Hellblazer: Greatest Hits

- by Ninja Ross, 13 March 2013

"Hellblazer" recently finished with an unremarkable final issue (it was kinda boring and rushed.) The hero, John Constantine, will be returning to the DC universe next week. I don’t know how that’s gonna turn out so for now, let’s take a look at what I consider to be six of the best collections. Of course, this is entirely based on my opinion. My correct opinion.

ORIGINAL SINS

The first Hellblazer issues are a pretty good starting point, I think. Right? We’re introduced to the character, his world and his friends.

And for a starting point, Jamie Delano and John Ridgeway throw a giant famine demon at us. With flies and everything. They follow that up with demon stock markets, elections and the introduction of Nergal, a character that shapes John’s future.

While probably not the best Hellblazer book, it is a great starting place. Heck, you can’t go wrong with any of Delano’s work on the book. Except Pandemonium. That wasn’t great.

DANGEROUS HABITS

If you’ve looked into Hellblazer at all, you know what this is about. Smoking catches up to John in a bad way and he’s forced to face the end.

Well, he lives. Obviously. While many Hellblazer fans swear by this story, it’s really not as good as you’re led to believe. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but not the best. Garth Ennis has a knack for writing flawed, human characters and this is some of his best work. A lot of his work on the series is dull and static but this one is well worth picking up, if you can take the hype with a pinch of salt.

Actually, you might want to wait for the new numbered edition here as it’s supposed to collect some issues that have never been collected before.

SON OF MAN

Another Ennis story. This time, however, the focus is on dark comedy.

Fresh out of a mental institute, John is forced to bring a mafia boss' son back to life. Of course, it’s not as simple as the boss thinks so John is left to improvise. Several year later and fan favourite support character, Chas, is forced to deal with some of the consequences.

The art, supplied by John Higgins, is expressive and cartoony, almost looking like something from an old British Beano or Dandy comic (Google it, Americans!)

While this series is known for tackling difficult subjects at times, this story will make you laugh until it hurts.

THE RED SEPULCHRE

This is actually the book that got me into comics. Without this, I might not be writing about them at all. The world would be so much worse off. Thank this book, people. And then thank me for being here for you. You’re so welcome.

John is fresh back from America (none of those books will feature on this short list. It was probably the weakest run in the entire series. Not bad, though). He’s visiting his sister in Liverpool, to tell her he’s alive, when some strange things begin to happen.

This is the start of Mike Carey’s critically acclaimed run on the series and is the start of some pretty epic events, including memory loss and world possession. There are also some pretty big personal events for John, down the road.

Steve Dillon provides the art for the first part of the collection while Marcelo Frusin works on the rest, going on to be a regular for the entire run. While Dillon brings nothing new to the table, having worked on the majority of Ennis’ run, Frusin brings some fresh colour and a simplistic style.

HAUNTED

Warren Ellis could have had a long, memorable run on this book. People speculated that it would rival Ennis and Delano’s run in terms of length and creativity.

Alas, it never happened. Due to DC not publishing an issue dealing with school shootings, which was due to be published right after the Columbine shooting (the two were not connected, just a coincidence) he left the book.

But what he did write was pretty great, anyway. This is to be expected from Ellis.

Haunted follows John as he tries to solve the murder of a previous girlfriend, using his old contacts for help.

It’s short, but a lot of Ellis’ stuff is. But it’s short and pretty great. It’s nothing groundbreaking but it is a fantastic Hellblazer story that is well worth your time.

HOOKED

In my opinion, this is the best part of Milligan’s run on the series.

John has recently broken up with his girlfriend and he’s... Not a big fan of it. He’ll try anything and everything to get her back and since he’s known for sacrificing his loved ones, conning demons and generally being a bad guy, he really does mean to try anything.

Constantine has a reputation for ruining the lives of good people and this collection shows that at its worst.

The art, by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Simon Bisley, is some of the best in the series. Camuncoli brings the colourful yet dark atmosphere in the majority of the book, while Bisley brings his classic gritty style to a single chapter.

Milligan had a long run on Hellblazer and while his closing issue wasn’t that great, his run was full of great stories.

Honourable mentions:

Staring at the Wall by Carey, Setting Sun by Ellis, Fear Machine by Delano and Red Right Hand by Denise Mina. Well worth checking out when you’re comfortable with Hellblazer and have read the very best.

So there you have it, readers. My six favourite Hellblazer collections. People may disagree with some of the choices, but those people are wrong.

I didn’t include any of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing because, well, I don’t like Alan Moore’s work. Also, I wanted to avoid putting mini series’ and appearances here. That’s why you don’t see Books of Magic or Lady Constantine in there.

Now all that’s left to do is see how Constantine Issue 1 turns out. Review next week, people!!!


Are you a Hellblazer fan? Do you agree or disagree with my list? I don’t really think you’re wrong, so do tell me in the comments!

Tagged: comics.

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