The deal of a devil.
Creative Staff:
Story: Ming Doyle, James Tynion IV
Art: Riley Rossmo
Colors: Ivan Plascencia
What They Say:
The truth behind the magical chaos that has befallen New York City comes out when the demonic power player Neron casts John Constantine down into the fires of Hell itself, where our occult investigator has no shortage of enemies-including an infernal ex the Hellblazer hoped he’d never see again…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Constantine’s journey into hell is certainly not an unfamiliar one for those that have read his travels over the years. The interpretation of it this time around is certainly engaging as Doyle and Tynion have put together a creative idea behind the city of Dis and how Neron is operating it at the moment. What really sells it, however, is the artwork as Rossmo just delivers something fantastic here once again that’s rich in detail and design to make it wholly engaging. There may be a decent bit of the usual blank space background aspect to it that we get from other iterations of hell, but it works here with how Plascencia provides the color for it as it draws you into the actual detail of the character designs and what we do get of the setting.
While not a truly grand plan, we do get the whole villain revealing moment early on here as Neron enjoys his bit of torment with Constantine and Papa Midnite, reminding them that they’ll definitely be feeling this for decades to come if they don’t give in to what he wants. Neron’s plan may not be completely rich and engaging, but it fits his personality well as he’s essentially going to scoop up and control all the magic in New York City for himself and dole it out to humans who want a taste in exchange for their souls. Considering what we do get see of Dis and how it operates, it’s a big play for him as he continues to consolidate his power and it’s a bold move on Earth itself. Naturally, neither Constantine nor Midnite are giving in to him, but John’s just gotta poke and prod the man in charge as he usually does with his wit and sarcasm, which just makes things worse all around. But John’s gotta be John.
Thankfully, the pair aren’t going to be stuck here for too awful long as after Neron leaves it’s Blythe that shows up to help. Which is necessary since neither man knows how to get out of this situation and Constantine needs to get Midnite back in order to save Oliver. Blythe definitely brings a wonderful splash of color and vibrancy to the book as they’re looking for a way out of hell themselves and are using Constantine to do it. It’s a fun little escape sequence that takes about half the book but the pleasure comes from seeing more of Dis as they deal with the demons there and their desire for fresh and free human souls. There are predictable moments here, particularly in how Constantine acts once he learns a new truth, but the fun in seeing the escape, the quirkiness of it, and the blunt force approach that Constantine employs is simply the best.
In Summary:
Out of the frying pan and into the fire is how Constantine’s life goes and this installment is no exception. We saw how foolishly brash he was the last time around in the club that Neron took over and he’s just as cocky here in order to keep Neron off balance in how to deal with him. I love the way Midnite has to try and deal with him and the way Blythe does once they show up just adds to it. This is definitely an amusing trio to watch as they work through the escape and Rossmo just delivers hand over fist once again here. There’s some amazing artwork in this book with some fantastic design elements and layouts that just makes it a hugely compelling work. This arc is proving to be a delight and it feels like there are a few more shoes yet to drop.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: February 10th, 2016
MSRP: $2.99
