John Constantine, Hellblazer: Staring at the Wall
Grade 10 Up–John Constantine learns–in part from clues provided inBlack Flowers(DC Comics, 2005)–that an animal spirit from the Garden of Eden escaped before Adam could name it, thus rendering it a protean evil spirit without form or boundary. He holds a séance to destroy it, but mistakenly makes it stronger, releasing its bloody, macabre vengeance upon all of humanity through the collective unconscious. With his niece, his sidekick Angie, and his friend Chas, Constantine makes a last-ditch sacrifice to distract the unnamed beast from his global tide of mutilation in order to save humankind. The volume begins with a short tale showing how Gemma is increasingly following in her uncle's crafty, manipulative footsteps. The artwork is scratchy and moody to good effect, and particularly good at capturing the canny surety of the antiheroic protagonist. The elements of mythology, apocrypha, and high-stakes drama are all in place, and the story is a worthy successor to the long line of mystic apocalypses that the character has faced in the past. However, to portray such infernal matters successfully, the series depicts matters of faith and violence with a particularly cynical hand. Despite excellent craftsmanship, such content and tone will prevent this series from being universally appealing.–Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, MACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.