Scan barcode
unladylike's review against another edition
5.0
The varied stories and breathtaking art in this collection of Hellblazer were far more intense than I was prepared for. It's hard for me to digest the density and weight of each story found in a picture book just over a half inch thick, but it has confirmed my growing opinion that Jamie Delano's entire run of Hellblazer was the best, even considering my love and respect for Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, and Garth Ennis.
When I can afford to start collecting the trade paperbacks of my favourite comics, this will surely be one of the top volumes I'll pull out when I want to read aloud to somebody and make their jaws drop and their eyes water.
When I can afford to start collecting the trade paperbacks of my favourite comics, this will surely be one of the top volumes I'll pull out when I want to read aloud to somebody and make their jaws drop and their eyes water.
jsantucci's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
grg123456's review against another edition
4.0
#1: 8/10
Swamp Thing #77: 9/10
#2: 10/10
#3: 8/10
#4: 3/10
Annual #1: 9/10 (probably the most beautiful comic art I've ever seen)
Swamp Thing #77: 9/10
#2: 10/10
#3: 8/10
#4: 3/10
Annual #1: 9/10 (probably the most beautiful comic art I've ever seen)
eishe's review against another edition
4.0
The Devil You Know is a great follow-up to Original Sins, wrapping up the storyline begun there, introducing past/unreal events and throwing in some short stories as a bonus. I quite liked the first volume, but the original comic books included in this one made me smitten with Hellblazer.
My favorite parts were Newcastle and On The Beach, the first one telling a lot about John's past and the team introduced in the first volume and On The Beach just being a slightly schizophrenic and brilliantly thought out and well drawn (the last part goes for all the original comics included in this volume).
My favorite parts were Newcastle and On The Beach, the first one telling a lot about John's past and the team introduced in the first volume and On The Beach just being a slightly schizophrenic and brilliantly thought out and well drawn (the last part goes for all the original comics included in this volume).
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
3.0
After a promising start, wherein we see the Newcastle incident mentioned repeatedly in volume one, this volume gets caught up in trying to use mythology and dream imagery to tell fairly mundane stories.
Delano is a great writer but using a Dream Sequence for most of an issue is pretty lazy, especially when it's too make a very generalized point about environmentalism. I know this is Early Days in comics trying to send this sort of message, but Delano was fully capable of using demons to make his point, or just, you know, showing a rain of birds, or the actual effects of radioactivity, rather than having Constantine dream of bad things happening in the environment.
The annual, in which we see the Constantine of Merlin's time was excruciating. Too long a tale with no payoff.
The Horrorist storyline at the end was beautifully rendered by David Lloyd but didn't have the crust storytelling if they previous volume.
This is still with picking up if you're a John Constantine fan or just a devotee of early Vertigo, but it's not as vital and intriguing as its predecessor.
Delano is a great writer but using a Dream Sequence for most of an issue is pretty lazy, especially when it's too make a very generalized point about environmentalism. I know this is Early Days in comics trying to send this sort of message, but Delano was fully capable of using demons to make his point, or just, you know, showing a rain of birds, or the actual effects of radioactivity, rather than having Constantine dream of bad things happening in the environment.
The annual, in which we see the Constantine of Merlin's time was excruciating. Too long a tale with no payoff.
The Horrorist storyline at the end was beautifully rendered by David Lloyd but didn't have the crust storytelling if they previous volume.
This is still with picking up if you're a John Constantine fan or just a devotee of early Vertigo, but it's not as vital and intriguing as its predecessor.
moshimoshimoon's review against another edition
4.0
A solid continuation (even if I don't see why The Horrorist was included here - still, it was really neat. Constantine, you really are starting to grow on me. Also, the story line seems a bit more gripping and there are pages that made me feel uneasy and a bit frightened. So this is really good.
devon_marie's review against another edition
3.0
Everything I said in the review for Original Sins stands, except development has improved. Things are really starting to feel cohesive. The reason I kept it at 3, though, is that a couple of the comics were agonizingly boring. A few pages later, though, and they're finished! So, at least there's that.
crowyhead's review against another edition
3.0
A new trade paperback collection of some of Jamie Delano's run on Hellblazer. This is really more for Hellblazer completists, and isn't necessarily required reading. The only really crucial storyline, the story of the oft-referenced "Newcastle Incident," was already collected in Rare Cuts. Overall the stories are enjoyable, but not as coherent or well-written as later Hellblazer fare.
notime's review against another edition
4.0
A solid continuation (even if I don't see why The Horrorist was included here - still, it was really neat. Constantine, you really are starting to grow on me. Also, the story line seems a bit more gripping and there are pages that made me feel uneasy and a bit frightened. So this is really good.
vylotte's review against another edition
3.0
Holy 80s comic Batman! This is about beginnings and endings. The beginning of Constantine's friendships with the people in book one, the beginnings of his troubles. And some resolutions as well, of the plotlines that began with the mysterious woman in the first book, and his ghost in the machine.
It heavily embraces all that is cringe-worthy of the 1980s, the greed and flash and nasty hair. It's worth reading if for nothing else. But be warned, when they say "graphic" novel, for Hellblazer they mean it.
It heavily embraces all that is cringe-worthy of the 1980s, the greed and flash and nasty hair. It's worth reading if for nothing else. But be warned, when they say "graphic" novel, for Hellblazer they mean it.