Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine #4 - A Review

Written by: Andy Diggle
Penciled by: Goran Sudzuka
Inked by: Goran Sudzuka
Colored by: Patricia Mulvihill
Lettered by: Robert Solanovic
Editor: Will Dennis
Publisher: Vertigo Comics

Maybe it’s because I had high hopes after the disappointing “Bast” mini-series that concluded last week. Maybe it’s because I’m a student of mythology. Maybe it’s because I love every other story featuring the main character, but ignoring the rather slow penultimate chapter (which I reviewed last month), I don’t really have any complaints about this series save that it mainly targeted at fans of Hellblazer, The Sandman and students of Mythology.

Diggle’s plot is simple: Johanna Constantine, ancestor of John Constantine, is a con-artist and magician of some note who has been promised a title and lands by the British government in exchange for retrieving a box of dark magical purpose. The box is also sought by Lady Blackwood, who has some magical powers of her own and an army of undead at her beck and call.

To tell more would be to tell the tale. But fans of Hellblazer and the Sandman will greatly enjoy this story, as common themes and subplots from both series are explored. Johanna’s results in her loosing friends as she strives for power and the plot threads are woven for a story that many Sandman fans will find familiar.

But just because I’m harping on the story, don’t think the artwork isn’t just as good. Sudzuka’s artwork IS very good. His style reminds me a bit of Tony Harris but not quite as heavily lined or shadowed. His characters all look unique and even his demons look different from one another; a welcome change from some Vertigo artists who just do one or two variations on Cthulu when asked to draw demons

All in all, this is the best Vertigo mini-series to come out in a while and I look forward to seeing more work by everyone involved.

Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine #3 Review

I don’t read Hellblazer on a regular basis, but I have fond memories of Lady Johanna Constantine from her two-issue stint in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman series. In that worthy series, she was contracted to procure a rather interesting and personal item of great magical power for Morpheus, the king of dreams.

In this series, we find Johanna working in similar circumstances, though in less prosperous times than in the Sandman Series. Johanna Constantine is not a Lady (the Constantine family lands and title having been seized years earlier) but she has been contracted by the British government to procure a box of great magical importance in exchange for the return of the land and title. Accompanying Johanna on this quest are Mouse (a young girl disguised as a boy), Rafe (a lovable rogue; old friend and love to Johanna) and Jack-In-The-Green (a plant-elemental and precursor to Swamp Thing)/

Johanna is an independent woman in a time when most women were wives or whores and she is every bit the equal of her eventual ancestor, John Constantine. She has no small amount of magical talent but depends more upon her abilities as a con artist and making people think she is more powerful than she really is. Thankfully, she does have some magic talent as she finds herself tested by the mysterious Lady Blackwood, who also seeks the box and has an army of undead minions to help her get it.

And that sums up where we enter on this issue, with the crew of Rafe’s ship preparing for a battle against the undead hordes and Johanna and Mouse prepare for a more spiritual fight to keep Lady Blackwood from the box.

Most of the issue is bloody, ripping Vertigo action with not much in the way of character or plot development, save for some revelations regarding the contents of the magic box and why Lady Blackwood wants it so badly… but that would be telling.

You’re probably not going to enjoy this book unless you’re a ferocious fan of The Sandman or Hellblazer. Swamp Thing lovers might pick this up for an all too rare appearance of Jack-In-The-Green. Otherwise, this series really doesn’t have much to offer other than another look at a wonderful and underused character.