Where To start with Hellblazer?

[jonah warlord]

How new-reader friendly is Hellblazer? I just picked up the first issue in the dollar bin and liked it, but the thought of catching up almost 300 issues is a little daunting! Any suggestions for a jumping-on point?

[Ben Akers]

They're going to reprint the whole series in a new set of trade paperbacks.

[V0nnegut]

I say go straight to the Ennis-run. Sure, there are a few small bits and pieces of information you'll miss, but imo the quality of his 40-issue run is so much higher than the rest.
The trades are mostly out of print, but mycomicshop.com usually has his entire run in singles for very little money.

[sendingsignal]

Start it in swamp thing!

I'm not sure about how the new trades are being printed, but I put together a trade reading order (http://www.tradereadingorder.com/character/hellblazer/) for all the old ones a little while back. As a series, it works pretty great in trade. There are some issues uncollected, but I've heard they weren't very good.

You can skip his Crisis cameos, but the Swamp Thing books are REALLY good, and the character is introduced very organically there. You might want to start with the first couple swamp thing books really. It's very worth it.

[stk]

Yeah, I agree to start with his Swamp Thing appearances. But if you don't want to do that, start with Hellblazer #1. I know Ennis is the most popular writer the book has had, but I really prefer the Delano run that kicked the series off.

[Dave Hackett]

Next issue (# 277) starts a new storyline so it's a good time to jump in (and really, the whole Milligan run has been fantastic).

Most Hellblazer storylines are relatively self-contained. Most runs by a particular author even more so. If you start at the beginning of any given author's run (or pick up a TPB), you'll probably be fine.

The current Milligan run started at #251.

Also, if you haven't read them, the Alan Moore Swamp Thing books are pretty near essential, not just for Hellblazer, but as a seminal work of comics.

[dancj]

Personally I'd usually recommend going from Swamp Thing to Dangerous Habits, but if you liked the first issue then maybe Delano is more to your taste.

Definitely start with Swamp Thing either way though.

[jonah warlord]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Does anyone know the name of the TPB that starts Milligan's run?

[Dave Hackett]

Milligan Trades (so far) are:

SCAB
HOOKED
INDIA

in that order.

[FanboyStranger]

It would be worth it to start with Swamp Thing, but if you don't feel like doing that, pick up Original Sins. That tpb collects the first nine issues of the series.

[brundlefly]

Another vote here for Swamp Thing first, followed by Delano.

[rick]

And yet another vote for the Swamp Thing stuff followed by Delano.

Those early Delano issues for me anyway are the best stories in the entire series.

[jesse_custer]

Swamp Thing. Just do it.

[FanboyStranger]

Those early Delano issues for me anyway are the best stories in the entire series.

My favorite is The Family Man storyline, but those first few issues come in very close. Delano is definitely my favorite HB writer, even with the cockups towards the end of The Fear Machine,

[V0nnegut]

Even though I suggested going straight to the Garth Ennis-run, I naturally endorse the recommendation of reading Swamp Thing first. Alan Moore's run is one of the best works in comics ever.

[stk]

Those early Delano issues for me anyway are the best stories in the entire series.Yeah, I agree. I don't think they've ever been matched.

[gaetanomontera]

I have to disagree with most of the posters here.

As much as I love Alan Moore, the Swamp Thing issues were a letdown for me.

Constantine is kind of a one-sided character (he's not the star, after all) and a lot of the familiar elements which are now considered Hellblazer staples hadn't been created yet. His S.T. appearances consist of two arcs. IIRC. The first is Moore's take on classic monsters and the second is part of a bigger crossover that Moore seems like he was pushed into taking part in. I don't think either one where standouts in his run.

I'd go with Dangerous Habits like so many others have said.

That being said, I love Swamp Thing as a whole, I just don't think those are the best issues.

[jesse_custer]

Don't listen to the above post. Swamp Thing is great until the last issue, and Constantine is easily one of the highlights.

