Hellblazer: Staring at the Wall is the latest Hellblazer collection that gathers issues 187 – 193 of the regular comic series. I have to admit to being stunned that Hellblazer is now going on 20 years. It makes me feel old because I remember buying that first issue, and it surprises me because I never would have thought the title would have lasted this long. Not that it wasn’t good, but it’s definitely a niche book. It shows what you can do when you have some of the best writers around.
Staring at the Wall is a five part story arc where once again John Constantine is facing the Apocalypse and this time it’s all his fault…or maybe that is AGAIN it’s all his fault. Constantine has gathered a group of powerful sorcerers to an old, abandoned hotel to enlist their aid against this latest threat. This time it is the (somewhat ridiculous sounding) Shadow Dog also known as the “Kua I’ipa” that has been around since the beginning of man and is referred to as the beast that Adam did not give a name to. The group also includes Constantine’s girlfriend Angie and her brother Jason, just released from a mental institution who has some insight into the Shadow Dog. The Shadow Dog has broken through two of the three doors it needs to come into our world. Constantine and the other sorcerers intend to use the collective souls of London as a barrier against the beast but something goes terribly awry as you might guess, resulting in the death of one of the sorcerers.
Turns out the Shadow Dog was just a diversion and Constantine was played like a cheap deck of cards by a threat far more sinister and deadly…the original beast, long kept in check by the shadow dog. Constantine’s mistake has allowed the beast to infiltrate the minds of the world’s population, sending them into a dizzying madness of rage and murder. Constantine does the only thing he can do…sacrifice his own life so that the Beast cannot affect him and try to save the day. He’ll have help in the form of his niece Gemma as well as Swamp Thing. Constantine also has a brief but explosive confrontation with the Phantom Strange who is none too happy with his carelessness.
It’s a good story. We’ve seen these apocalyptic threats before in Hellblazer so it’s not altogether original but writer Mike Carey does such a good job with the character that you can manage to overlook this flaw. It’s also nice to see others such as Gemma step in as Constantine grudgingly has to admit to needing help from his niece. Great art as usual from Marcelo Frusin whose style perfectly captures the dark atmosphere of the story.
– Tim Janson
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
