GRAPHIC NOVEL
Hellblazer
Stations of the Cross

Author: Mike Carey
Artists: Leonardo Manco, Chris Brunner, Marcelo and Steve Dillion
Titan Books
RRP £8.99
ISBN-13: 978 1 8457 6329 9
ISBN-10: 1 84576 329 7
Available 22 September 2006


A bloodthirsty psychic serial killer threatens a family John Constantine can't remember. A scissors-wielding child stalks him for murderous, unknown reasons. The chain-smoking master of the occult, has been stripped of his memories and powers. Now, he's lost in a nightmare world he cannot hope to understand. In the past, Constantine has been at his best when backed into a corner, but now, broken down and driven to the edge of madness, is he about to make the biggest mistake of his long, blood-soaked life...?

Stations of the Cross opens with a very confused John Constantine. He has no idea who he is, where he is, and what he is doing. As every demon that he has crossed in the past starts to discover that Constantine is helpless, they all start coming out of the woodwork to enact their revenge.

This is something that one evil entity wishes to capitalise on. She offers Constantine a deal. She will restore his memory, and ultimately his power, if he will agree to work for her for just one day. But, even though he doesn't remember anything about this mysterious woman, Constantine knows it's probably not a good idea to agree to her terms. But, as his reality becomes ever more bizarre, what choice does he really have?

This collection is a bit of a change of pace for Hellblazer fans. Constantine believes he is a mere mortal with a normal family and average life. And as his reality is slowly stripped bare little by little he starts to wake up from what is in reality a sick nightmare. I have to say that I really enjoyed this shift in narrative structure - it helped to revitalise a series which I felt had started to stagnate a tad.

This not only works as a fantastic Hellblazer collection, but stands as a solid story in its own right. While it's helpful to know the back story of Constantine, it's not essential and I'm sure many new fans will be sucked into his twisted world.

Nick Smithson

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