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A review by arf88
Hellblazer, Vol. 7: Tainted Love by Garth Ennis
2.0
This volume was a slog to get through. Delano was often incoherent in his writing but at least he was never boring. And sadly the vast majority of this volume is very, very boring.
It starts off promising with "End of the Line", a story involving Constantine's niece, that touches on the curse of being part of the Constantine family.
Then there's "Forty" which is an issue dedicated to Constantine's birthday. Uneventful, but some nice character moments.
The "Fear and Loathing" story arc deals with Gabriel. Constantine is utterly vile in this story, and I think it's the first time I wish he lost an encounter.
After that the volume really goes downhill, with Constantine becoming drunk and homeless following a break up with Kit. Kit has two personality traits "feisty" and "Irish". To say she's a dull character would be an understatement. The fact that Constantine hits rock bottom because she dumped him is ridiculous. What's more ridiculous is the fact that there's an entire issue dedicated to Kit going to the pub.
During Constantine's months of self-pity, there's an okay arc involving the King of Vampires called "Down all the Days". The King is an interesting character, but the arc was let down by a mediocre ending.
And finally, the volume ends on a high point with the last two issues. In "Finest Hour" Constantine has a flashback/dream to a WW2 pilot fighting to survive. This was a nice and clever way to get Constantine out of his despair.
And then there's "Confessional", which not only included an entertaining storey of a deranged priest that had some emotional impact on Constantine, but I also felt added to the wider plot of the Hellblazer universe.
The last two issues probably deserve a higher rating, but the rest of this volume is solidly mediocre. The art was quite nice but not my favourite style.
It starts off promising with "End of the Line", a story involving Constantine's niece, that touches on the curse of being part of the Constantine family.
Then there's "Forty" which is an issue dedicated to Constantine's birthday. Uneventful, but some nice character moments.
The "Fear and Loathing" story arc deals with Gabriel. Constantine is utterly vile in this story, and I think it's the first time I wish he lost an encounter.
After that the volume really goes downhill, with Constantine becoming drunk and homeless following a break up with Kit. Kit has two personality traits "feisty" and "Irish". To say she's a dull character would be an understatement. The fact that Constantine hits rock bottom because she dumped him is ridiculous. What's more ridiculous is the fact that there's an entire issue dedicated to Kit going to the pub.
During Constantine's months of self-pity, there's an okay arc involving the King of Vampires called "Down all the Days". The King is an interesting character, but the arc was let down by a mediocre ending.
And finally, the volume ends on a high point with the last two issues. In "Finest Hour" Constantine has a flashback/dream to a WW2 pilot fighting to survive. This was a nice and clever way to get Constantine out of his despair.
And then there's "Confessional", which not only included an entertaining storey of a deranged priest that had some emotional impact on Constantine, but I also felt added to the wider plot of the Hellblazer universe.
The last two issues probably deserve a higher rating, but the rest of this volume is solidly mediocre. The art was quite nice but not my favourite style.