Hellblazer #245

I really enjoy classic John Constantine stories.  This two part from Jason Aaron is just that, classic.  What makes a classic Hellblazer tale is Punk Rock, Sex and a mysterious John Constantine, this comic delivers in spades.

John Constantine is barely in this issue, that may be a turn off for some fans, but for me it reminds me of the time when John Constantine was mysterious and would only appear when needed.  You can see the influence on this comic that Alan Moore's Swamp Thing and early Jamie Delano Hellblazer had on Jason Aaron.  Aaron went the classic route in this two part story instead of the in your face like Garth Ennis or the crime tone like Brian Azzarello.

The Art is really strong in this comic.  Artist Sean Murphy brings his own style to Hellblazer.  A lot of detail and a lot of clarity in each of his panels.  Colorer Lee Loughridge picks the perfect colors to bring Sean Murphy's art to life.  
 
As seen in Page 2.  To the left we have the Virgin art, even in black and white the page tells so much.  To the right we have the colors and panel 3 stands out the strongest with the sky red as one of the characters are in pain.  Right below it, we can see the bleeding hand.  Without reading the text, it is very evident what is happening.  The art team in this comic works really well together.
 
All this talk about what I liked about the comic and I still have not talked about the premise.  The Premise is a group of Punk Rock fans who host a TV show dedicated to forgotten Punk Rock bands try to look into John Constantine's Mucous Membrane, which leads them to the classic New Castle site from Hellblazer #11: New Castle - A Taste of Things to come.  If you are not versed in this major issue, then the premise of the story is far fetched and likely won't be enjoyable. Hellblazer #11 is required reading for this two part story.

 Back to talking about the issue.  What I do like is the narrative use of blending "film footage" into the the TV filming.  This gives us a sense of what we would be seeing if this was a real show.  Murphy's panel work is great in pages like this, well presented and just strong art.  Even in the small faces, the right emotions are expressed.

The comic may seem to start off slow, but when the horror starts it is vintage Hellblazer: A dash of reality, a sprinkle of magic and a supernatural force running wild.  Very entertaining issue which sets up the next issue nicely.
 
This comic will be collected in Vertigo Resurrected: Hellblazer, if this review got you interested, may be you should check it out.
This comics was a must and I do plan to keep it even when the collected comic is released.
 
Cheers
- Silkcuts