studaslop's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hellblazer is a bold debut for Constantine’s solo comic, and even 30 years later I see why it was such a success. The stories remain compelling, with interesting characters, clear messages, and phenomenal artwork. Still some of the most interesting layouts I’ve seen—very reminiscent of Moore’s Swamp Thing run. Despite being forward-thinking for its time in some ways, it also very much shows its age and the limits of its writer in a way that would reasonably put off some readers. It’s tie-ins with Swamp Thing also may be confusing to those who haven’t read ST, but this collection at least does include the most relevant Swamp Thing issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Homophobia, and Child abuse
Minor: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, and Racism
storyorc's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Joyously political. We've got literal demon Tories and skinheads defeated by football team allegiance. Hellblazer is relentlessly about the (mostly-white) working class and unafraid to alienate anyone who would vote to make hard lives harder. Something modern progressives could take from Hellblazer however is that despite our hero being socially progressive (for the time), he is an asshole! A lot of the dark shit he instigates is up in the air whether it was the lesser evil or a failing but sometimes he's just selfish too. The two flavours of assholery feed off each other, creating an moral ecosystem you wouldn't get from a character under pressure from the modern world to be the perfect representation of one thing or another. Ugly is interesting!
Will return to bump up the rating if future issues demonstrate awareness that L'Adoration de la Terre was a rape story*. One of the perpatrators has even been the victim of a similar bodysnatchy rape and mentions it, and so really should know better. Infernal Triangles, right after, is charming and sweet and all the more dissonant for it. Unpleasant aftertaste to what was otherwise a riot.
*He gets a line showing he feels used by this in volume 4, but not enough to bump up the rating.
Will return to bump up the rating if future issues demonstrate awareness that L'Adoration de la Terre was a rape story*. One of the perpatrators has even been the victim of a similar bodysnatchy rape and mentions it, and so really should know better. Infernal Triangles, right after, is charming and sweet and all the more dissonant for it. Unpleasant aftertaste to what was otherwise a riot.
*He gets a line showing he feels used by this in volume 4, but not enough to bump up the rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Rape
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
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