John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead In America #1 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Aaron Campbell, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The Sandman Universe had a big rollout before eventually being pared back to James Tynion IV’s Corinthian saga, but one of the highlights of the initial run was Si Spurrier and Aaron Campbell’s gritty reboot of the Hellblazer series. This brought John Constantine back to his roots as a scuzzy London investigator in bed with dozens of demons, as opposed to the handsome, rogueish magician he’s usually portrayed as in the DCU proper. It also set up some major plot threads, including Constantine potentially finding out he had a son—before ending with the character’s sudden death. Well, no problem, he’s beaten death before—but while he’s crawled out of his grave, getting fully back to the land of the living may not be so simple. Along with his possible son, the mute Noah, and his tough-as-nails associate/bodyguard Nat, his problems lead him to a fearsome and unexpected land—America.
The culture clash of Vertigo’s most thoroughly British hero winding up in the United States for the first time naturally lends itself to compelling ideas, as does the first encounter he has with some very American demons. But the human monsters in America might just be as big a threat, including a racist police officer. Of course, Constantine might think the biggest abomination here might be anti-smoking laws. However, midway through Constantine gets a visit from a surprise player—Daniel, the current Dream, who has a surprising mission for him calling back to some of the first memorable stories from Sandman. Another Vertigo mainstay also factors into this issue, although he may not be who John is expecting. This is a dense, oversized first issue that feels like a classic old-school Hellblazer story in the best way. This version of the character can be… a lot, but it’s great to have him back in all his filthy glory.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
