Hellblazer #242

I'm gonna to take a slightly different approach with this review: I'm gonna drop some knowledge on ya. I'm gonna tell you why this issue of Hellblazer is not just a good comic -- it's a good comic that builds on everything that's come before Andy Diggle's run.

First of all, let's get this out of the way: "The Laughing Magician" storyline concludes with this issue, and it's the classic occult shell game that we've come to know and love. It's got vicious blood mages, deals with unsavory characters, and some good ol' fashioned black magic. Good stuff, and easily understandable if you started with the first part of this story.

But here's the thing: this is also issue number two hundred and forty-two of Hellblazer. That's two hundred and forty-two months of John Constantine, and that's not counting his original appearances in Swamp Thing. Now, Constantine doesn't face the 70 years of bizarre tangled continuity from icons like Superman and Batman, but he's still had monthly stories written about him for twenty years. And that's saying something. Luckily, Hellblazer has always been a "mature" series, and each writer has been able to put his/her own stamp on ol' con-job. This means that in each run, Constantine can -- generally speaking -- be understood on his own and within the context of the author's run. But what a treat it is when a writer like Andy Diggle actually draws on the past while forging ahead with a singular run. You don't need to know this, but I want to tell you: Diggle has done a great job using little elements from authors as far back as Jamie Delano, the first writer on the Hellblazer series.

Diggle's done this in little ways throughout his run. Did you know he was committed to Ravenscar after he had a hand in the death of a little girl? Did you know he was in a punk band called Mucous Membrane? Or that he had used to dress to the nines in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing before Delano and then Ennis rumpled him up quite a bit? Diggle's playing with all of these elements, and he's having a hell of a lot of fun doing it. He's even playing up Constantine's ability to "ride the synchronicity highway" that Neil Gaiman established in the original Books of Magic mini-series.

Why am I telling you all this? I guess because I was tickled to see Diggle use Constantine's twin brother -- who died in the womb -- in this issue. This was a concept that goes back at far as issue 40 of the series, in a special story written by Jamie Delano and drawn by Dave McKean. It's a great concept for Constantine, and it's a little nod to those of us who have been following Hellblazer for its entire run.

I really enjoyed the conclusion of ""The Laughing Magician," and I'm stoked to see where Diggle takes us next. You don't need to know the past of John Constantine. But it's fun for this long-time fan to see all those cool elements being used again.