Back from the future, Constantine’s going to figure shit out.
Creative Staff:
Story: Simon Spurrier
Art: Marcio Takara
Colors: Cris Peter
Letterer: Aditya Bedikar
What They Say:
He’s cheated death and damnation more times than he can count, but never like this. Long ago, in the crucible of a magical war waged across countless futures, Constantine was murdered by an all-powerful adversary: a twisted version of Timothy Hunter, bloated with evil.
But over the past year, strange forces have conspired to restart Tim Hunter’s tale, and somehow-amid sorcery, insanity and secret agendas-this older, wiser, wilier shade of Constantine has been dragged back with it. Unlike young Tim, John remembers every second of a life that went very, very wrong. Now he must ask himself why he, the last person in the world to deserve a second chance, has been given one. Is John Constantine here to put Tim Hunter on the right track and avert a terrible outcome? Or is it because he’s the only person in existence with the guts to do what REALLY must be done? After all, he’s a nasty piece of work, chief…ask anybody.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The original Hellblazer series was the kind of work when it came out that you’d think wouldn’t have lasted anywhere near as long as it did. But it had a fanbase that was beholden to things just like John is and you couldn’t look away. I’ve enjoyed the character in things like Injustice or through TV incarnations and the most recent New 52-era incarnation. Yet here we are again in an attempt to go back to what worked the best and longest, back in the Sandman Universe era imprint. Simon Spurrier has big shoes to fill and seeing his other works has me feeling he can do it, though I’m wary of some of the verbosity of his tales in over-explaining or over-talking things. Particularly if it covers up too much of the great pages that Marcio Takara and Cris Peters are putting in as I love the look of this as it definitely harkens back to a very different age when I became bonded to this character.
This issue is an interesting one in that it sets up for the new series coming out next month but has me wondering why this isn’t just the launch itself. I half-expected this to be a recap of Constantine’s life to fill in new readers and reconnect old readers but instead, it’s opening up for what may be the main storyline of the series, depending on how far and long it wants to go. The initial thrust is that it takes place some fifteen years in the future amid a sprawling magic war that he’s fighting alongside others that’s going poorly. It feels like it’s been going on some time, Constantine is worn down, and he’s helping Chas to fight because Chas has to fight back against such things. But it feels distant in a way that I can’t quite pin down, such as when he points towards all the capes elsewhere going against a magic beast. What changes the narrative is when young Tim shows up with the Stranger as he’s taking Tim through a tour of his future close to when Tim had to really decide what his path would be.
Suffice to say, John wishes he’d killed Tim years earlier because adult Tim is who they’re fighting against and he’s just overflowing with will, magic, and intent. That’s something I look forward to seeing unfold in Tim’s book soon so that we get the full circle and how it truly impacts him. But what we get here grows more curious when after Tim leaves we get an alternate version of Constantine arriving, older, wiser, and happier, that is definitely not a demon but wants his soul in order to show John how to end up like he is instead of in this war. With it as bleak as it is you can’t blame John for looking for a path to salvation. That it takes him back to London 2019 and discovering that everything has gone very differently here is like a different kind of hell for him, one that he has to work out while trying to decide what to do about Tim. There are bigger things lurking in all of this with the ghosts that are starting to look at John and his alternate self with a bigger plan but it’s hard to tell latch onto at the moment because of how this will connect into the main book when it launches next month as well as the Books of Magic series.
In Summary:
There’s a lot to like here for Hellblazer fans wanting to tap into the classic Constantine but with some modernizations to it that connects to 2019. If this is what the main series is going to work with, and leaning into the Books of Magic series as well, focusing on really dealing with the promise of what Tim could be, I’m interested in seeing them actually move this story forward. Simon Spurrier is definitely the right writer for the book overall and I’m curious to see how well he handles the larger style and universe of it all. Marcio Takara does a great job of capturing the right look with Cris Peter’s color design as it feels like it adheres to the older style to some degree but forges its own path as well. I’m cautiously optimistic.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 30th, 2019
MSRP: $4.99
