John Constantine: Hellblazer, Vol. 2 by Simon SpurrierMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have a thing for anti-heroes and magic. So it should be no wonder that I'm a fan of John Constantine. A majority of the time, he's doing the wrong things for the right reasons, and somehow, it usually works out in the end.
This trade paperback, at first, seems like little vignettes of John solving problems that only John can solve. Rescuing a mermaid, trying to explain to the royal stables why a unicorn is really a bad idea, dealing with a group literally worshipping the giant under London... But all of these things have one thing in common - a strange figure calling himself John Constantine seeding the world with stories become real. John needs to figure out who this guy is and how to stop him before not only is the world drawn into chaos but his friends are lost in the process.
Many of the stories could be read individually, but the best narrative is when they're read all together. Simon Spurrier has perfectly encapsulated John Constantine in the stories he's woven. The snarky, brash Brit is does what he can to save innocents but is also willing to sacrifice friends if it means that the world is safe. The secondary characters of his friends were interesting... not as fleshed out to me, but I haven't read the first volume so it's possible that I'd find out more by reading it.
I was very impressed with the way he told the story throughout. There was a small twist at the end that caught me off guard but I could see all of the breadcrumbs that led to it being the only conclusion. He was also very deft at making it clear which royal he was talking about in the second story without actually giving a name. Anyone paying attention to the news over the last couple of years will have caught it and, at least if you're like me, gotten a little chuckle.
The artwork isn't exactly my favorite style - the kind of blurry, fuzzy, chaotic artwork where you don't always see things clearly. Though, to be fair, it is always interesting to look a little closer and see something in the background that you missed the first time. And even though it isn't my favorite style, it DOES fit perfectly with the world of John Constantine.
I'm going to have to pick up the first book just to get a better feel of what I missed. But Simon Spurrier's take on John Constantine is one I'll be happy to read more of.
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