All in all, this comic is exactly what all comics, especially from the New 52, should be. It's pure unadulterated fun. The fact that this issue is just escalation at its finest proves that it's worth the cover price. The extra bonus of tying into the event (and actually being significantly better-written than this week's major part) is also pretty great. But I think the greatest strength of this issue is that it really does take advantage of the fact that a lot of its readers this month were just popping in to see how it tied into the big event. Read Full Review

Definitely not what I expected and it's nice to see that Constantine does actually want what's best for the world when the need is there. May not be the best way to handle such situations, but he gets the job done in the end. Now we are just left with one question, which is if he will survive “bleeding out”. Chances are slim, but it's still Constantine we're talking about. Read Full Review

Hard core Hellblazer fans should forget all about Justice League Dark and really give Constantine a chance. The character is still important and Fawkes is doing a good job in keeping the character true to his roots as a damaged and fascinating anti-hero in Constantine. Read Full Review

Constantine #5 serves nothing more than being a tie-in for readers that are already invested in the Constantine New 52 ongoing series. If a new reader were to pick this up, it would be nothing more than an entertaining issue. It does not intrigue you enough to be interested in what follows next, even though it ended on a drastic note. It also doesn't intrigue you enough to research what has happened in the past issues. It feels more like it was rushed to fulfill the promise of a Constantine and Shazam crossover. Read Full Review

As a series, "Constantine" has been stuck in that weird middle ground created by the New 52 " the series tries to be darker than the usual fair, but can't do anything too "Hellblazer"-y. This is the first issue that really worked for me, and maybe that is because I'm a huge fan of Shazam (I have to get used to typing that as a character name instead of Captain Marvel), or maybe because the story feels like exactly what DC is aiming for " a place to tell magical stories that involve crazy shit within the New 52. Read Full Review

The art by Renato Guedes continues to be good, making the magic and characters all look unique and memorable. The fight scene was pretty solid as well, with a great use of color for the magic in it. On the other hand, the comic continues to have the same coloring problem I mentioned a while back; it's just too bright. The color scheme just does not match up with the mood or tone of the book, especially during the most gruesome part of this comic. A darker palette, with maybe the magic still looking bright, would be more preferred. 7.5 Decent little one-shot that continues its own story.Constantine and Shazam are both good and clever in this.Good looking art.Not a good tie-in.There's really not much to this story.The color's too bright for the tone of the comic. Read Full Review

Readers who only pick up this book for the Trinity War tie-in won't be disappointed. Constantine believes Shazam is important and it's hinted towards the end that it may be because he thinks he'll be able to open Pandora's box. In Justice League #22, a premonition that Madame Xanadu had suggests that Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are trapped somewhere and must escape to save “him”. Were they referring to Shazam? Will he be the only hero to escape what the Secret Society has in store for the Justice Leagues? Readers will need to check out The Phantom Stranger #11 and Justice League of America #7 to find out. Read Full Review

What happens here will probably be summed up in some dialogue in one of the main Trinity War chapters, but I enjoyed it. Constantine #5 has more substance than I had expected and it gives new readers a taste of the kind of adventures they can find in this series. I wanted to see what Constantine wanted from Shazam and that's what I got. I wish these two would have had a bigger adventure together rather than just this one small moment but… well, I guess I'm really saying that my expectations here were pretty low and I was pleasantly surprised. Read Full Review

By the end of this brief tie-in, the battle wraps up and the two characters go their separate ways. Ray Fawkes sets up the next storyline for this series, certainly, but there's little tangible impact on Trinity War. What was the point of even pairing these two together in the first place? As such, it's hard to recommend this issue to readers who aren't already following the series. Read Full Review

This issue justifies my dislike for the Trinity War storyline. Good visuals, but an unnecessary interlude in a great storyline. Read Full Review

Even Renato Guedes' artwork doesn't seem as up to par as it usually does. After taking issue #4 off, he returns here with some wonderful splash pages, but the nitty-gritty details on more paneled pages seem to be off. I'm not sure if he's rushed to get this issue out on time so that it makes sense within the crossover, or if he's trying a new approach to his already unique style, but it doesn't work as well as the first three issues did. Again there are highlights, such as the panels involving Shazam's magic thunder, but there are times when this issue's art is just not up to par.Constantine as a series is very uneven so far. We've had a few good issues, a few poor ones, and then there's this one that tries to do everything right and only manages it about half the time. For every good idea there are decisions that drag the issue back down, and this is not the kind of issue you want to put out as a tie-in to the DC Universe's first even in two years. Read Full Review

In "Constantine" #5, Billy Batson is more sympathetic than Constantine, since he is on the receiving end of that tired excuse, "This is for your own good, kid." Also, Batson actually hasn't done anything wrong with his powers yet. Constantine's pre-emptive strike is based on opportunity and high-handedness. Near the end of "Constantine" #5, Shazam states, in an endearingly straightforward, kid-like way, "You're a real jerk, Constantine. I hope I never see you again." Unfortunately, readers may agree too much with Shazam. "Constantine" presents itself as a magic and character-driven title, but it has yet to deliver characters of any complexity or any new take on what magic means or how it functions in the DCU. Read Full Review