Hellblazer: Original Sins

John Constantine: the laughing magician, the last of the Newcastle Crew, lead singer of Mucous Membrane, con man and an all around Bastard.

Hellblazer has been one of the best and one of the longest running comic book series that DC has produced, only being beaten by the big 3 (Batman, The big blue boyscout and Wonder Woman), it has had some of the best writing, and is by a large gap definitely one of my favourite comic book series'.

Original Sins is written by Jamie Delano, and chronicles issues 1 to 9 of his (mis)adventures through Thatcherite Englad.

Constantine (Con-stan-TINE, not teen) is a character who speaks very close to my heart, he's British (Always a good start for me) a realist, loner, chain smoker, drinker and a keen user of the silver tongue, all of which make me want to pick up the trades that I have and watch the shit hit the fan.

Original Sins as a trade paperback sums constantine up very well in my opinion, it gets to the heart of the character, it shows you what makes him tick and gives us his first (and also one of his longest lasting) antagonist, Nergel, who shows how adept he is at controlling people, even someone as crafty and as unpredictable as Constantine.

It also shows us what lengths Constantine is willing to go to to save his own skin, and also save others, which can be seen in issues 1+2, with the demise of Gary Lester.

 The artwork and colouring in this trade feel a little dated at the start (though what do you expect it was done in 1988) but it still holds up well, there aren't points when I'm reading it and I start to question the artists mental stability when it comes to anatomy (See this image of Captain America by Rob Liefeld)

The internal monologue that John gives the reader is both witty and darkly cynical, which to be honest, if you don't use those 2 words to describe him then you're not doing it right, but it also gives us a glimpse into his own slightly cracked psyche.

Final review section

Pros
-Interesting and believable characters
-Well rounded story arc's
-Fantastic supporting cast with presonal flaws and foibles
-Great writinga and long lasting artwork that still holds up by todays standards.

Cons
-.....it ends?
-.....it costs money, that's definitely one
-.....you can't have very good sex with it?

If you liked this, you might also like

-Sandman Mystery Theatre
-The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
-Starman, mainly because Jack Knight has the same "I'm not a hero" thing that Constantine does.