Hellblazer: The Fear Machine by Jamie Delano and others

Hellblazer: The Fear Machine is the third trade collection of the John Constantine- Hellblazer title, and collects issues 14 through 22.

This trade is now one of my favourite Hellblazer stories. The pacing is aces, the characters are well fleshed out, and the story has teeth; Delano deserves accolades for this one. It starts with Constantine fleeing the big urban centres when he finds out that he is suspected in the murder of some former fellow apartment building tenants, and he hooks up with a roaming band of free spirits. From there he slowly gets embroiled in a politically charged, occult conspiracy to harness ley lines and use them as a weapon. The story starts so personally and small scale in the first few chapters, that as it builds to epic proportions you can’t help but feel like you are being swept up in something huge in scope.

New characters are brought into Constantine’s life, and a few old friends show up as well, and each of them gets a fair shake in the story, allowing each of them to grow and expand from archetypes to real feeling people. I personally wished that these characters could stay forever, but of course, this being a Hellblazer book, John never gets that lucky, and for every friend that dies, a dozen others disappear into the ether. It’s incredible how quickly in the series that this theme of the high cost to personal relationships the occult requires is introduced. It was the backbone of the first story, and each new tale Delano weaves strongly reinforces that. Watching John loose connections and drift away from people that he was once close with, really emphasizes the loneliness he is forced to live with. It makes him an object of sympathy, as well as empathy, and the fact that he doesn’t drive the reader to annoyance after a while speaks to the complexity of a character that Delano fleshed out from Alan Moore’s original conception.

This is a book I don’t have the ability to say much about without spoiling, but know that it is well worth your time to read. It’s a much more dynamic read then the classic ‘Dangerous Habits’ storyline, (which, I’m pretty sure I mention every time I read about Hellblazer, as it is my litmus test for the title), and even though it requires a bit of background knowledge to understand the human connections, it is one of the most interesting long form arcs I’ve read thus far.

Hellblazer: The Devil You Know by Jamie Delano and others

Hellblazer: The Devil You Know is the second trade collection of the John Constantine- Hellblazer title. This is an interesting volume to read, because it is a mish mash of stories, collecting issues 10 through 13 of the series, plus the first annual, and The Horrorist miniseries. What makes this collection a diverse read is that, while Delano wrote all of the main stories, the tone shifts heavily between regular issues, the annual, and the miniseries. They do not flow together, and feel like different animals entirely, which isn’t a problem, but because of this, it seems to read better if you take breaks throughout your time with the book.

Overall, the stories were all well written, but that is to be expected, and as such, not a surprise. Even the annual, which I didn’t care for, was still a strong piece, and my only issue with it was I didn’t care for the events being told, no matter how well it was put together. The art was done by a number of different artists, but of course, the art that stood out most was David Lloyd’s work on The Horrorist. Lloyd’s work on the book perfectly depicts numbness and detachment,  one of the key themes of the story.

The book opens with what should have been the conclusion of the first volume; Constantine manages to get back into his body after the Swamp Thing takes it over, and we learn what happened to the Resurrection Crusaders’ plans to recreate another immaculate conception after Constantine taints their ‘Mary’. Overall, I thought this issue was fantastic. It had the payoff I wanted after reading the first volume, and at the same time, sets the scene for the next few issues, as a demon taunts Constantine with his past.

The next issue is a backstory issue that really helps flesh out the character of Constantine: ‘Newcastle: A Taste of Things to Come’. It shows a young, cocky Constantine and his friends planning on dealing with a supernatural event, and due to Constantine’s assumptions on how much control he could have over supernatural forces, leads to the eventual death of all his friends, and the death of an innocent girl. The well-executed story and pacing puts this pretty high up on the pile of great Hellblazer stories that I have read so far (right up there with the delightfully fun “Dangerous Habits” storyline issue where Constantine manages to trick a demon into drinking holy water disguised as beer).

After that we have the wrap up issue to the Nergal overarching storyline that started in Original Sins, where Constantine manages to deal with this demon, who was also a key instigator in the Newcastle affair. This issue, while a key plot point, was just a story, and not much really needs to be said about it.

