Hellblazer - 'We do not require the slow build and meaningful pauses.'

Hellblazer - Staring at the Wall (Hellblazer#187-193)

Mike Carey's first overarching story on Hellblazer seems to reach a conclusion in his third volume, Staring at the Wall. The big bad lurking on the fringes of our plane of reality fully reveals itself and is defeated. But the larger character arcs Carey is playing with continue to proceed, as this volume focuses on Gemma and her quest to follow in her uncle's footsteps. There's also a thread involving John struggling to keep his cool in the face of his opponent. It's more of what I've come to expect from Carey on this book - methodical plotting and presentation, well-realized characters, a strong script, and a sense of humour. And while the climax isn’t quite as methodical as the build-up, this volume is still stellar stuff, and it leaves John in a desperate position for future stories.

The volume opens with the two-part "Bred in the Bone," with guest art from Doug Alexander Gregory. It's a solo story for Gemma, who is recruited by one of Fredericks' men to wrap up a case left open by her uncle John years earlier. It's a nice showcase for her character - she's hard-edged and defensive about tidying up John’s business, so desperate to prove herself as a magician in her own right. But she has a warmer side when she's actually on the case. The case itself is a bit slight. The first chapter is driven by Gemma's portrayal and the second by Gregory's artwork, with the story getting a little lost. That said, Gregory's art really carries parts of the story. With a lot of sweeping shots of demon creatures flying towards Gemma over a setting sun, he plays with shadows and angular shapes to create some very nice pages. Some of the conversations are a bit too muddy, but he has a distinctive style and knows how to employ it effectively. On the flashback scenes in particular, his depiction of John's cigarette smoke as a horizontal lightning bolt is great stuff. They’re an enjoyable couple of issues, but they cruise more on mood and Gemma's portrayal than a really compelling story.

The rest of the volume contains the five-part "Staring at the Wall" - John's confrontation with the big baddie that's been hovering around the edges of this book since Carey started writing it. We've learned that this creature is a beast from hell that followed Adam out of Eden. As Adam didn't name it, it can take different forms, and has over the years. John assembles a crew of magician types around him to confront the creature, but eventually turns to old standbys to finish the conflict - Gemma, Chas, his girlfriend Angie, and Swamp Thing. Carey does something interesting with John here. He positions the character as a figure who must lead and inspire others to end this conflict. His trademark cool-as-a-cucumber wisecracking doesn't exactly go over well with the group of magicians. He finds himself desperate for their help and begging to get it. Similar to how Brian Azzarello took John out of his depth, it's interesting to watch the character's ever-cool facade get challenged. From here, Carey creates a wonderful mood piece, as the magicians hole themselves up in a decrepit old house to take down the beast, while the world spins out of control outside. These are great issues - Frusin bathes the house in shadows, with oranges and browns coming in through the windows, tension amongst the participants is high, and personal problems, like Angie dealing with her brother, anchor all of the action in the characters.

The stakes continue to grow into the final chapters, where John is taken into the creature's realm and Gemma must save the day. Frusin's fantastic depiction of Swamp Thing returns, hulking and brooding. He remains out of sync with the sense of humour displayed by Gemma and Angie. I love what Carey is doing with Swamp Thing's powers - he can grow, at will, out of a potted plant Gemma holds and he finds a way to use his plant powers to keep John's body alive. The humour is sublime here. Similar to how the Red Sepulchre, history's deadly weapon, turned out to be a piece of rope, Angie unveils a twig, a piece of pre-lapsarian wood from Eden, as the weapon that will defeat the creature. Swamp Thing creates a suit of armour out of it for battle, and later finds out the battle was just a distraction so the girls could enact their own plan. There a lot of good to these final chapters, chief among them the interaction between John and Gemma, struggling to find common ground as the latter tries to grow out of her uncle's shadow. I also love how the group come together to defeat the creature, another clever twist from Carey. And Frusin really stretches himself artistically, from Gemma's body contortions as she enters the creature’s realm, to the realm itself, to a weakened and hopeless John.

It all builds to a strong climax, where John emerges from his traumas, covered in blood, with no memory of what happened. And the craft here is undeniable - Carey has built to this conflict since his first issue, as a threat has slowly grown in strength, while the relationships John has with Gemma, Angie, and Swamp Thing have been leading to this point. The storytelling is controlled and skillful, but some of the wild set pieces and the strong undercurrent of humour add an exciting and fun layer to the story. Great stuff, once again, and highly recommended for fans of the character.