[gaetanomontera]

Sorry, Pog and the Rites or Spring are amazing.

His overall take on the character is amazing in context of what had come before.

However, looking at the rest of the series with modern sensibilities, it's not all amazing.

Granted it's all very good because it's Moore, but this was a monthly he was making up as he went along, not one of his opuses like Watchmen or Promethea.

And Constantine IS pretty one-dimensional in the book. After all, the character WAS created to humor Totlebean and Vietch so they could draw something they liked so he created a character who "looked like Sting."

It wasn't until much later that all of the nuance and pathos was added to the character.

[stk]

I have to disagree with most of the posters here.

As much as I love Alan Moore, the Swamp Thing issues were a letdown for me.

Constantine is kind of a one-sided character (he's not the star, after all) and a lot of the familiar elements which are now considered Hellblazer staples hadn't been created yet. His S.T. appearances consist of two arcs. IIRC. The first is Moore's take on classic monsters and the second is part of a bigger crossover that Moore seems like he was pushed into taking part in. I don't think either one where standouts in his run.

I'd go with Dangerous Habits like so many others have said.

That being said, I love Swamp Thing as a whole, I just don't think those are the best issues.
Ironically, for me, Dangerous Habits was the letdown. I loved the premise and set-up issues, but I felt the resolution was an unimaginative cop-out that soured me on the great issues leading up to it. I think it is hugely overrated.

But I'm not a fan of Ennis' Hellblazer run in general. He turned Constantine into a completely different-feeling character, and it wasn't one I enjoyed reading about for the most part. I really did love the Heartland Special featuring Kit that he did, but his time on the regular series wasn't for me.

[gaetanomontera]

Ironically, for me, Dangerous Habits was the letdown. I loved the premise and set-up issues, but I felt the resolution was an unimaginative cop-out that soured me on the great issues leading up to it. I think it is hugely overrated.

But I'm not a fan of Ennis' Hellblazer run in general. He turned Constantine into a completely different-feeling character, and it wasn't one I enjoyed reading about for the most part. I really did love the Heartland Special featuring Kit that he did, but his time on the regular series wasn't for me.

I thought Dangerous Habits was disappointing but only cause of the art. Plus it sets up Rake at the Gates, which I personally like better (also cause of the art).

How can you not like the ending, though? I can see the argument that it's deus ex machina, but it's got to be one of the best twists ever, plus it sets up so much more.

[stk]

How can you not like the ending, though? I can see the argument that it's deus ex machina, but it's got to be one of the best twists ever, plus it sets up so much more.Because it was dumb.

*spoilers for the new guy*


His plan revolves around him, a 40-something year old guy outsmarting two immortal beings with THOUSANDS of years experience specifically of out-thinking and tricking humans. That is not believable in the context of the world he set up. It would be like a 2 year-old toddler outsmarting Albert Einstein. It's never going to happen. Not even by accident.

Even if the supernatural beings were supposed to be complete idiots -- which they weren't -- having that much practical experience in this kind of thing would make Constantine's trick completely transparent to them. I spent the entire story on the edge of my seat, fascinated to see how he was going to get out of this, and then when the resolution came, I wished I hadn't read any of it.

And this was my problem with Ennis' handling of pretty much any immortal or long-lived entity during his run. None of them seem like people (or creatures, angels, demons or whatever) who have lived for more than 40 years. Mentally and emotionally, their perspective on everything is too limited and human. It's unimaginative. It's a problem in Preacher as well, although I enjoyed that series a lot more than his Hellblazer run.

*end semi-spoilers*

[gaetanomontera]

Because it was dumb.

*spoilers for the new guy*


His plan revolves around him, a 40-something year old guy outsmarting two immortal beings with THOUSANDS of years experience specifically of out-thinking and tricking humans. That is not believable in the context of the world he set up. It would be like a 2 year-old toddler outsmarting Albert Einstein. It's never going to happen. Not even by accident.

