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.

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.

Hellblazer - Parliament of the Trees. Could use a bit of a pruning, in my opinion.

Hellblazer - Black Flowers (#181-186)

If Mike Carey’s first volume on this title, Red Sepulchre, was an exercise in constructing a strong story, building up mysteries and character relationships, and reaching a satisfying conclusion, Black Flowers shows that Mike Carey is attempting this exercise on a wider scale. Red Sepulchre was a solidly constructed single story, but, in Black Flowers, Carey reveals that he’s taking his knack for strong plotting to build up a mystery and a threat for John to confront that spans volumes. This volume comprises three shorter stories, each building on the threat that revealed itself in Red Sepulchre and is lurking on the fringes here. But these three stories are also brimming with a vibrancy that Carey was only touching on in his first volume. As the mysteries deepen, Carey is getting a stronger handle on John, the pace of his adventures, his connection to people around him, and how to bring excitement and danger into this book.

The first of these stories, “The Game of Cat and Mouse,” is a single-issue story drawn by Jock. It’s a chase story, in which three demons called Lukhavim are after John for killing Fredricks in the previous volume. Jock’s design for the creatures is great – they look hulking and imposing, but also sit quite naturally in panels with human characters. The issue itself has a great balance. It’s a very typical John Constantine encounter, with the magician walking the demons into traps and calmly gloating as they wither away. But, at the same time, danger lurks around the proceedings. Enough cryptic warnings are provided by the demons that it is obvious their pursuit of John is tied to a bigger problem. Their first attack on him is jarring, in that it actually hurts him. This puts John on edge through the rest of the story. For as calm and cool as he remains, he knows they mean business and can hurt him, and it shows. The pace of this story hits just the right balance as well. I also like that Clarice, the rich old woman from the previous story, is being used as John’s advisor on all things Hell. A fun ride, and there’s a lot happening here.

Lee Bermejo pencils the two-part “Black Flowers” next, and it is a treat to see his interior artwork. The human characters have a strong realism to their faces and the inhuman characters are so commanding on page that they truly feel like they are intruding in our world, which is the point of the story. The art is dark, but not overly so, with shadows being used to accentuate the locations. The story involves Angie getting John to help her with an outbreak of madness in the town where her brother is a psychiatric patient. This alls ties into the wider plot Carey is working with. Namely, that “there is a disturbance at the border” – something nasty from the otherworldly realms is creeping into ours. These spirits have turned the town mad, and three murderous shepherds from that realm have come here to set things right. The story does a great job digging into Angie’s character. Carey wisely places a lengthy scene between her and her jerk boyfriend early on, to give us more insight into her regular life before plunging her into this. She’s on edge for the rest of the story, struggling to accept John’s world but equally angry towards her brother. Carey also tells the story really well. The cutting of scenes between John discovering something is amiss as Angie gets deeper into it is expertly done, building up tension effectively. The climatic moments also work nicely, aided by Bermejo’s designs for the shepherds. And, as well as this works as a standalone tale to build up John and Angie’s relationship, Carey swings things on the final page to remind us how this otherworldly invasion seems to be part of a bigger danger John is facing. The tension is effectively built, allowing this story to fit into a larger whole.

Marcelo Frusin is back to pencil the final three issues, the “Third Worlds” story. John takes Angie across the world with him, first to South America to get Swamp Thing’s help and figure out what may be coming from another realm, then to Iran to find the followers of Cain, and finally to New Zealand for more information. This doesn’t feel like wacky globe-trotting, mainly because it is all tied together so nicely by the threat of the otherworldly invaders and the strong narration from John and Angie.

