John Constantine, Hellblazer: Red Sepulchre

August 8, 2005 | Trades

hellblazer1.jpg

John Constantine, Hellblazer: Red Sepulchre
Mike Carey, Marcelo Frusin
Vertigo/DC Comics
$17.50 (Paperback)
**** (out of five)

The list of gifted writers who have taken a stab at John Constantine is long and distinguished.
Alan Moore, Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis and Brian Azzarello are the five biggest names that have kept the DC Universe’s occult investigator fresh and interesting over the past 23 years.
Red Sepulchre shows that it’s time to add another name to the list of legends.
This first arc by Mike Carey (Lucifer) helps bring the character back to his British roots, while setting the stage for Carey’s illustrious run on the Vertigo flagship title, which has now reached three years.
The plot sees Constantine back from his dark trip through the U.S. (thanks to Azzarello) and back in England where he’s thrown right into the fire. His niece, Gemma, has fallen under the influence of some powerful evil types and a magic war is afoot. Carey crafts as clever, vile and nasty a Hellblazer tale as has ever been told as Constantine tries to free Gemma and keep from becoming one of the casualties of war.

You must be logged in to post a comment.