Tag Archives: John Constantine

BOOK: “Zatanna” by Paul Dini, et. al.

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ZatannaZatanna by Paul Dini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — DC Comics

Zatanna is a magician, both in the sense of being a professional stage illusionist and in the sense of making real magic offstage. The stories contained herein are about her heroic use of the latter magic, though they are often set to the backdrop of her professional life, i.e. clubs and other entertainment venues. Daughter to a deceased legend of stage prestidigitation, The Great Zatara, Zatanna makes magic through verbal spells.
 
This sixteen-issue run consists mostly of standalone stories. There are a couple story arcs that span three or four issues, but for the most part the stories are wrapped up within an issue. Some of these stories dedicate panels to what’s happening with Zatanna’s long-running nemesis, Brother Night, even when the main story is unrelated to him (presumably so as to keep the readers ready to receive some larger arc.)

The stories are good, light-hearted escapism — even – perhaps – when they don’t mean to be. By that I mean that the subject matter is often dark, dealing in demons and nightmares personified, but Zatanna is usually so overpowered compared to her enemies and the book attempts to maintain a quippy comedic effect, and so the reader never feels their heroine is at risk of true danger. That said, the authors do put Zatanna in dire situations, and so the stories often do hook one into a state of wonder about how she will escape some awful fate (even while not doubting for an instant that she will.) Zatanna does have weaknesses and there is some attempt to suggest that magic has risks and consequences (otherwise, the stories would devolve into lukewarm absurdism rather quickly.)

I enjoyed this run. The art is crisp and imaginative, and the stories are often clever — if rarely taut.

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BOOKS: “Constantine, Vol. 1: The Spark and the Flame” by Ray Fawkes & Jeff Lemire

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Constantine, Vol. 1: The Spark and the FlameConstantine, Vol. 1: The Spark and the Flame by Ray Fawkes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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This is your basic “race to acquire the components of a multi-part MacGuffin” story line. There is a magic compass that John Constantine is eager to keep out of the hands of a shadowy organization of powerful magicians. Why do we care? First of all, because this is a vaguely but extremely powerful artifact that can rain utter destruction on the world in some ill-defined way. Secondly, because Constantine is just such an intriguing character. Mostly the latter, because the former is ill-defined and doesn’t merit much emotional traction.

That’s mostly what the story is about, but there are various seemingly haphazard story elements (probably too many for the first volume in a series.) This being marketed as a “Volume One” is where much of the book’s problems lie. We pick up pretty much in medias res and when an event occurs that we’re supposed to care about enough to want to see a resolution late in the volume, it’s really hard to care about because it’s been raced through. If you are picking this up after reading the previous series, it’s undoubtedly much more satisfying as a story. Picking up the story with this “Volume 1” is a bit chaotic and lacking in emotional resonance.

That said, John Constantine is one of the most interesting characters in comics and he’s written and drawn well in this book. (Not to mention supporting characters like Papa Midnight.) The story is fast-paced and the broad brushstrokes of it are comprehensible.

If you’ve read the previous Hellblazer / Constantine works, you’ll probably enjoy this volume. Taking it on as a standalone may leave one a bit befuddled.

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BOOKS: “DCeased” by Tom Taylor

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DCeasedDCeased by Tom Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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It’s the zombie apocalypse in a world brimming with superheroes. Sort of. As is mentioned a couple of times throughout the story, it’s not really zombies as we know them, and there are a few crucial distinctions. But, basically, zombie apocalypse. What matters is that it is a threat that grows to inexorable proportions because it infects efficiently and spreads rapidly, and no one is immune. The threat is increasingly everyone and everywhere. The source is a viral bit of “programming” called the Anti-Life Equation.

This is about as dark as superhero comics get. The heroes that we are used to saving the day experience only victories of a short-lived and pyrrhic nature, while experiencing defeat after defeat. There are no ex machina saviors, at least not that amount to more than a blip in the scheme of things.

I found this story, depressing as it may be, to be intensely suspenseful. Full Disclosure: I also liked the Avengers “Infinity War” movie much more than “Endgame.” It’s not that I necessarily like seeing villains win, but that a story feels more compelling when there is strong and successful opposition and when costs accrue. And credible opposition and true stakes are often missing from superhero comic book stories.

I’d recommend this book for superhero comic book readers.

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BOOK REVIEW: The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman

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The Books of MagicThe Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Timothy Hunter is a young man faced with a big decision: take up magic and become the powerful sorcerer that he’s prophesied to become or live a magicless existence among muggles. The story’s structure is reminiscent of “A Christmas Carol,” except that instead of three ghosts showing the protagonist what a jerk he is, it’s the four members of the Trenchcoat Brigade (John Constantine, Mister E, Doctor Occult, and the Phantom Stranger) introducing Hunter to the good, the bad, and the ugly of the magical world. There’s much more adventure than in Dickens’s story, owing to the fact that there’re many who don’t want a powerful new magician coming on the scene, and so Hunter is being hunted.

This is a quick read and a straightforward story. It’s a little unusual in that Timothy, the protagonist, so often doesn’t have much agency, but in many ways it’s as much a Trenchcoat Brigade story as a Timothy Hunter story. Also, it’s hard to avoid with a character who is just a regular boy among powerful practitioners of magic.

There’s a lot of connection to the Sandman universe as well as references to the broader DC universe of characters.

I found it to be an intriguing story, and I thought the art captured the trippiness required of this kind of story. If you like Gaiman’s DC / Vertigo work, you’ll enjoy this book.


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BOOK REVIEW: Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins by Jamie Delano

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Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original SinsHellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins by Jamie Delano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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This volume gathers eleven issues, comprising six stories. The first nine issues are from the “Hellblazer” title in which John Constantine is protagonist, and the final two are from “Swamp Thing” (the title in which Constantine was originally introduced.) There is a huge variation in the quality of stories in this collection, with most being compelling reads with an intriguing lead character.

The best stories include: 1.) the two-issue “Hunger” / “A Feast of Friends” in which a heroin addicted (amateur magician) acquaintance of John’s unleashes a demonic swarm upon the world; 2.) the creepy “Waiting for the Man” which draws upon the child abduction terror of the 80’s; and 3.) the four-issue arc “Extreme Prejudice” through “Shot to Hell,” which imagines a cult forcing a young woman to bear a celestial child.

The only really bad story is the single-issue “Going for It.” This issue is a stinker because instead of subtly embedding a political message in a story, it presents a political rant and tries to make it look vaguely story-like. [And if there is anything worse than getting a political rant when you’re expecting a story, it’s getting an archaic anti-Thatcherite political rant from the mid-80’s.] The author’s politics show through in a number of other stories, but not in place of the story. “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” has a great premise, but the “protagonist” (Constantine) is reduced to the role of passive spectator. The two “Swamp Thing” titles (“L’adoration de la Terre” and “Infernal Triangles”) also make for a fine story, but they’re out of place, and presumably are meant to serve as reminder of Constantine’s roots, though he’s a supporting character.

Overall, I enjoyed this volume, despite its few flat notes.


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