The Swamp Thing chapter contains some card game shenanigans that are a bit off-course, but the visit with Swamp Thing is perfect. Carey gets their antagonistic dynamic, and John brings a lot of humour to the situation. Frusin, an artist grounded in darkly cartoony Vertigo books, creates a captivating vision of Swamp Thing, growing out of a giant old tree. The visit to Iran is another fun chapter, as John must answer for an old theft and Angie comes into to her own as an adventuress. There are hints that the evil John seeks goes back to the Garden of Eden and also an old-school trial by ordeal with humorous results. Very strong stuff, and Frusin’s depiction of arid desert life is great. The Tasmania chapter swings things into the deeply personal category. John learned from Swamp Thing that the evil he seeks also escaped from Tasmania two centuries ago, and journeys back in time to colonial slavery to learn about it. At the same time, Angie must ward of Aboriginal spirits and relays the story of her brother’s mental illness to them. These two story threads, coupled together, create an incredibly compelling narrative of pain felt throughout the years. Carey doesn’t downplay the years of pain felt by the Aboriginals when their land was taken over, but it’s a very poignant moment to have one of the spirits acknowledge that Angie’s family has also faced great suffering. The issue gives Angie remarkable depth. Just the fact that she stands up to the spirits shows a strength she didn’t have when we first met her, and a growth since accompanying John on the road.

I think what I like just as much is that Carey keeps the ominous threat feeling both sharply drawn and very vague. The point of the Tasmania story is for John to get information from the natives in the past. He gets it, but the scene cuts away as that conversation starts. At the end of the issue, he relays that he learned what he needed too, but we still don’t know what it is. Throughout this volume, the vague threat of something breaking through the wall between realms and entering ours is pervasive. But the terms are never laid out in stone, the threat is never delineated, and the dangers don’t have to be spelt out. Something bad will happen, and John is trying to learn more to prevent it. The danger feels real, partly because it is so vaguely sketched. In presenting it that way, Carey is allowing these individual stories to live and breathe as standalone tales and leaving ample space for character interaction. But it always feels like these pieces are building towards something, even if we don’t have a clear picture of what yet. It’s incredibly strong story structuring, and, aided by three strong artists, a sharp and effective package.

Weekly Comics - 12/28/11

Justice League Dark#4 - Peter Milligan/Mikel Janin

Milligan is really moving forward with the story of the Enchantress here - we finally understand the connection between she and June Moon and what she is doing to find June. To get such a clear picture of the villain's motives lends a lot to the various cryptic scenes here and adds stakes to the conflict. I like what the Enchantress is after - she has been separated from June, who is her other half, and is struggling to stay alive without her. Her semi-coherent ramblings feel desperate and the fact that we now understand the chaos she is unleashing adds a lot of substance to this title. I love the brigade of June-creatures she sends out to look for the original, as well as how disposable they are (she blasts one of their heads off without a second thought). Milligan touches in on every member of the cast in their struggle to keep up with the Enchantress. Deadman and June remain the focus, and the trust building in their relationship is fun to watch. John Constantine, Zatanna, and Shade all get moments to shine here, as well. Madame Zanadu gets a stronger focus than she has yet, and the personal troubles she faces seem to be as strong a threat to the heroes as the Enchantress. Even Dove gets a return, arguing with John about Deadman. The book feels layered and deliberate in its build-up. The characters are all handled lovingly and the plotting is meticulous. At the same time, it's unsettling and unusual in its presentation of the villain's plots and the damaged protagonists. There still isn't a central premise to this as an ongoing series, but the progression of this individual story is enough to overlook that. Mikel Janin's artwork strengthens with each issue. His posed figures and faces are getting a little gruffer as the story progresses. In some instances, like the attack on Zatanna, seeing such a beautiful figure in the midst of such violence is effective. The soft colours bring a nice layer of realism to the characters, as well. Janin's also pulling off some great images, such as Deadman learning the Enchantress really is empty inside without June. This book requires patience, but it is coming together very well.