The next issue, however, is another true highlight. ‘On the Beach’ is a one off story that starts grounded in reality, and hauntingly slips into an uncomfortable, dark, dream state. It starts with Constantine sitting at the beach and as all around people play. There is an undercurrent of dread, as a nuclear power plant sits across the bay from everyone. The beach patrons joke about the radiation they must receive when they work there and how it doesn’t affect them, while others liter and give off a laissez-faire attitude towards the environment.  Suddenly, there is a blinding flash as the power plant goes up, and birds begin to drop from the sky.  From here on in, the story takes a dark turn, and maybe it was just my mindset when I was reading it, but this was one of the true horror comics that really created the sense of dread and despair in me that horror comics are meant to. The rest of the issue shows Constantine living on the nuclear wasteland of the beach, building a life there, having deformed (animal) children, etc. For fans of horror comics, this issue stands as a strong example of how to do it right. This issue, along with the ‘Newcastle’ issue, are stories I wish I could rip out of the book and hand to strangers, as they are stories that deserve to be read, and, while they at least are still around in this trade, are not on lists of great literature or pop charts, and sadly are going to remain slightly obscure until the day they drift into the ether. If you are reading this, do yourself a favour and try to read these issues somehow, at some time, they are well worth the effort to track down.

As far as the annual goes, there’s not much I feel worth talking about. It’s mostly set in the medieval past, except for a few moments where Constantine dwells on his time in the asylum, and we have Merlin’s head talk a lot. So onto the last story in the collection instead.

The Horrorist takes up the vast majority of the book, and tells a story about a numb, unfeeling and uncaring Constantine who has lost touch with humanity. He’s lost his sense of love, wonder, and compassion, and it shows with each interaction he has as he plods across the States looking for a ‘horrorist’. A ‘horrorist’ is a person who suffered unbearable pain and suffering when alive, and now that they have passed on, they spread this pain to others in an act to try and balance out their suffering with others lack of (or at least, that is my interpretation). This sadly leads to these people going crazy, and sometimes killing people in their lives. Constantine eventually finds the spirit and through helping it deal with its pain, Constantine is once again able to feel for others.

 I enjoyed ‘The Horrorist’, and it takes a very different tone than most other Hellblazer stories. I can’t say it was my favourite, but the art and concept were enjoyable and it was interesting to see this in depth character study of Constantine when he is at a low point as the horrors he has confronted have finally worn away his ability to feel. The only thing off putting about this piece is where it’s placed in relation to these trades. This story came out in 1995, well later than the rest of the book, and even chronologically in Constantine’s life, doesn’t feel like it fits well. Constantine goes through a lot of worse things coming up, and it may have made more sense inserting this story in a later trade. That being said, without it, this trade would have been fairly empty, and the way the story is written, it’s so self-contained that it isn’t painfully jarring here, as it hypothetically could go anywhere in Constantine’s timeline.

This isn’t a collection that I expected much from. I knew that it didn’t contain one singular narrative, and I went in knowing that there would be very little flow between the main issues and the additional works. That being said, it surprised me by containing some great stories that really stand the test of time. At this point, my only wish is that these new editions of Hellblazer trades would feature something more than new cover work, such as introductions or histories from the people that helped bring these stories to life. John Constantine has such a rich history, and passionate fans that they just scream for the need for a caring hand to put together well constructed editions. However, don’t let that stop you from reading them if you are thinking about perusing these stories, as the stories themselves are what make this series so great.

Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Two by Alan Moore and others

I know it’s bad form to not start at the beginning when discussing sequential narratives, but please bear with me; I’ve just finished book two of Saga of the Swamp Thing, and I don’t have access to my copy of book one at the moment to talk about it instead. In all honesty, even book one isn’t really the beginning, but only the beginning of Alan Moore’s 1980’s run as writer of the horror comic. No matter where you start, you will be thrown in with characters that have motives and intents that you do not fully understand. However, that is not a detriment to the reading experience all that often when reading this book, and as long as you know that something did come before, you can accept any new information and move on.

