childhood, how he killed his friend’s mother by killing her monkey, the exorcism that scarred John for life, a town that committed suicide, and a man haunted by his diary. These are stories of horror. Not “there’s a monster in the closet” horror. Not, “they’re coming to get you, Bah-ba-ra”, horror. But the, “When you really think about it, there’s not much evidence that there’s any kind of God or even an intelligence at work behind what we laughably call the natural order, which makes everything we do rather pointless, so why not just give in to our impulses, let ourselves do whatever we want, and if we hurt people, it doesn’t matter, because they don’t matter, you don’t matter, I don’t matter, we’re all just falling through the void, so let’s stop screaming and make me laugh meat,” kind of horror. There’s nothing scarier than an unlimited human being. Like Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” Hellblazer demonstrates what happens to people stripped of all pretense of civilization and humanity. Left alone in the untamed wilds of the world, people regress to barbarism and evolve into beautiful monsters. Without laws, without consequences, there is only a man and what he can do. And he can do such horrors.
John Constantine constantly walks the razor's edge between committing horrible acts to save lives (usually his own), and giving in to the darkness he faces.
Of course, horror in comics is always difficult. You can’t rely on shock tactics; they get old quickly. And suspense is almost impossible, since it depends on timing and it’s impossible to make the reader read the story at just the right pace. Hellblazer succeeds when it creates a mood, an atmosphere of terror; when the stories are about things and ideas that always frighten you. Issues #25 and 26 present the most disturbing horror story I’ve read in months. David Lloyd’s art is more unsettling here than in V for Vendetta and Wasteland. Morrison’s carefully chosen words make the most hideous acts sound poetic. Together they take you to a dark place. People do “things” to themselves there. You don’t want to go, but you can’t leave.
The other stories are less disturbing, but no less fascinating. Issue #35, “Dead Boy’s Heart,” has nothing overtly magical. It presents the everyday terrors of an angry boy living in a confusing world. The sounds of family having rough sex in the next room, neighborhood bullies, and no friends to talk to all set a young John on a path of magic, violence, and tragedy. Issue #11 reveals the infamous “Newcastle incident,” when an arrogant Constantine summoned a demon to battle a monster born of a young girl’s terror. It ended badly, with the girl going to hell, Constantine going mad, and all of his friends marked for death. On a lighter note, John helps free his friend Chas of the tyranny of his crazy, enchanted mother. John strikes at her weakest point, her familiar: a monkey. So John seduces the monkey until it lets its guard down.
Compared to the others, Issue #56, “This is the Diary of Danny Drake,” seems almost normal. Constantine finds a dabbler in the occult compelled to confess his secrets. He believes his old diary has done this to him. Constantine’s investigations reveal his biggest secret. It’s a “twist” ending that you could see coming. (I didn’t; I don’t read many of these kinds of stories.)
Great art all around from Lloyd and Philips. Rayner and Buckingham drew in that style you only saw in DC’s “Mature Readers” books in the late 80’s and nowhere else. It’s so realistic, you’d swear it was based on real people. Which makes the demons look even scarier.
Capping it off are two pages of Constantine’s life. Every major event from Hellblazer, Swamp Thing, Books of Magic, and a few others besides. (Specific issues are not provided.) Also included is a map of London with explanations of the more significant locations.
Overall, this is a great starting point for new readers of Hellblazer. If your non-reading friends see the Hellblazer movie, and think the comic is as bad as the film, show them this book. They’ll be hooked. And even if you don’t start reading the series, these are still great stories by two of comics’ greatest writers, two great artists, and the tragically underrated Jamie Delano.
All for less than $15. Can’t get a better deal from the First of the Fallen.
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