Peter Milligan's run on Hellblazer could be subtitled "The unintentional consequences of being John Constantine." To my pleasant surprise, after being assaulted by Demon Constantine, Gemma remains a supporting character in the title. To his credit, Milligan didn't just hop into the title, dispense rape and injustice to all the established characters and then toss them away for a lark. An unfavourable comparison could be made to the cheap way supporting characters are brutalized for a voyeuristic fix in Identity Crisis.
Speaking again of unintended consequences, our story starts with Epiphany and John waking up in the Thames. Their bed seems to have transported itself there while they were sleeping. A day in the life of John Constantine! The story is actually narrated by John's coat, which seems to have “awakened” after all the mystical jetsam it's been exposed too. The coat seems to exude an arrogant, amoral machismo, an extreme version of the air constantine uses to impress others.
Gemma is still dealing with the aftermath of her attack. She wants to turn to John for help, but she can't forgive him. And John, of course, refuses to admit he did anything wrong.
The stylized cartoony art accentuates the character's best characteristics, John's sneer and Gemma's crumbling innocence, for example. This same art previously gave us a rendering of a bird creature that was thoroughly nonthreatening, making the creature look less like an occult horror then something Superman would throw through a wall. This issue has an all human cast, so that concern is avoided.
On a side note, Epiphany's relationship with her father takes a weird turn when her father surprises her and John in the shower. He mentions that it's nothing he hasn't seen before when they were skinny dipping. I detect an incestous under tone here, something we might see explored in the future.
Speaking again of unintended consequences, our story starts with Epiphany and John waking up in the Thames. Their bed seems to have transported itself there while they were sleeping. A day in the life of John Constantine! The story is actually narrated by John's coat, which seems to have “awakened” after all the mystical jetsam it's been exposed too. The coat seems to exude an arrogant, amoral machismo, an extreme version of the air constantine uses to impress others.
Gemma is still dealing with the aftermath of her attack. She wants to turn to John for help, but she can't forgive him. And John, of course, refuses to admit he did anything wrong.
The stylized cartoony art accentuates the character's best characteristics, John's sneer and Gemma's crumbling innocence, for example. This same art previously gave us a rendering of a bird creature that was thoroughly nonthreatening, making the creature look less like an occult horror then something Superman would throw through a wall. This issue has an all human cast, so that concern is avoided.
On a side note, Epiphany's relationship with her father takes a weird turn when her father surprises her and John in the shower. He mentions that it's nothing he hasn't seen before when they were skinny dipping. I detect an incestous under tone here, something we might see explored in the future.
4/5
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