Even if the supernatural beings were supposed to be complete idiots -- which they weren't -- having that much practical experience in this kind of thing would make Constantine's trick completely transparent to them. I spent the entire story on the edge of my seat, fascinated to see how he was going to get out of this, and then when the resolution came, I wished I hadn't read any of it.

And this was my problem with Ennis' handling of pretty much any immortal or long-lived entity during his run. None of them seem like people (or creatures, angels, demons or whatever) who have lived for more than 40 years. Mentally and emotionally, their perspective on everything is too limited and human. It's unimaginative. It's a problem in Preacher as well, although I enjoyed that series a lot more than his Hellblazer run.

*end semi-spoilers*

Wow. I could NOT disagree with you more:

First of all, he's not just a "40-year old guy." He's John-fucking-Constantine.

Now let me preface the following by saying, you can nit-pick any story to death. There's much merit in being able to suspend your imagination.

But I'll argue your point from within the logic of the story.

***SPOILERS***

The whole point is they HAVEN'T run across something like Constantine in all their years.

I doubt in the Hellblazer-verse anyone had ever tricked the First into drinking holy water just with misdirection.

That not only proves he's special, but also shows the First's overconfidence (something ruling unchallenged for thousands of years might lead to.)

Then he summons the other two, separately, and sells his soul to each. In real-world terms, I don't know anyone who can summon demons, much less arch-demons, so that makes him, at least, a very skilled sorcerer.

Personally I like the fact that the mystical characters have human-foibles. It makes them more relatable and interesting. If you want to read about divine characters who act divine read watchmen.

And these are Judeo-christian mythical characters, remember? Even the big guy seems a little childish and prone to outbursts in the reference material.

And why do you assume ancient characters would necessarily be more "mature?" Have you ever dealt with old people?

And Ennis is best-known and beloved for the human relationships he writes, so that all seems to be in the same vein. Most people enjoyed it for the relationships, and for the criticism of religion. I wasn't looking for any realistic portrayals of demons or whatever.

Finally, he does it with panache. Who else out-deals the devil and then tells him to fuck himself (or whatever)?

[stk]

There's much merit in being able to suspend your imagination.You mean suspend your disbelief. Suspending imagination is what the writer did.


The whole point is they HAVEN'T run across something like Constantine in all their years.That idea is just silly.


First of all, he's not just a "40-year old guy." He's John-fucking-Constantine.It doesn't matter what his name is; he's an infant compared to who he was dealing with. These demons' entire existence for tens of thousands of years revolved 24/7 around tricking people out of their souls. It's their job and entire reason for existing. No human only alive for a few decades is ever going to be able to trump that kind of practical experience. There is nothing new under the sun Constantine could come up with that they haven't already seen a billion times. Certainly not something so simplistic.


Have you ever played checkers with a 3 year-old? Maybe a nephew or something? They can't beat you. It's not possible. It's almost difficult to maneuver things into purposely letting them win. The gap between their experience and yours is too great. They can't think enough moves in advance. Compared to you, they can't think ANY moves in advance. Now keep the 3 year-old, replace checkers with chess, and replace yourself with a world-class chess champion. That only begins to approach what the situation would be like and how one-sided it would be.

I get that one of Ennis's major themes here and elsewhere is to ridicule spirituality and tell us we don't need it, and one of his favorite tools to do this is to show spiritual/demonic/whatever entities as being no better than us regular folk. That's fine. But writing them as being so dumb is a lazy way to get where he wants to go.

The longer you live, the more your perspective changes to reflect your increasing experience. This is pretty universal. Yeah, as humans get older, they start to lose something as their systems start to deteriorate. But that's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about beings whose mental processes don't deteriorate over time, but continue to gain experience. To me, it seems extremely lazy not to reflect that in the writing in any way.

