Neron's hostile takeover of New York City has left thousands of magical folk homeless, including John Constantine! But just when the Hellblazer has resolved himself to life as a refugee in Los Angeles, a relentless supernatural force attempts to compel him out of the City of Angels and back into the fight: Boston Brand, a.k.a. Deadman!
While it seems as though John's stay in Los Angeles might only be temporary, Tynion, Doyle and Foreman deliver a fun look at how the other side lives, showing readers the magic of another coast. While the perpetual sun and glitziness of Hollywood might have overshadowed a shady character like Constantine the Hellblazer after too long, this creative team has clearly drawn upon some real-world experience to create a fun jaunt that readers of any geography can enjoy. Read Full Review
The fight for John's body is one of the best artistic sequences you'll see in comic books this week. Foreman makes sure this wonderful book doesn't skip a beat. Read Full Review
Like Ice Cube said, "L.A. ain't all surfing, son," and John Constantine knows that all too well as he is rebuked by those he solicits for help. Of course, his being a prick and apparently covered in sewer much doesn't ingratiate him to anyone, either. Deadman makes a cool cameo in this book that is really funny, but I get the feeling this whole story has been cut a bit, almost as if the comic book were going to end and then be rebirthed in a few months as something else. Just a funny feeling I have! Read Full Review
It's a filler issue in many respects, but a sharp journey through the darker side of the DCU, setting up a bigger confrontation awaiting the anti-hero. Read Full Review
As much fun as I had with parts of this book something still just felt off about it. I totally get what Constantine is doing in trying to take himself out of it because it's not his fight and he's not the crusading type, though as we see he is trying to help out some of those affected. But when you know the scale of the problem is going to impact everything eventually, he is the type that will try and deal with it sooner rather than later – at least with this. The book has its moments and I delighted at a little Gabriel time, but with the odd feeling and the Deadman problem combined, the book wasn't quite as strong as it could be. Read Full Review
It all stands in stark opposition to his return to New York in the issue's final pages. As the book heads towards its conclusion, it's nice to see an experiment with location and world building, especially one which offers a tantalizing taste of what this creative team could have done by bringing John into the wider world outside of the city that never sleeps. Read Full Review
I was less compelled by the story of this issue than I was by the art, and the big reveal at the end. This part of the story was a bit slow, but it serves as an introduction to Deadman, so I am sure new readers got a lot more out of this issue than I did. There was one panel in the bar scene that looked completely off- when deadman as a lady is talking to John and deadman speaks, but who responds isn't john but the bartender, who never spoke up to that point and never spoke again. So either this quiet observant bartender interjected on Constantine's behalf ONLY ONE TIME, or once again editorial missed something and I'm left here to complain about it...
Recent issues have been quite a let down for this series. Constantine started off a hellblazer but by issue #11 he has become nothing more than a hipster Tintin. Sick of it.