Flash#4 - Francis Manapul, Brian Buccelato/Francis Manapul

Manapul and Buccelato do a lot of interesting things with this one, including omitting our protagonist from the story altogether until the final three pages (apart from a couple of flashbacks). Instead, they focus on the story they have been building, and the supporting cast that populates the book. It made me realize what a strong world they are building for the Flash in Keystone City, along with a layered mystery at the heart of the Manuel Lago story. The story ably weaves itself through flashbacks, checking in on various supporting characters, and finally winding up at the fate of the Flash after last issue's gunshot. There's a lot of exposition here - we basically get the entire background behind the Manuel mystery - but it never feels cumbersome or overdone. Instead, the issue has an almost dreamlike quality to it, with one character literally falling into one of the flashbacks and each of them so expertly designed that they feel like compelling slices of history, not exposition dumps. I guess I was surprised how well this issue held up without the Flash. It jumps through the various plot threads the writers have set up so far without even needing the main character. Manuel, Patty, Iris, and even Manuel's clones all acquit themselves as strong characters on their own. In her first appearance in a brief flashback, even Manuel's mother feels well-rounded. The story is also quite interesting, ostensibly tied to terrorism without feeling heavy-handed and with an unsettling element of body horror to Manuel's condition. His clones, initially set up as the villains, are surprisingly sympathetic. After all, they just want to live. The art remains fantastic. The flashbacks are wonderfully designed, the fights are perfectly choreographed, Flash's reignition at the end looks great, and the characters have a fun, vibrant look to them. I remain impressed with the colours, which go for muted oranges, browns, and purples to give Manapul's work a more ethereal quality. As usual, Manapul integrates art and story in innovative ways. In addition to the flashbacks, the cover itself actually gets into the storytelling. It catches us up on the various plot lines, even showing how Patty and Manuel got from the end of last issue to where they first appear in this one. Great stuff, once again.

X-Men: Legacy#260 - Mike Carey/Khoi Pham

Mike Carey wraps up his lengthy run on this title here, where Rogue and co. rescue Ariel from her interspacial captivity and Rogue decides whose side she sits on in the Schism. The central plot is enjoyable, if a little slight. I can imagine a lot of people don't care about Ariel or understand why so much page time is devoted to her. I think it's kind of cute to have Mike Carey's obsession with minor continuity points continue into his final storyline. This issue really is about the characters, though, as Carey's stories tend to be. Through all the intrigue of Ariel's return and tying up loose ends (Korvus will escort the Shi'ar pirates home, Rogue confronts Julian), Carey traces Rogue's decision to stay with Cyclops on Utopia or go to Wolverine in New York. I particularly like her interaction with Rachel. It feels natural and familiar. The two are old friends, so they should have a comfortable dynamic with each other. I hope Christos Gage continues their friendship when he takes over as writer. In the final scene, Rogue tells Cyclops she is leaving, and it's a nice coda to Carey's time on the book. Rogue's relationship with Cyclops has been tenuous throughout this run, and it's nice to see them find common ground and value in each other. Her words about not making mistakes shows that Carey gets Cyclops better than the recent portrayals of his crazy militant side have been able to. It's a touching scene, and one that shows the sure hand Carey displayed with Rogue, who has grown under his pen into a teacher and leader. The future of this book will depend on the strength of her portrayal. The commitment seems to be there to continue focusing on her and the characters Carey did strong work on (Gambit, Rachel, Frenzy, Iceman), so I'm hopeful for Gage's tenure.

FF#13 - Jonathan Hickman/Juan Bobillo

I remain pleasantly surprised with this title, to the point where it is turning me back on to Hickman's Fantastic Four mega-story, something I had been slightly losing interest in. The highlight of this issue for me was learning even more about how everything Hickman has been doing on these two titles fits together. We're finally seeing key conversations between Valeria and Nathaniel that explain how some of the elements Hickman has more recently started (Black Bolt's return, the Kree attack, Galactus' arrival), which I have been less interested in, fit into the bigger picture of the Four Cities and the alternate Reeds. We don't have all the details, but we have some key information, and I'm impressed with the level of planning Hickman has put in. It helps that Val and Nathaniel have an endearing relationship, a grandfather and granddaughter able to communicate on a level only the other person understands. In the present day, the action remains fun. I love the execution and visuals when this rag tag group of kids and aliens venture into battle together. The story here is a little thin, but it's certainly moving things along and setting some of the players up for a finale. I still think this title has the better plot elements than Fanatastic Four proper does right now, so I find the book more compelling. And I really like Bobillo's art. His kids look like the quirky, off-centre groups of youths that they are. And I like his take on iconic Marvel characters (Doom, the Celestials, Galactus, the Supreme Intelligence). They lose some of their regal qualities when he puts his unique style onto them, and I like it. And he continues to play with blank space very well, particularly in the outer space scenes.

