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A review by mediaevalmuse
Hellblazer: The Devil You Know by Jamie Delano
3.0
I enjoyed volume one of Hellblazer so much that I immediately picked up volume two, and though I didn’t enjoy it as much as volume one, it was still entertaining. I guess the shortfalls of this volume, for me, were in the quality of the stories: with the exception of "Newcastle," I didn’t find them quite as memorable, but your mileage may differ.
Things I Liked
1. Constantine’s Trauma: Ok, hear me out before you judge. I think this volume did a good job showing the reader the source of Constantine’s trauma, not only in "Newcastle," but in the short run of “The Horrorist.” While the stories themselves might make some readers uncomfortable, I think the way they affected Constantine were well done: in "Newcastle," Constantine feels deeply guilty for his role in Astra’s fate, and “The Horrorist” does a good job showing Constantine’s detachment from people (and subsequent revival of how he comes to care about others again).
2. Lloyd’s Art: Davis Lloyd’s got a very simple watercolor art style, and it’s definitely different from the art of Hellblazer proper - but I really liked it.
3. Politics: Like the last volume, this one brings up a lot of politics in ways that were fairly evident and mind-bending. “On the Beach” particularly deals with late 80s politics, as well as the snippets from Mucous Membrane’s music videos. I really like a John Constantine who is embedded with the concerns of his day.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Storytelling/Pace: More so than the last volume, I found some of these stories somewhat hard to figure out. In some cases, the storytelling didn’t lead me through the narrative as clearly as I would have liked. In others, things seemed to be wrapped up too cleanly and too quickly. I felt especially let down by the ending of Constantine’s confrontation with Nergal - while the outcome was ok, it all seemed to happen very fast.
2. “The Bloody Saint”: This story was a bit overwhelming for me. The art felt a little busy, but I’m also a professional medievalist, so I was bothered on a lot of fronts because the story covered a time period that I’m very particular about. I also wanted to get back to reading about Constantine himself, not just him in a past life.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in the supernatural, demons, magic, sorcery, horror comics, and dark fantasy.
Things I Liked
1. Constantine’s Trauma: Ok, hear me out before you judge. I think this volume did a good job showing the reader the source of Constantine’s trauma, not only in "Newcastle," but in the short run of “The Horrorist.” While the stories themselves might make some readers uncomfortable, I think the way they affected Constantine were well done: in "Newcastle," Constantine feels deeply guilty for his role in Astra’s fate, and “The Horrorist” does a good job showing Constantine’s detachment from people (and subsequent revival of how he comes to care about others again).
2. Lloyd’s Art: Davis Lloyd’s got a very simple watercolor art style, and it’s definitely different from the art of Hellblazer proper - but I really liked it.
3. Politics: Like the last volume, this one brings up a lot of politics in ways that were fairly evident and mind-bending. “On the Beach” particularly deals with late 80s politics, as well as the snippets from Mucous Membrane’s music videos. I really like a John Constantine who is embedded with the concerns of his day.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Storytelling/Pace: More so than the last volume, I found some of these stories somewhat hard to figure out. In some cases, the storytelling didn’t lead me through the narrative as clearly as I would have liked. In others, things seemed to be wrapped up too cleanly and too quickly. I felt especially let down by the ending of Constantine’s confrontation with Nergal - while the outcome was ok, it all seemed to happen very fast.
2. “The Bloody Saint”: This story was a bit overwhelming for me. The art felt a little busy, but I’m also a professional medievalist, so I was bothered on a lot of fronts because the story covered a time period that I’m very particular about. I also wanted to get back to reading about Constantine himself, not just him in a past life.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in the supernatural, demons, magic, sorcery, horror comics, and dark fantasy.