You liked it and that is cool. You are not alone on that. The Ennis run is probably the most popular of the entire series. But I found his handling of the supernatural boring and unimaginative. On the other hand, I agree with you about the human characters and relationships. That's why I liked the Heartland special. I would have loved to see an entire ongoing series spun out of those characters in that setting. But I didn't like Ennis' interpretation of John, and I didn't like what I felt was his uninspired handling of the supernatural. Unfortunately, those two things are the focus of the series, which is why his run didn't work for me. For me, the Delano run was a lot better.

[FanboyStranger]

Ironically, for me, Dangerous Habits was the letdown. I loved the premise and set-up issues, but I felt the resolution was an unimaginative cop-out that soured me on the great issues leading up to it. I think it is hugely overrated.

But I'm not a fan of Ennis' Hellblazer run in general. He turned Constantine into a completely different-feeling character, and it wasn't one I enjoyed reading about for the most part. I really did love the Heartland Special featuring Kit that he did, but his time on the regular series wasn't for me.

I actually agree with this, to an extent. I think Ennis took a lot of the brains out of the book, and with a few exceptions, it's never really recovered because his run has set the tone for the rest of the series. That said, Ennis' run is a textbook in the economy of comic book form-- it's so tightly plotted and every moment leads to a big payoff in the end. Delano's highs, in my opinion, are much higher than any other writer's on the series, but he fumbled with a lot of his stories as well, especially the ending of The Fear Machine and his last few issues, which comprised as loose storyline entitled "The Once and Future Constantine".

[FanboyStranger]

Sorry, Pog and the Rites or Spring are amazing.

His overall take on the character is amazing in context of what had come before.

However, looking at the rest of the series with modern sensibilities, it's not all amazing.

Granted it's all very good because it's Moore, but this was a monthly he was making up as he went along, not one of his opuses like Watchmen or Promethea.

And Constantine IS pretty one-dimensional in the book. After all, the character WAS created to humor Totlebean and Vietch so they could draw something they liked so he created a character who "looked like Sting."

It wasn't until much later that all of the nuance and pathos was added to the character.

In my opinion, it was actually Veitch who first began to develop the character. There's is an issue in the "Sprout" saga where Constantine travels around the world trying to get some sense of what the next Plant Elemental will be. He eventually confers with a young autistic boy with whom he plays "DC Crossovers" with. This is the first time that John appears as anything more than mystery man.

[stk]

I also feel like I should say one last thing about this. It's not that I don't like Ennis' work. I do. I'd say I enjoy more of his work than not. And some of his stuff, like War Stories, I really, REALLY like. I just don't like his Constantine.

[Libaax]

I like Delano run but it seems people like to put down Ennis run because he has such a rep for violent,dark stories long after HB run. He couldnt have written one of the best HB stories.

Without Ennis run Constantine would not be a huge fav of mine,HB would not be classic vertigo to me.

[rick]

In my opinion, it was actually Veitch who first began to develop the character. There's is an issue in the "Sprout" saga where Constantine travels around the world trying to get some sense of what the next Plant Elemental will be. He eventually confers with a young autistic boy with whom he plays "DC Crossovers" with. This is the first time that John appears as anything more than mystery man.


I completely agree with you here.

While I enjoyed Moore's original version, it was Rick Veitch who really made the character something special.

I always think of the issue with the plane crash as where things really kicked up a notch.

[rick]

I also feel like I should say one last thing about this. It's not that I don't like Ennis' work. I do. I'd say I enjoy more of his work than not. And some of his stuff, like War Stories, I really, REALLY like. I just don't like his Constantine.

I liked his Hellblazer, but honestly I'm not the fan that everyone else is.

But you are right about his War Stories.

As a writer of war comics he's just amazingly good.

[dancj]

Don't listen to the above post. Swamp Thing is great until the last issue, and Constantine is easily one of the highlights.
Yup - all except for the very final issue which I thought was fairly poor.


