Hellblazer - Stations of the Cross

Hellblazer – Stations of the Cross (#194-200 – Mike Carey/Leonardo Manco, Chris Brunner, Marcelo Frusin)

This volume of Hellblazer starts Mike Carey’s next movement on the title. In the previous volume, John Constantine defeated of the creature from the Garden of Eden, a threat that had been building since Carey’s first issue, and lost his memory as a result. This volume picks up with an amnesiac John at the mercy of a number of unsavoury characters who want vengeance on their enemy now that he is such easy pickings. When this volume ends, John has his memory back, and it’s obvious this whole story was a means to get him into his next predicament. But that doesn’t take away from this volume’s strengths – Carey skilfully weaves a new villain through this volume’s issues, amnesiac John is an engaging character, and the chorus of villains dying to get their hands on him is a lot of fun. It’s another rewarding volume from Carey and his collaborators.

The first three issues deal more directly with the effects of John’s memory loss. He’s wandering around London, pursued by a spurned former enemy. Carey achieves a great effect here – for every John moment of peace John gets, that peace is wrenched away as his pursuer launches another violent attack. The story isn’t that compelling. It’s more interesting to watch John try to operate at half-capacity. Losing his memory has made him almost half a man. He has no confidence, we hear true fear in his words, and he genuinely doesn’t know what his next step should be. It’s not until he must come to the defence of Chas and his family that he regains some sense of himself. That issue is harrowing, with an unpleasant confrontation in a hotel room that is brutal to read. Through all of this is weaved John’s encounters with the underworld vixen Rosacarnis, who offers him his memories back in exchange for a day of service to her. Her appearances are seeded through nicely, starting with her disguise as a burnt little girl John finds on the road and culminating in a meeting in her lush, demonic palace. It’s an interesting layer to add to this story. These aren’t the strongest chapters of Carey’s story, but the mix of a violent opponent and John’s condition combine to make the story feel very unsettling.

These opening issues are pencilled by Leonardo Manco and Chris Brunner. I was a bit disappointed in Manco’s work, which has me worried, because I know he soon becomes the regular artist. There are some great images and a good tone, but I prefer the cartoonier influence of Marcelo Frusin’s work. The characters look a bit too real and too rendered and some of the expressions didn’t quite fit the vibe of the book. Brunner’s one issue is surprisingly great, though. He replicates the general feel and layouts of Frusin’s issues, but his depiction of the characters is quite unique. John in particular has a singular look to him that is kept consistent throughout the issue. It’s different than his normal look, which fits, because this amnesiac John himself is different.

The story then continues along, as John is dragged from the streets by two cheerful girls into their church, with the promise of food and shelter. Carey and regular series artist Marcelo Frusin craft an incredibly effective story in these three issues, leading to #200. The church is run by Ghant, the man deceived by Constantine in the Gemma story from the previous volume. Ghant presents John as an anti-Christ to his deranged congregation and eventually holds court with a group of demons who want to get a hold of the amnesiac Constantine. Through a number of gruesome events and the return of some old foes, Carey and Frusin present John’s journey through this labyrinthine church and the tunnels beneath it. These issues are bathed in shadow. Ghant exudes a spurned vengeance and the other characters seem a little unhinged. The imagery is astounding, as Rosecarnis continues to pop up and present John her offer on a number of disturbing pages. The whole story feels like an old fashioned witch hunt, and John must truly prove his mettle. In the end, as he is about to burnt at the stake, he takes Rosacarnis’ offer.

This leads into #200, a story told in three parts, each detailing a possible future domestic life for John. Steve Dillon returns to pencil a tale featuring the love interest from when he drew the book, Kit. This is the most straightforward story, as their young son seems to be at the centre of some violent deaths. Not unlike the amnesiac John’s plight, this John is completely alone. Kit is hardened and unfriendly when he voices his concerns about their son. The story is effectively chilling. Frusin pencils the second story, bringing back Zed, John’s love interest from the earliest issues of the book, when Jamie Delano wrote it. In this one, John’s older son is using the imprisoned body of the Swamp Thing to create a garden paradise for the family home, while nursing a homicidal side. Frusin paces and presents the sharp script like a horror movie and it’s a wonderful little story. Leonardo Manco is back for the third story, where John and current girlfriend Angie deal with a delinquent teenaged daughter who gets together with her friends to kill people. This one further neuters John – the daughter tries to make him feel like an old man out of his depth, and the loss of his swagger certainly seems to indicate that.

It turns out these three sequences were all part of the day of service to Rosecarnis. She reveals herself as the daughter of Nergal, the demon that goes back to the series’ beginnings. She mated with John during his day of service to produce these three offspring, who will torment the world. It’s a great anniversary issue for the book – the structure and the three artists make it feel like a celebration of the book’s history, but the plot itself is urgent and moody, propelling the next story forward. The atmosphere is incredibly strong. John constantly feels like he’s struggling to get his head above water, and being thrown into these three disturbing dream sequences is disorienting and unsettling for the reader.

This volume also marks the end of Marcelo Frusin’s time on this title. It’s some of his strongest work to date. John’s life on the streets feels vivid and terrifying. With large panels, Frusin depicts his confrontation with another homeless man, a cathartic shower, and his wanderings around the church. This John looks thinner, less sharp than normal, and completely out of touch with what is going on around him. Frusin also nails the shots of the demonic creatures coming after John, with some stunning splash pages and images that feel expansive and powerful. The issues set in the church are bathed in darkness, and Frusin depicts a variety of lithe and horrifying creatures ambling around it. Really great stuff on the art front.

The story is equally strong. It feels like Carey is moving through grand movements and testing John all along – first, he was tested to figure out what great evil was coming for him, and assemble forces to combat it. Then, he was tested to find the strength to face his enemies after losing his memory. It’s possible he failed on that, by reaching out to Rosacarnis for help. Now, he’ll face another test, defeating his children.