mmm, John Constantine

[kindkit]

The other day I got a bunch of Hellblazer back issues in the mail from mycomicshop.com, the only really good online comic store I know of (anybody know others?). For Hellblazer, and I would assume for most titles, they have just about every back issue and their prices are quite reasonable

Comments

[doyle_sb4]

Oh, thank you for this! Hellblazer's one of those comics I've always meant to read but never got round to, at least this might give me somewhere to start someday.

[kindkit]

Hellblazer has its ups and downs, as any comic does, but mostly I love it.

There are a lot of Hellblazer TPBs out, which makes it much easier to get into the series, of course. There are three I'd recommend to begin. Original Sins has the first nine issues, almost all of which are really strong. Then there's Rare Cuts, a miscellaneous collection that has a lot of Constantine backstory. It also includes Grant Morrison's two Hellblazer issues, which are absolutely freakin' fantastic. And thirdly, Dangerous Habits, in which John learns that he's dying of lung cancer, and we watch him try and wriggle his way out of that. Dangerous Habits also introduces Kit Ryan, who becomes John's girlfriend and is a wonderful character in her own right. Kit's from Belfast, and among other things it's a pleasure to see an Irish character who's not a walking stereotype.

Okay, I'll stop proseletyzing now. :-)

[lord_dingsi]

So, that's the summaries. They were a lot longer and more time-consuming than I thought they'd be, but hopefully not so long that they bored the crap out of all of you.

1. HELL NO!

2. I must admit that at first I jumped right to #51, for I was so effin' curious and HAD TO KNOW. I also keep thinking about the Azzarello stuff and why it always makes me a bit wary and not-so-happy to see some slashers squee madly about it*, and then there's also #84 which is my personal John/Chas bible, and [blah blah blah]-- anyways, yes, it's true that I haven't read the entry as a whole, but I plan on doing so tomorrow, and I have been skipping over the text and read some bits and pieces and what I want to say is this:

I like your style. It's entertaining, critical, and thoughtful. Besides, I love it when people discuss a character in-depth instead of just describing his/her actions and the plot events and ending them with "wow, events took a surprising turn with this issue [insert rest of the quasi-promotional blurb here]!!!". And then your

[kindkit]

I jumped right to #51, for I was so effin' curious and HAD TO KNOW

Oh yeah. I was so excited when it arrived in the mail that I was practically bouncing up and down. I'd seen the key bit ("the occasional boyfriend") quoted, but I desperately wanted to see it for myself, as well as to see the context.

I totally agree with you about the Azzarello stuff. I think "Ashes and Dust" came very close to implying that homosexuality is a perversion, something dark and nasty. (It didn't portray BDSM very well either, from what I understand [it's not my thing, but I know people who like it]. Azzarello didn't sufficiently distinguish between consensual BDSM and real torture, rape, etc.) Not that I didn't squee as hard as anyone at the pictures of John kissing a guy, but still.

your thoughts on the portrayal of gays and sexuality

Heh. It's one of my pets topics, actually--to the point where I worry that people just want me to shut up about it. But I continue to yammer on.

I love it when people discuss a character in-depth*nods* To me, a huge

[lord_dingsi]

I totally agree with you about the Azzarello stuff. I think "Ashes and Dust" came very close to implying that homosexuality is a perversion, something dark and nasty. (...) Not that I didn't squee as hard as anyone at the pictures of John kissing a guy, but still.
*nods* As far as I remember, there were two panels with John & Manor kissing--one in the S&M club, which is linked with all kinds of, let's say, depravities. (We'll come to that later.) And the other one's in Manor's house, and right before they kiss, they talk about hate.
The point is, I wouldn't have said much if we had an actual counter example, you know? A sane and healthy gay relationship for John, even with hot bdsm sex if deemed necessary--but, heck, something that's not related to hatesex, murder, and flagellating that's motivated by guilt and self-loathing instead of kinky pleasure. Even if this healthy gay relationship was only shown off-panel, by referring to it in dialogue or thought bubbles, it would still be adressed and therefore balance things out. But that's

[lord_dingsi]

... we'll GET to that later. I want an "edit comment" function.

[pinkdormouse]

fly agaric, a powerful hallucinogen (per the comics, anyway--isn't it actually a poison?).

It's both as far as I know. Small doses are connected with 'witches' flying potions', hence the name. Larger doses are potentially deadly. Yes, I've known people who've done it, although mushrooms (and hallucinogenics in general) never really appealed to me.

And I take it you know who the most well known Simon Hughes is these days? Perfectly logical to find him staying in a gay hotel.

I suspect I'll be avoiding the whole Fear Machine arc if I ever get the time to read Hellblazer. Far too much in there that would make me want to throw things.

I love your reviews though.

Now to get on with that post about getting naffed off by people's assumptions on bisexuality.

[vveritasv]

I just finished those Fear Machine issues and I have to say I agree with you! I love Delano, and especially The Horrorist, but this convoluted plot and "disassociated" JC made me frown. I did like the train issue #17, because John seemed more like himself to me, away from the Travellers. There were more plot threads in this story than needed to be, and the ending was rather untidy, to say the least. I hated it when John says "I want you" to Marj and he said it to Zed, too, didn't he?. That is so...*rolls eyes*...not him. I would expect him to say, "C'mere, Lass, and gimme some." LOL! Anyway, thanks for the run-down, it is always fun to read other people's impressions of stories one has read.

[very_improbable]

Say, thought I should leave a quick note that this post--which I found a-googling for discussion of Hellblazer #51--was how I found your LJ and friended you. (Above thread is also pretty much the only useful queer-oriented discussion I've found so far of the massive WTF that was the Azzarello run.)

[kindkit]

Hi there! Er, you should probably know that I'm not reading or posting about comics much anymore. But I do want to catch up on the new Hellblazers at some point, which may result in posting. (And if you click on my "hellblazer" tag, there are a couple of other posts that may be of interest.)