Now that I have prefaced this, let me speak quickly about one issue of volume one, and then we can begin discussing the book I have just finished. Moore’s second issue of Swamp Thing (issue #21) was a standalone issue, (the first tying up the loose ends of the previous writer’s story), that serves as a beautiful origin tale to bring new readers into the world of the Swamp Thing. I won’t give anything away, but needless to say, it is a breathtakingly haunting tale that completely changes the character by bringing to light information about who the Swamp Thing is, utterly reshaping the entire mythos of the character. Reading that tale for the first time made that single issue one of my favourite comics ever written, and I am envious of anyone who gets to read that for the first time. What Moore does in that one issue sets the bar high, and he has yet to disappoint or lower my expectations with the close of the second volume.

This second book, while impossible to start here for new readers as Moore builds on events from the previous volume, is even better than the first (as long as we separate issue 21 from everything else, because nothing can beat that). In it, we get a number of different tales that highlight how talented of a writer Moore is. The volume opens with a wonderful piece about burying the past, and really seems like his way of bringing closure to the world of Swamp Thing before he took the writing reigns (which Neil Gaiman pretty much says as much in his introduction, so I can’t take credit for that interpretation). He then gives us a three part story of utter horror, dubbed the Arcane Trilogy. In it we witness absolute depravity, with elements of gore, zombies, necrophilia, incest and demons. The first issue of the trilogy apparently required dropping the Comics Code Authority seal of approval, which was a big deal, since previously, comics had just been toned down to meet the regulatory body’s guidelines. Every issue of Swamp Thing after that left off the seal as well.

Next, we are treated to an issue all about what happens after death, and Moore uses a number of supernaturally inclined DC characters, including The Demon and Deadman, to introduce parts the afterlife. For non-superhero readers, this issue will feel a bit out of place, especially when I feel that Swamp Thing could easily be loved by non-comic fans for the most parts, as long as they have a love of horror. Personally, I enjoyed it, although I feel that one-time guardians would have served just as well and not pulled the reader out of the world Moore had been weaving (although The Demon was a great choice for a guide through hell).

Following this foray into the afterlife, we get the one issue I am not fussy about  (which is still good, mind you), featuring a number of space travelling forest creatures who fly aboard a turtle searching for a place free from violence. The issue is out there, and was meant as a tribute to an older comic strip. The tone is mostly light hearted, with just the right blend of light horror, and Moore’s prose makes the issue rise above what it could have been. In it, mimicking the strip he is paying tribute to, he creates a number of wonderful words that the space creatures use, mashing up terms to make delightful sounding words. My favourite had to be ‘survailed’, which one of the creatures says in relation to wishing that more of the original crew and survived/prevailed to see the new earth.

The second-to-last issue of the volume is a reprint of an old issue of Swamp Thing, meant to give the artists time to catch up with the publishing schedule, but even then Moore managed to write a few sequences to bookend the story. In his bookends he uses two old suspense comic narrators, (who would introduce the stories like Hitchcock often would in his television series), named Cain and Abel. They are very much like the biblical brothers, one always jealous of the other to the point of murder, and while I believe this is the first time they come together in DC’s mythology (each narrator had their own, separate book), Neil Gaiman used them later on in his Sandman series as well. It’s a fun little aside to read, and Moore’s bookends added a lot to the reading experience.

Finally, we reach the end of the book, and are given a story that is not horror at all, but rather a love story, entitled “Rites of Spring”. The art is perfect for this issue, and the prose captures everything perfectly. He captures those first furtive questionings new lovers ask of each other wonderfully, and his description of the couple’s experience is elegant and weaving. Ending this volume with that issue leaves the reader in quiet revere. 

The stories contained in this volume make it a great collection. They highlight very well the talent of Alan Moore, for only someone with real talent can write so many different kinds of stories so well. He understands what horrifies us and what moves us to love. He can write reflections of the past and direct our attention to the future. To say that all he wrote was a simple horror book during his stint with Swamp Thing would be to devalue his work, he created experiences and wrote emotions. A talented collection of artists helped him do it too, and I know I did not give them enough credit in my discussion, primarily however, what I took away from this book was a deeper appreciation for the talents of Alan Moore. His Saga of the Swamp Thing is an incredible joy to read.

