The Sandman Universe Presents Hellblazer #1 // Review
John Constantine has had a rough go of it lately. Since 2011, when DC decided to reintegrate him into the mainstream DC Universe, he’s seen relaunch after relaunch, and each time the edges have been sanded off of this rough-by-nature character until he was almost unrecognizable. The Sandman Universe Presents Hellblazer #1, the precursor to yet another new title launching in November, serves as a mission statement that rough edges are back.
The issue starts with another perspective to a moment from the classic The Books of Magic, where the young Tim Hunter visits a potential future version of John Constantine, only from that Constantine’s perspective. As the world ends around him, this Constantine meets his older self from another timeline and eventually winds up...somewhere else. Is it the modern DCU, A new continuity altogether? It’s unclear, and for the moment, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that the magic man in the beige trenchcoat is back, as dark and amoral and irascible as ever.
Writer Simon Spurrier smartly shows his bona fides by taking the reader through a sort of greatest hits of John Constantine lore, including Ravenscar Hospital and John’s old friend Chas. Spurrier has a real handle on Constantine’s attitude and speech patterns and seems to be setting up a great new chapter in Constantine’s life.
Artist Marcio Takara and colorist Chris Peter do a great job of depicting the madness that follows John everywhere. Look for cameos of famous Constantine actors Keanu Reeves and Matt Ryan in a thrilling splash page as John travels the multiverse. Letterer Aditya Bidikar does a great job of evoking the heyday of the now-defunct Vertigo line where Constantine previously flourished.
The Sandman Universe Presents Hellblazer #1 is a strong reintroduction to John Constantine, and bodes well for a strong new John Constantine, Hellblazer series launching next month. It doesn’t bode well for Constantine himself, though, as his new status quo is as uneven as ever, and he’s got a terrifying new antagonist.
