Post by BloodyMonkeyZ on Jul 8, 2013 14:44:34 GMT -6
The first story arc of Constantine is called The Spark And The Flame. It covers the first three issues and really feels like it is simply setting up who and what Constantine is within the New DC 52. Back in the days of HellBlazer, he was a loner who was out for himself first and foremost. In gaming terms I believe he would be seen as a Chaotic Neutral entity. He was never concerned with the collateral damage that always followed in his wake.
The new Constantine is not much different, except that he does have a greater good in mind at all times. Which brings me back to the first story arc.
A colleague of Constantine named Chris comes to see him about a vision he has. Chris has a power of visions, but they take a devastating toll on his body and spirit when they happen. Constantine has promised to help him, but that help is always just around the corner. The vision that Chris had is about a magic artifact called Croydon's Compass which will allow the owner to find any magic item in the world. Luckily it was split into three pieces, thus making it harder for it to be used by anyone.
Chris and Constantine go in search of the first piece, the Needle. They discover that the Cult of the Cold Flame is also after the pieces. They are bad ass mages who turned evil. They find the first piece but Sargon of the cult kills Chris in the process (and thus the new DC 52 learns that being friends with John Constantine NEVER ends well.)
For some inexplicable reason, Constantine goes after the second piece and gets in a jam where he is forced to relinquish the first. He even comments that getting the second piece is really enough to stop it falling in the wrong hands. Well, what even go there? He had the first piece and one piece missing is all that is needed to prevent its use. He tussles momentarily with The Spectre in issue 2, which is interesting. I love the Spectre, but he always seems to be underused. In theory he could end all evil on the planet with little more than a thought. Constantine cuts a deal with him which I fully expect to be brought into play sometime in the near future.
The final issue of this story had some good elements, but again I felt the whole story was moot because he didn't need to find all 3 pieces. Especially as he seemed to already know about the third piece being a man's eyes. So the compass apparently wouldn't ever work for anyone else.
I was unhappy with the 300 issue run of HellBlazer being killed off in order to bring Constantine to the shelves. Any Constantine story is good in my eyes, but this one doesn't really rise above the average level. Jeff Lemire (writer) and Ray Fawkes (artist) do a decent job but fail to really engage me beyond calling this a 3 star story.
The new Constantine is not much different, except that he does have a greater good in mind at all times. Which brings me back to the first story arc.
A colleague of Constantine named Chris comes to see him about a vision he has. Chris has a power of visions, but they take a devastating toll on his body and spirit when they happen. Constantine has promised to help him, but that help is always just around the corner. The vision that Chris had is about a magic artifact called Croydon's Compass which will allow the owner to find any magic item in the world. Luckily it was split into three pieces, thus making it harder for it to be used by anyone.
Chris and Constantine go in search of the first piece, the Needle. They discover that the Cult of the Cold Flame is also after the pieces. They are bad ass mages who turned evil. They find the first piece but Sargon of the cult kills Chris in the process (and thus the new DC 52 learns that being friends with John Constantine NEVER ends well.)
For some inexplicable reason, Constantine goes after the second piece and gets in a jam where he is forced to relinquish the first. He even comments that getting the second piece is really enough to stop it falling in the wrong hands. Well, what even go there? He had the first piece and one piece missing is all that is needed to prevent its use. He tussles momentarily with The Spectre in issue 2, which is interesting. I love the Spectre, but he always seems to be underused. In theory he could end all evil on the planet with little more than a thought. Constantine cuts a deal with him which I fully expect to be brought into play sometime in the near future.
The final issue of this story had some good elements, but again I felt the whole story was moot because he didn't need to find all 3 pieces. Especially as he seemed to already know about the third piece being a man's eyes. So the compass apparently wouldn't ever work for anyone else.
I was unhappy with the 300 issue run of HellBlazer being killed off in order to bring Constantine to the shelves. Any Constantine story is good in my eyes, but this one doesn't really rise above the average level. Jeff Lemire (writer) and Ray Fawkes (artist) do a decent job but fail to really engage me beyond calling this a 3 star story.
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