A review by devon_marie
Hellblazer: Rake at the Gates of Hell by Steve Dillon, Garth Ennis

5.0

Absolutely. The. Best.

Garth Ennis is a masterful storyteller in the comic book genre. His Hellblazer stories stand out far above those of all others. His dialogue is real, down to earth, and relatable. His ability to tell the story through both dialogue and Steve Dillon’s wonderful art are perfection to be seen. Of all the comic book scenes I’ve read,

Spoiler

John’s showdown with the Devil

is superbly written and displayed. As the two storylines converge,

Spoiler

the dread settles in your stomach. You know what John’s going to find when he goes to Nigel’s apartment. The way both Ennis and Dillon portray the scene is just... well, amazing. The angles from which the cells are illustrated combine with John’s silence as Nigel’s death hits him to create a palpable climax. As the Devil extols his revenge on John, giving him his lung cancer back, you see the subtle details the artist and writer included in the pages. John’s always below the devil, eyes always shrouded in dark. As he starts to get the upper hand, he raises to be standing, his eyes twinkling. And when “Astra” shows up, you see the devastation written on his face.

Everything about these scenes is PERFECT. Just. Perfect. The absolute best of the bunch so far, and the climax to John’s best storyline yet. I’m very sad to see Ennis and Dillon are done with the series at this point - they were perfect together with John.