And Constantine IS pretty one-dimensional in the book.
He's not really. He displays a one-dimensional "man of mystery" persona to the world, but he lets it slip in a couple of places (such as when he's talking about the Invunch). The dimensions are there, but it would be out of character to delve too far into them anywhere but in his own book.


Have you ever played checkers with a 3 year-old? Maybe a nephew or something? They can't beat you. It's not possible. It's almost difficult to maneuver things into purposely letting them win. The gap between their experience and yours is too great.
That's not really a fair comparison. At 3 years old a human has not fully matured and could never be on an intellectual level with an adult. From (probably) somewhere in the early twenties, an intelligent person can be very much on a level. People gain experience which will add to that, but only to an extent.

If Bobby Fischer can become a chess grandmaster at 15 years old then it's completely feasible that an incredibly intelligent 40-year old fighting for his life could outwit a bunch of complacent ancient demons who really don't have anything like the same level of vested interest.


In my opinion, it was actually Veitch who first began to develop the character. There's is an issue in the "Sprout" saga where Constantine travels around the world trying to get some sense of what the next Plant Elemental will be. He eventually confers with a young autistic boy with whom he plays "DC Crossovers" with. This is the first time that John appears as anything more than mystery man.
Yeah - Rick Veitch had one of the best handles on Constantine ever. I'd love for him to be given Hellblazer.


I always think of the issue with the plane crash as where things really kicked up a notch.
I loved the way he didn't even bother to explain how John survived.

[gaetanomontera]

You mean suspend your disbelief. Suspending imagination is what the writer did.

You are not evil, but, sir, you ARE a genius, so I'd like to offer you a position as my post editor!


It doesn't matter what his name is; he's an infant compared to who he was dealing with. These demons' entire existence for tens of thousands of years revolved 24/7 around tricking people out of their souls. It's their job and entire reason for existing. No human only alive for a few decades is ever going to be able to trump that kind of practical experience. There is nothing new under the sun Constantine could come up with that they haven't already seen a billion times. Certainly not something so simplistic.

So then you can never read any story about anyone fooling very old mystical figures. I understand now that that is a literary taboo for you.

Have you ever played checkers with a 3 year-old? Maybe a nephew or something? They can't beat you. It's not possible. It's almost difficult to maneuver things into purposely letting them win. The gap between their experience and yours is too great. They can't think enough moves in advance. Compared to you, they can't think ANY moves in advance. Now keep the 3 year-old, replace checkers with chess, and replace yourself with a world-class chess champion. That only begins to approach what the situation would be like and how one-sided it would be.[/UNQUOTE]

Do you think that no 3 year-old has ever successfully fooled a parent, in part because the parent underestimates their cunning. I wish you luck if you ever have kids.
[QUOTE]I get that one of Ennis's major themes here and elsewhere is to ridicule spirituality and tell us we don't need it, and one of his favorite tools to do this is to show spiritual/demonic/whatever entities as being no better than us regular folk. That's fine. But writing them as being so dumb is a lazy way to get where he wants to go.
He ridicules religion. Not spirituality.



The longer you live, the more your perspective changes to reflect your increasing experience. This is pretty universal. Yeah, as humans get older, they start to lose something as their systems start to deteriorate. But that's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about beings whose mental processes don't deteriorate over time, but continue to gain experience. To me, it seems extremely lazy not to reflect that in the writing in any way.
Yes this is why you have 50 year old bums and 15 year old Harvard graduates. Age doesn't always make you wiser.

You liked it and that is cool. You are not alone on that. The Ennis run is probably the most popular of the entire series. But I found his handling of the supernatural boring and unimaginative. On the other hand, I agree with you about the human characters and relationships. That's why I liked the Heartland special. I would have loved to see an entire ongoing series spun out of those characters in that setting. But I didn't like Ennis' interpretation of John, and I didn't like what I felt was his uninspired handling of the supernatural. Unfortunately, those two things are the focus of the series, which is why his run didn't work for me. For me, the Delano run was a lot better.
And to each his own. Glad you found something redeeming in his run. But I would give you a challenge: what fiction, with a similar situation, a mortal protagonist taking on ancient evil forces, can you think of with a better twist ending (where the mortal prevails) than Dangerous Habits? It's a lot better than hiding a gun in the nightstand.