Squee’s Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors by Jhonen Vasquez

Squee’s Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors is a book I have been searching for for a long time. Although, to be honest, I have been searching for any comic collection by Jhonen Vasquez for a long time, and this just happened to be the first title I actually managed to find in print, (having just recently been reprinted for the twenty-fifth time since 1998 in what I imagine to be yet another relatively small run). Ever since first seeing Invader Zim five or six years ago and seeing this man’s name attached to the creator tag, I’ve known that I want to experience more of his insanity, and preferably unconstrained by television executives and the censuring that had to go on to make Zim a show for younger viewers. Discovering he was a cartoonist, I set out to track down his run of creator-owned comics Johnny the Homicidal Maniac or Squee!. Tracking either of them down proved unsuccessful until just recently, with a reprint of Squee! being released. So, was it worth the years of occasional searching?

Generally, yes, this collection was exactly what I hoped it to be. Pure lunacy, darkness, and anti-establishment jibes permeate the book. You can imagine the person who stayed up to the early hours of the morning inking pages was just ever so slightly on the edge of insanity. He has a genius that wobbles on the brink of madness; dwelling on the kind of thoughts that angry, lonely, fringe-relishing teenagers will instantly connect with, which probably explains why a portion of his fan base is made up of these types. Searching Jhonen Vasquez or any of his creations on the internet and you will discover fan pages and DeviantArt profiles that will make you cringe. And yet, that is part of what makes his work appealing to me. Knowing that the mostly normal can enjoy the misadventures that befall Squee (or Todd as he is actually named), Wobbly Headed Bob, and Happy Noodle Boy and at the same time there is a kid curled up under the covers in his parent’s basement practically worshipping each page. What I’m saying here is that the book can be read for what it is -darkly brilliant humor with some twisted delights- or for what some want it to be -a manifesto for the wretched and alienated- and it will completely depend on your age and outlook with neither way being incorrect.

The only thing I haven’t fully touched on is what this Squee! collection contains. The keystone to the whole thing is of course the main Squee! stories, staring Todd, a young, unloved child who is frequently visited by aliens wishing to use him as a specimen. Todd is relatable in that most of what he fears are the same things that many kids fear (the dark, monsters) except in Todd’s case, there is reason for this fear. There really are monsters, and aliens, and the antichrist wants to be his friend. The Todd stories are a great read and the artwork is fantastic. The inking accentuates the lurking horror and insanity of the stories, and Vasquez’s asides -written on the fringes of panels, in either self-praise or mockery of the artwork- makes the reader feel connected to the creator on some level.

The second half of the book is the collected “meanwhiles” that Vasquez created to fill the rest of each original issues of Squee! and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. In his words he wrote them “for the purpose of quieting the cackling in my head” and keeping him sane while working on the title stories. These “meanwhiles” are where the Happy Noodle Boy and Wobbly Headed Bob stories come from (along with a gamut of one-off characters). Some of them are pure brilliance and had me laughing manically, and others fell flat. Interestingly, I felt that the one-off comics were the best of the bunch, full of great ideas and twisted humor whereas the serial ones felt like they were one trick ponies that just were not allowed to die. Of the two serials, Wobbly Headed Bob was better, and had it been one comic I would have had a mild chuckle and moved on. Instead, by the time I reached the final one, I was tired of the dribbly-goop being spouted by the character about everything in the world being, essentially, a pile of suck and I was sorely tempted to just close the book and give up. The Happy Noodle Boy stories, had they been any good, would have made me want to claw my eyes out, but fortunately were just mediocre enough that I just didn’t feel like caring. In all honesty, I can totally see a much younger version of me thinking these stories were brilliant and totally understood life. Where I am now, they read as the ravings of a miserable pre-teen. Their only saving grace is that I am fairly certain they were either written as parody, or as filler to entertain the younger, outsider teens that were reading the book.

Overall though, this was a fun collection, and fans of Invader Zim would find much to like. The title story was great fun to read, and most of the secondary stories (beyond the two mentioned above) were fast and entertaining.