Uncanny X-Men#3 - Kieron Gillen/Rodney Buchemi, Paco Diaz, Carlos Pacheco

The relaunch of Uncanny marches on. This issue is significantly less depressing, if only because it's so dull and pointless. The X-Men's confrontation with Sinister ends (for now) with a whimper - after an issue of the villain speechifying around his hideout, he departs with a number of cryptic warnings for the future. The X-Men staredown the Celestials, proving how tough they are, and the issue ends. And all along, I get the feeling I'm supposed to be impressed by how "brutal" and "real" this all is, because poor Emma is walking around without an arm. Instead, it just comes off as a weird attention-grabbing stunt to me. This new iteration of the X-Men is so desperate to be the Authority it's getting annoying. But what the best Authority incarnations had in verve and energy, this makes up for with lethargy and boring characters. Where the Authority proved themselves a superhero militia through their actions, this team only proves it by telling us they are in Cyclops' big speeches. Some of Sinister's dialogue is amusing, if only because he has a sense of humour about these mutants and they don't whatsoever. But it goes on far too long with no point. The X-Men are lifeless here - at 9 members, most of them don't say or do anything of value, and those that do are wooden and boring. I'll keep harping on this until I see any evidence of it - there is no team dynamic or interesting relationships in this group of characters. The Celestial stuff is weak to me. I actually like the X-Men's staredown with them here for its simplicity, but I hate them as a plot device. Since the X-Men moved to San Fransisco in #500, the Dreaming Celestial has sat there as some undefined opponent, threatening to become a story whenever the writers remembered him. I still don't know what he is and why he is standing on a lawn in San Fran. The art is another hodgepodge - Pacheco ably draws the final scene, and Buchemi and Diaz ape his new, smoothed out style for the rest of the issue. It looks fine, but not particularly exciting, mainly because Pacheco's new style is intent on removing all the unique or powerful elements of his previous style. I believe Gillen is way better than what he has done on this relaunched book. He was significantly better before the relaunch. This has been a dull affair since it started.

Hellblazer - Where did I put that again?

I'm continuing my look at Hellblazer, thanks to the full run of the series offered by Toronto Public Library. Red Sepulchre (collecting issues 175-180) marks the start of writer Mike Carey's tenure on the book, picking up where Brian Azzarello's roadtrip through the USA ended. I have the utmost respect for Carey as a writer. My only experience with his Vertigo work is The Unwritten, but he has fought hard to make his run on X-Men (later re-titled X-Men: Legacy) into a thoughtful and worthwhile read, even as editorial has wrenched it in different directions and borderline ignored it for years. I know he has the chops to turn out a strong story. In this volume, John is back in England, and the series immediately returns to a much more familiar tone and vibe than Azzarello brought to it. In comparison to Azzarello's work, this is downright tame. But, at the same time, it's very good. Carey builds the story deliberately, adding layers and characters as the explanations of what is going on trickle through. He seems to draw from Azzarello's model of storytelling in the right way, ramping up the intensity and action in the later issues, but, at the same time, the story is built on solid foundations.

A two-parter, drawn by returning Hellblazer legend Steve Dillon, opens the trade, and directly leads in to the title story. The strength here is in the character work - John, still presumed dead after the prison riots in Brian Azzarello's first story, returns home to check in on his sister Cheryl and her family. Outside of these characters and Chas, this title has never had much of a supporting cast, so I like that Carey grounds this story in them, after the title has drifted for so long. The story here is simple but compelling, with Cheryl spiraling into anti-depressants while John's niece Gemma is off in some unspecified trouble. The bulk of this story is fairly conventional. John senses a 'spike of evil' outside of Cheryl's apartment building, and enlists a waitress named Angie to help him investigate. Their interaction naturally builds, and, on, the whole, Carey's handling of the characters is top notch. He delves into the family dynamics more than most writers have, and it's strong stuff. The story leads John to pin a string of disappearances on a kindly old woman in the apartment building. Their big confrontation is quite good, and her dying words lead John to believe that both Gemma and his old friend Scrape are in trouble. No one is going to accuse this story of being groundbreaking, but it's good to see John back in familiar territory, The character work is strong, and the mystery is built up and resolved in an economical fashion.

