Reviews - John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 1: Original Sins

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210 reviews for:

John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 1: Original Sins

Rick Veitch, Jamie Delano

3.81 AVERAGE

writingmidnight96's review against another edition

4.0

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I'm familiar with Constantine, but predominantly from his appearances in the DC Animated movie. I've always really liked him when I've seen him so I figured I'd try the comics. The art style is very much of the style of the 1980s (From what I've read), but with that little bit of visceral detail that is more common in horror comics in this vein. It's also a wordier panel than I'm used to from comics, and I'm not sure if that's the nature of this story or something from the time that's showing through. It works really well for the story Hellraiser is telling, but also makes for a slower read than most comics, so keep that in mind if you're trying to get through the whole thing in one sitting.

chknwng205's review

3.0

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

symph_adventures's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

_dust_'s review against another edition

4.5

Really great stuff, not totally coherent but the artistry and pathos Delano and Ridgway are able to reach is really special. Constantine himself feels rightfully cynical and tragic, constantly winning by forcing himself to make the wrong choices - whether its put of fear or anger, or as he would think of himself, that he's just a bad person. A great character and I definitely want to continue following Hellblazer. Sadly this collection ends in a complete dud started off by Veitch where John is possessed and used to impregnate someone by Swamp Thing and its played off pretty easily, Delano salvages it a bit by giving the characters an actual relationship with one another but the damage is done. Not too far removed from the awful Chris Pine plot in Wonder Woman 1984.

coatpocketcreature's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

stephanieanneauthor's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

While working my way through my Hellblazer collection I had to give this one a re-read. And I think I enjoyed it even more the second time. I also realized that this is the graphic novel I've compared all other Hellblazer stories to.

After my mom and I got hooked on the TV series, I immediately went out and bought this at my local comic book store and read it in one sitting. From then on, I was a fan of John Constantine.

I love the darkness and grittiness of both the story and the artwork in this collection. I think what makes the horror so effective is that these stories don't just tackle the supernatural, but also the very real horrors of the 80s (some of which are still relevant today).

I'm so glad I re-read this.

unladylike's review against another edition

3.0

I read as many Hellblazer collections as I could get my hands on from the library years ago, and after years of them persisting to rattle around in my head, I'm finally attempting to collect the whole series.

A few things about the first volume of John Constantine, Hellblazer:

1. You may feel as though it can't possibly be the first issues, as it dives in with various references to past events in his life. Don't worry about that. John's dead associates, Newcastle, and other connections and life events will be fleshed out further into the series.

2. Trigger warnings for rape, racist language, and other brutal atrocities linked to war in the issue titled "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." You can totally skip this story without missing much. Some of the other issues depict white supremacists stalking and assaulting people, but the Vietnam soldiers coming back in Iowa bothered me much more.

3. It gets better.

The new NBC series Constantine premieres this month, and it will be interesting to see how they write such a despicable antihero as Constantine. Also, how will they pronounce his name, will he be chainsmoking, and how spot-on will his accent be?