[FanboyStranger]

Yeah - Rick Veitch had one of the best handles on Constantine ever. I'd love for him to be given Hellblazer.

I'd love for him to get a shot at HB, too. Or at least a mini. I know he's working on a "sequel" to Can't Get No for Vertigo, so who knows?

[gaetanomontera]

He's not really. He displays a one-dimensional "man of mystery" persona to the world, but he lets it slip in a couple of places (such as when he's talking about the Invunch). The dimensions are there, but it would be out of character to delve too far into them anywhere but in his own book.

I agree with that, he definitely cracks the facade but he's certainly not as nuanced as he's come to be. Which can't be expected, in an introduction and in another character's book, but the subject was on the best Constantine and I just wouldn't include swamp thing in that. For some of the same reasons, I wouldn't include the Delano stuff (although I've read relatively little). So Ennis seems to me to be the quintessential HB writer. I think he added the heart to the title. Before that it was just kind of a supernatural showcase (from what I've read) and the ST appearances kind of land on that side of the net.

[stk]

Well, as long as I'm ranting endlessly about things of no consequence that few people will agree with me about, there is another Hellblazer question I'd like to put out there for the longtime fans:

Does it bother anyone else that the mispronunciation of John's name as Constan-TEEN is so widespread -- even extending to the movie -- that it is now almost universally accepted? Is there anyone left out there still pronouncing the name Constantine correctly, as rhyming with "pine"? Or is this so far gone that no one else remembers?

[gaetanomontera]

Well, as long as I'm ranting endlessly about things of no consequence that few people will agree with me about, there is another Hellblazer question I'd like to put out there for the longtime fans:

Does it bother anyone else that the mispronunciation of John's name as Constan-TEEN is so widespread -- even extending to the movie -- that it is now almost universally accepted? Is there anyone left out there still pronouncing the name Constantine correctly, as rhyming with "pine"? Or is this so far gone that no one else remembers?

I say Constan-teen. I guess I'd heard that, but I pick and choose britishisms and western slang. I don't say Nu-cle-er or anything, but I just always thought that was the accepted american pronunciation, at least. After all, we pronounce the Roman emporer's name the same way.

[stk]

I say Constan-teen. I guess I'd heard that, but I pick and choose britishisms and western slang. I don't say Nu-cle-er or anything, but I just always thought that was the accepted american pronunciation, at least. After all, we pronounce the Roman emporer's name the same way.They made a point of making clear the pronunciation in one of the early issues. I'll have to go through them to find exactly where it was. I can't remember if it was in a story itself, or one of the text pieces or early letters columns. When I get a chance, I'll look through them and post it.

Ever since the movie came out, I kind of gave up on the idea that the public's perception of this would ever be reversed. It will probably never happen now. It's not really a big deal anyway. I was just wondering if anyone else still (or ever) cared.

[dancj]

Does it bother anyone else that the mispronunciation of John's name as Constan-TEEN is so widespread -- even extending to the movie -- that it is now almost universally accepted?
yeah it drives me mad. (but it's not as bad as the way Americans pronounce 'route'. I've heard them say it for years, but I only realised about a year ago that it was the same word).

Here's the place where they clarified it. IIRC it was from a Rick Veitch issue of Swamp Thing:
http://www.insanerantings.com/hell/constantine/images/pronoun.jpg

[stk]

Well, I'm glad I'm not completely alone on that, then.

[FanboyStranger]

Does it bother anyone else that the mispronunciation of John's name as Constan-TEEN is so widespread -- even extending to the movie -- that it is now almost universally accepted? Is there anyone left out there still pronouncing the name Constantine correctly, as rhyming with "pine"? Or is this so far gone that no one else remembers?

