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A review by crookedtreehouse
Hellblazer, Vol. 5: Dangerous Habits by Garth Ennis, Jamie Delano
3.0
This is a tough collection to rate, as it's a weirdly collected set of stories. The first 2/3rds of this book is the end of the original author, Jamie Delano's, run on the book. While inconsistent, some of his run was excellent, and he did a phenomenal job of character work, when he wasn't competely derailing his stories to make political statements. I don't recall ever disagreeing with his political points, I just found the ways he expressed them to be tedious, and not on par with the rest of his writing.
Unfortunately, the end of his series tries to be really circular with the beginning, and it Does Not Work. After a perfectly interesting story where he reunites Constantine with Marj and Merc from [b:Hellblazer: The Fear Machine|2382804|Hellblazer The Fear Machine|Jamie Delano|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309221271l/2382804._SX50_.jpg|2389816] (easilyu the high water mark of Delano's run), he ... well, I'll put a spoiler point below, and then discuss what's wrong with the end of the Delano run.
The last third of the book is Ennis's first storyarc. It isn't my favorite of all-time Ennis stories, but it might be his best. He takes Delano's winding premise of Constantine being a terrible friend who tries to do better and distills it into a story full of heart. And demons. And then he does The Same Things that Delano did in his early stories but makes it feel much more natural. Naming this giant collection after the Ennis portion was a wise decision by DC Editorial.
I would reccomend this entire collection only to die-hard Hellblazer continuity buffs, but the last third is perfect for anyone who enjoys Sandman, Lucifer, or any of the Top Level Vertigo series of the 90s and early 2000s. It's solid storytelling and it definitely fits in with [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg] plotting in The Vertigo Universe.
************************SPOILER******************************
The ending of the Delano run is a retcon of Constantine's origin where he is a twin who survives when his mother and other twin die during childbirth. And he's The Evil Twin! And so he decides to take mushrooms and ... kill himself ... ? showing us an alternate universe where he is The Good Twin and survives and starts a cult with all the recurring characters, none of whom ended up dying, but it is not a perfect universe, and so we come back to this one where Constantine is....
It's just awful. Dave McKean does the art, but I couldn't force myself to keep reading the story. IT was so Self-Indulgent and Over-The-Top. And it comes mostly out of nowhere, and features the return of a character who hasn't been important to the story for so many issues that I just didn't care about their return.
Unfortunately, the end of his series tries to be really circular with the beginning, and it Does Not Work. After a perfectly interesting story where he reunites Constantine with Marj and Merc from [b:Hellblazer: The Fear Machine|2382804|Hellblazer The Fear Machine|Jamie Delano|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309221271l/2382804._SX50_.jpg|2389816] (easilyu the high water mark of Delano's run), he ... well, I'll put a spoiler point below, and then discuss what's wrong with the end of the Delano run.
The last third of the book is Ennis's first storyarc. It isn't my favorite of all-time Ennis stories, but it might be his best. He takes Delano's winding premise of Constantine being a terrible friend who tries to do better and distills it into a story full of heart. And demons. And then he does The Same Things that Delano did in his early stories but makes it feel much more natural. Naming this giant collection after the Ennis portion was a wise decision by DC Editorial.
I would reccomend this entire collection only to die-hard Hellblazer continuity buffs, but the last third is perfect for anyone who enjoys Sandman, Lucifer, or any of the Top Level Vertigo series of the 90s and early 2000s. It's solid storytelling and it definitely fits in with [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg] plotting in The Vertigo Universe.
************************SPOILER******************************
The ending of the Delano run is a retcon of Constantine's origin where he is a twin who survives when his mother and other twin die during childbirth. And he's The Evil Twin! And so he decides to take mushrooms and ... kill himself ... ? showing us an alternate universe where he is The Good Twin and survives and starts a cult with all the recurring characters, none of whom ended up dying, but it is not a perfect universe, and so we come back to this one where Constantine is....
It's just awful. Dave McKean does the art, but I couldn't force myself to keep reading the story. IT was so Self-Indulgent and Over-The-Top. And it comes mostly out of nowhere, and features the return of a character who hasn't been important to the story for so many issues that I just didn't care about their return.