"The Red Sepulchre" proper gets started and slowly builds into a compelling mystery. Quite typical of Hellblazer, numerous unsavoury types are introduced in somewhat cryptic scenes, and then the plot details behind who they are and what they're talking about are eventually revealed. This slow burn approach is part and parcel of the title by this point. It can be a mite frustrating, but I have faith in the writers, and the scenes are usually ominous and effective, as they are here. It's John's character that centers the book through these encounters, as his sure hand, concern for his niece, and sense of humour provide a focus around which we meet spindly old glamour queens, disembodied forces that live in the subway tunnels, and violent mobsters. Carey builds quite a strong framework here, with Gemma being used by a man named Fredricks to lure John in, so that John can help identify the red sepulchre, an ancient weapon connected to John's bloodline. It turns out that Scrape borrowed money from Fredricks to acquire it. He was killed by Fredricks in short order, and now Fredricks has to actually identify the sepulchre, amongst hundreds of boxes of Scrape's belongings, and needs John's help. It's a plot like this which proves Carey gets this title's sense of humour no problem. The story is built around the foibles of a desperate idiot, and that is the perfect setting for John to operate in. Add to this John's continued interaction with Angie and a mystical couple named Clarice and Albert, who also contributed to Scrape's purchase of the weapon and want in on it, and Carey builds a strong tapestry on which to hang this fairly straightforward story.

Carey has the fight for the weapon play out over the two final issues, and it's a wise choice. There are a number of players on the board (including a demon Clarice has summoned, and Map, the aforementioned disembodied consciousness who begrudgingly helps John), and the scene cutting that builds up the tension is very well-structured. The action of the story builds to a number of good crescendos, but it always remains rooted in the characters. Gemma, desperate to be recognized as a great magician herself, realizes she isn't, and that Fredricks only used her to lure in John. The story is rooted in her desire to get out of her uncle's shadow, and it's a compelling central conflict. In the ensuing firefights, it’s revealed that the sepulchre is merely a rope used to strangle people, one which John burns in short order. Carey does a great job pacing the build up to the end, and it’s the twist of humour about the much sought-after weapon turning out to be a piece of rope that proves he has the right stuff for this book.

Marcelo Frusin thankfully sticks around as regular artist. It's a boon for the book to have artistic consistency coming out of Azzarello's wild run, and it's great to see Frusin finally depict John operating in England. Frusin mastered the grim and dark elements of middle America, and brings those skills to London, angry demons, a séance, and a host of unsavoury characters. His style blends well with those elements. In some ways, it feels like Carey is only dipping his toes in during this first story, but I commend his craft in setting up the players and their relationships, naturally building the story, and expertly structuring the climax. It's not the dog-licking, head-shaving, getting-burnt-to-a-crisp-in-a-sex-club fun of Azzarello's run, but does everything need to be? This story boldly returns John to his more typical setting and tone, by reintroducing strong characterization and building a solid story. That's good comics to me.

Weekly Comics - 11/30/2011

No DC titles this week. It's a short fifth week of the month, with some interesting releases nonetheless.