Always go with "TINE" because of a Rick Veitch Swamp Thing issue.

EDIT: Dan beat me to it.

[JayPhonomancer]

Because it was dumb.

*spoilers for the new guy*


His plan revolves around him, a 40-something year old guy outsmarting two immortal beings with THOUSANDS of years experience specifically of out-thinking and tricking humans. That is not believable in the context of the world he set up. It would be like a 2 year-old toddler outsmarting Albert Einstein. It's never going to happen. Not even by accident.

Even if the supernatural beings were supposed to be complete idiots -- which they weren't -- having that much practical experience in this kind of thing would make Constantine's trick completely transparent to them. I spent the entire story on the edge of my seat, fascinated to see how he was going to get out of this, and then when the resolution came, I wished I hadn't read any of it.

And this was my problem with Ennis' handling of pretty much any immortal or long-lived entity during his run. None of them seem like people (or creatures, angels, demons or whatever) who have lived for more than 40 years. Mentally and emotionally, their perspective on everything is too limited and human. It's unimaginative. It's a problem in Preacher as well, although I enjoyed that series a lot more than his Hellblazer run.

*end semi-spoilers*

Doesn't Delano have John outsmart some "bankers in hell" in a similar way in issue 3? It was an anti - Thatcher story really and I thought it was just a bit too silly for it's own good really. After really enjoying the initial two-parter with Gary Lester and the Hunger demon it almost felt like reading a completely different book.

I was introduced to Constantine through Ennis' run and I realise that people will probably have strong feelings about the stories that introduced them to his world. Maybe that's partly why I loved Ennis' run and even though I have only read the first 2 trades of Delano's stuff I can't say I like it as much as Ennis.

People who were reading Swamp Thing and the Delano stuff back in the day will be more likely to hold those stories close to their heart but while I am generally enjoying the early stuff so far I do think Delano's stuff has dated a little bit or can come across a bit heavy-handed or overwritten or something. It's almost like he's writing in what would now be looked back on as an early Vertigo style. I don't want to sound too nasty but it's kind of like he's trying to be Alan Moore but it doesn't always work.

Some stuff I've loved like I said the first 2 issues, the Vietnam story and the stuff with Zed. However a lot of the second trade I found hard to get through. The nuclear power story in particular just seemed to go on and on with these overwritten captions and "symbolic" passages that just felt like being repeatedly hit over the head by a wannabe student poet or something. I realise at the time it was probably quite exciting for a comic to be tackling real world issues but for me it hasn't aged particularly well. The same goes for the The Bloody Saints from the annual. I think I even would have found the Horrorist harder going if it wasn't for the gorgeous David Lloyd artwork.

[ducklife187]

each author has their own take on constantine. ennis had my favorite runs but all of them are good. i have bought the series since it came out and have all the swamp things and all the hellblazers in trade as well

[SJNeal]

Anyone else pick up the new printing of Original Sins this week?

I thought it was really well done, and won't mind re-buying most of these books if they keep putting them out in a timely manner with the same tradedress. So far haven't seen a solicit for the next volume, so the "timely" part may or may not happen.

My only complaint was that they did the whole "Cover Gallery" thing instead of using them as the first page of the respective story; not sure why but that's always bugged me. I like a big, glaring logo and indicia in the corner to tell me I've started the next issue! :wink: I loved this about the Shade: TCM trades (which also had been MIA in the solicits).

[sendingsignal]

What's in the new printing again? Some swamp thing issues?

[SJNeal]

^ ^ ^

Yep. Hellblazer #1-9 and Swamp Thing #76-77. The latter tow issues, strangely, did include the logos and indicia on the covers, whereas the HB issues were just cover art.

[sendingsignal]

interesting. I'll have to upgrade at some point.

[Dustin Neal]

/wonders if all the Hellblazer trades will be redone like Original Sins.