From: jordan@castor (USENET's Chuck)
Subject: Re: DC: Critical Analysis of HELLBLAZER
Summary: oh, I don't think so... 
Organization: University of Georgia
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:14:16 GMT

mkelly@chaucer.helios.nd.edu (michael kelly) writes:
>Anwho, first a response to what I feel is a bad description of Garth Ennis'
>writing (so far) on Hellblazer...

Thanks!

>Huh? A little more down to earth? Let's see, what has JC done since Ennis took
>over...he's tricked three major infernal powers, had a conversation with
>an angel, took in an angel and a succubus which had conceived *something*, met
>the seven archangels, had a discussion with the "Lord of the Vampires" and
>solved the mystery of the Ripper (who turned out to be another demon). Hardly
>down-to-earth type stories.

No, I wasn't talking about the EVENTS in the storyline, I was talking about
the characterization of John Constantine.  Even though he's dealing with
the really big villains here (the biggest), JC remains down-to-earth, with
practical concerns like his relationship with/the safety of Kit, his friend-
ship with Chas and the old man from Dangerous Habits, and his relationship
with is family.  He's also a little bit less self-obsessed.
	In Delano's run, he dealt with some demons and such, but there were
also a lot of stories where JC would just walk around doing nothing, thinking
about what a horrible life he had.  John supposedly had this tremendous
reputation as a powerful pseudo-magician and a smart-ass, but we never saw
anything to build up this reputation; we were supposed to just assume that 
he had already peaked and we were seeing him on the backswing.  (In most all
of Delano's issues, JC got his ass kicked and had to get somebody else to
bail him out.  In Ennis' run, JC frequently needs Kit to bail him out with
the fighting, but he still comes through as a hero...)

>As far as "angst", people shouldn't confuse JCs angst with typical Xmen angst.
>Angst is not a bad means of developing character, especially if it helps the
>characters make decisions about their lives. (as happened to Delano's JC in 
>#40)

And people shouldn't confuse "angst" with "depth."  I think Delano was trying
to make really deep profound statements about the nature of John's psychology,
but it just seemed to me like he was moping around feeling sorry for himself.
There were several issues of Delano's that I liked, of course (or I wouldn't
have bought all 40 of them), but I prefer Ennis' take on JC much better. 
Ennis is also sure to keep the story in the forefront, so even if we don't
agree with (or recognize) the philosophical or political point he's trying
to make, there's still a level of entertainment there.

>Try to keep in mind that part of Delano's exploration of the character was that
>JC had been set up (and set himself up) as something larger than life, a hero,
>a magus. JC had to come to terms with not just other people's image of him,
>but his own self-image. 

I guess I like the idea of having Constantine's powers shrouded in mystery;
otherwise he'd be another boring magical character.  Like I said before,
though, we hardly ever got to see why he had such a reputation.  I think
you're right about Delano's take on the character -- John is basically a
poseur; he's built up such a reputation for being in control of the situation
no matter what, but was really filled with self-doubt and to some degree,
low self-esteem.  I don't know if this is that believable, especially to
the degree that John seemed to have it.  We never saw the cocky, full-of-
himself side that he supposedly showed to the outside world.  With Ennis'
writing, we're getting more of that; John is actually DOING something
again.

>Now we get into people (not demons or angels) using old, terrestrial "power
>sources" in the Fear Machine. This is the first time JC "trips out" on stage.
>Here John decides not to sacrifice his friends, and in fact the Fear Machine
>story is resolved by someone else, who directly shows JC that problems can
>be solved without tremendous sacrifice, but by love/cooperation/understanding.

Really?  Seemed to me like Delano just got carried away with his epic fear
machine conspiracy story and came up with a really LAME ending.  After all
those issues, he tops it off with an incoherent rambling nothing of a story
in which the "hero" doesn't do anything but wander around. 

>Next we have the Family Man, with JC versus a man, a serial killer, but one who
>isn't demon possessed. This horrifies John almost more than anything else.

This was a good storyline, for precisely the reasons you say.  This is a 
good example of down-to-earth EVENTS in a storyline, and I think it was well-
written.

>Of course there are a few other gems in here, like JC vs. the great characters
>from literature (including the Pooh!) and the fill-ins by Gaiman, Morrison, and
>whassis face who just filled in on Swamp Thing)

These first three issues stand out as my favorite, along with the introductory
storyline (about the hunger demon.)

>I suppose so. To me it seems like John is just becoming a total bastard again,
>and we are supposed to see he is a "real guy" because he sleeps with a dead
>friend's wife.

Hardly.

>There is no accounting for taste. I hope that my "critical analysis" can 
>shed some light on why I enjoy Delano's run. In fact, I enjoy it more now
>because I can judge it as a whole than when it was coming out in monthly
>installments.

Well, I "discovered" Hellblazer when issue 39 came out, so I pretty much 
bought them (and read them) all at once; if I had had to wait a month to get
some of the rambling, incoherent (much like this post) issues that came out
during Delano's run, I'm sure I would be much less enthusiastic about
Hellblazer.
	You certainly have an interesting take on Delano's issues, but IMPO 
I think you're giving him a little too much credit.  He's a good writer,
certainly, but I think he got way off course during his run on Hellblazer
(especially the later ones) and sacrificed the story for his attempts at
psychological study. 

Chuck

-- 
                  Chuck Jordan | jordan@castor.cs.uga.edu
"Sorry I'm so long."
"Braggar."
					-- Mystery Science Theater 3000