Hellblazer: All His Engines

[Stark Raving]

Putting Mike Carey and Leonardo Manco on Hellblazer is a friggin' stroke of genius. That's not to take anything away from Azzarello and Frusin's run, which I thought was one of the best I've yet read, but Carey and Manco seem to blend perfectly, like chocolate and peanut butter.

This book, which DC has an 11-page preview of HERE , was released to coincide with the movie a few months back. I finally picked it up yesterday, and I found it to be one of the best Constantine stories I've read in a while. Again, I'm not slighting the stellar work of Azz and Frusin in the least.

Manco's art fits Hellblazer perfectly, full of thick, brooding lines and sinister shadows. The art almost "feels" heavy. I noticed he uses his fingerprints as a shading technique quite a bit also, which is a nice touch.

Mike Carey, whom I've been following through the LUCIFER trades for several years, does his usual superb job. He seems to know just where to draw the line with John, making him just enough of a bastard to do what needs to be done, while simultaneously letting him retain his humanity and remember why he's doing these things. I also love his dialogue, which I feel ranks right up there with the likes of Ennis and Ellis. I wish more people knew about Carey, because he's damn good.

As for negatives, I only have two:

1) The colors on some pages seem a little too saturated for my taste, but overall I think they're pretty well done.

and

2) The one thing I despise about most comics these days - that damned glossy paper. I have developed a deep dislike for this stuff over the past several years. If I'm reading anywhere near a direct light source (and why wouldn't I be?), I have to tilt the book to alleviate the glare from the paper. I really wish they would scrap that sh!t.

Well, that's my 2 cents worth.

Thank you, and good night.

[Crestmere]

Amazing book.

I only wish Leonardo Manco stuck with that style. His stuff lately, especially on the Denise Mina run, is going in way too much of a Sean Phillips direction for me. Don't get me wrong, I like Sean Phillips, but Leonardo Manco's art style on Hellblazer was a match made in Heaven.

[larq2525]

I liked All His Engines quite a bit. Any time someone asks me where they should start when tackling Hellblazer, I suggest Garth Ennis' story "Dangerous Habits" or this one, because as a stand-alone story All His Engines really manages to encapsulate what Constantine is all about. My favorite Hellblazer story of all time is probably "Hard Time" by Azzarello and Corben just because I love Richard's artwork so much, but All His Engines is certainly up there on my list.