Uncanny X-Men#2 - Kieron Gillen/Carlos Pacheco, Jorge Molina, Rodney Bechemi

The ideas are good (they're actually very good). The pacing and action are effective. The art is clean and attractive. But this book is lacking something. I do feel like Wolverine and the X-Men is the fun book, with the fun characters, and the quirky edge to it. I have a lot of respect for Kieron Gillen, but this book lacks a team dynamic. There is nothing to grab onto in the interplay between these characters. As I mentioned last time, these may notionally be the more important characters to the X-Men "story" these days, but this feels like the "B"-team that none of them wanted to be a part of. It feels cold and depressing. There are moments that shine through - unlike everyone else, Hope seems genuinely excited to be there. And it was fun to see Emma to tell Scott to lighten up (she should tell the creative team of this book). And there's still a lot of good here. I love the idea of Sinister as a consciousness, embodying every body under his control, and jumping between them as the X-Men (rather brutally) kill them. I'm excited to see where this concept is taken. Gillen does well with Sinister's portrayal, as there's a playful element to his grand villainous speeches. And the pacing and action is efficient and effective throughout. Sinister's exposition is nicely balanced by some very brutal action scenes. I'm actually surprised how far things are taken - Danger is blasted into pieces, Emma's walking around with one arm, Colossus crushes one of Sinister's heads with one hand. And I'm fine with the art. Yes, Carlos Pacheco has gotten rid of any unique elements to his art, but the smooth, rounded look here is still strong, and creates some very attractive action shots. Molina and Buchemi step in to help, and, outside of the distinctive flashback scene, the transition is pretty seamless (still, three artists are needed by #2?). That said, this book still feels cold and unfriendly on every level, and it starts with the fact that the characters have no dynamic or tangible relationships with each other. Marvel has been relentlessly pushing "extreme, militant Cyclops" on us since 2008, and this is that portrayal taken to its furthest point. I don't know if it's the right hook for the flagship X-book. There's nothing human to latch on to here. It's dour and depressing and it's turning me off, even as the plot and action are enjoyable.


X-Men: Legacy#259 - Mike Carey/Khoi Pham

When it comes to the X-Men, this is more like it. Mike Carey's final story returns Rogue's group to Earth in time for them to decide where they sit on the side of the "Schism." Typical of Carey's work on this book, it's thoughtful, nuanced, and insightful without being heavy-handed. The scenes where Rogue discusses whether to stay with Cyclops or go to Wolverine with Gambit, Magneto, and Frenzy are well-paced and thoughtful. We see the human feelings that go into the decision with far more depth than the recent X-Men: Regenesis one-shot, which featured snap decisions with no thought behind them. It also feels like Scott is desperate to have Rogue stay. There's a nice scene between reunited brothers Scott and Alex that gets into the emotions behind the schism with more depth than the Schism mini series managed to in its five issues. From these scenes, a plot grows, in which Rogue senses that a mutant presence has returned from space with the X-Men. The methods through which the team investigate this make for a compelling mystery and the steps they take to learn more about their mysterious companion follow a logical trail. This all leads to a final page revelation of this mystery mutant. Unless you've been reading closely, you'll have no clue who it is. Even if you have been reading closely, I doubt you'll care. But Carey ensures that these climatic moments, when Rogue encounters this person, are taut and suspenseful, so the odd choice of person is somewhat charming in how random it is. I'm curious to see where Carey takes this in his final issue. Pham's art looks sharper than it has yet on this title, with a softer look to his figures and faces. But the unique aspects of his style still come through. It's another strong issue from Carey, with a surprisingly effective mystery wrapped around a strong core of characterization.


FF#12 - Jonathan Hickman/Juan Bobillo

I had read a lot of negative advanced reviews of this, mainly focusing on the art. I have to say I disagree - I absolutely loved this, and the art played a big part in that. Juan Bobillo is probably best known for bringing a clean, quirky style for Dan Slott's humourous She-Hulk title. His style has changed a bit since then. Yes, some of the characters' faces are a bit squishy, but this is a book staring a bunch of eccentric (and some non-human) kids, and he nailed their expressions and body language. He has fun with page layouts and sparse backgrounds, playing with white space to create some unique pages. But I was more excited by the story - things are finally moving somewhere in Jonathan Hickman's never-ending Fantastic Four odyssey. We're learning how pieces fit together here - the warnings Valeria received from the future Franklin, Nathaniel's role, Doom's role, what the alternate Reed really wants (is it lame to say I gasped on the last page?). It feels like there is forward momentum involving some of the key players. I have to say I find all of this intrigue, which Hickman has been building since the very beginning, far more interesting than the Inhumans/Kree/Galactus intergalactic war stuff happening in Fantastic Four. This book is also fun. The kids have usually been crammed into subplot pages, but here they take centre stage and it's fun. Their trip across snowy mountains in the opening scene is full of funny banter. The moment where Val and Franklin run with glee towards their grandfather is great - a little slice of humanity in the middle of Hickman's clinical and methodical saga. Valeria is really stepping up as the central figure, and I'm loving her portrayal here. I had a ton of fun with this, and the fact that the story is finally reaching a climax excited me. And I liked the art.