Constantine: The Hellblazer Vol. 2: The Art of the Deal

So far, the "best" of the original Vertigo run outshines this second DCEU series - but then, on the other hand, this second try at "Constantine: The Hellblazer" is pretty darn good. Just make sure to skip the New 52 first reboot of Constantine. This SECOND reboot, by Ming Doyle, is far far better. The one area in which this new Ming Doyle series shines is bringing Constantine "current" in terms of time period - and bringing back an approximately 30 year old Constantine. The original Constantine hung out in Margaret Thatcher's conservative, racist England; the new Constantine hangs out in current Manhattan and, later, in current London. What I liked most about the original Constantine, was the "disconnection" from the DC superhero universe - Hellblazer was a horror/occult standalone, other than intrusive visits from Swamp Thing (sorry, I was never a Swamp Thing fan, although some friends loved the concept). What I liked the least about the first Constantine reboot - the New 52 reboot - was the HEAVY involvement by DCEU superheroes, In this second reboot, Wonder Woman and Shazam (?) make a brief appearance, but it is more in the nature of a bit of "fan service" than "here are the real superheros to fix the problem"). Constantine is no longer alone in his own magickal pocket-universe, but at the same time he is no longer playing second fiddle (or Dark Justice League-fiddle).

He's just amazing. Funny, witty, hits emotional chords, no wonder he's been around 40+ years. Masterwork of a book, possibly the best magic based book out there

Great quality and a great story! Now if I can only figure out which ones are newly drawn and not like the 80s Archie comics I'd be all set.

What an end to a glorious run. The art is a real standout in this volume, fun and dark just like it's well written story.

The story is about Constatine battling Hell's control over New York City's souls. There are some interesting aspect to the story, but overall it was just a passable story. My big issue is that Constantine is put in this crazy intense scenarios, but the solution always seemed like something simple. It felt like that aspect took me out of the story a few times. The other issue is the ending felt rushed or underwhelming and incomplete. The art holds up well, even though the art style changes half way through the story, and then changes again a couple chapters later. So I can only recommend this story out you are a die hard Constantine fan and find it for cheap. Otherwise you're not missing too much.

Absolutely wonderful! This book upholds the questionable morals of Constantine while still making him the underdog and hero of the story. The art varies from story to story in style but the quality is still great and only adds to the storytelling. This book is all at once dark, funny and emotional. Highly recommended.

It's better than the previous series but still nowhere as good as the original Hellblazer series. John Constantine belongs in London written by a British writer. Doyle and Tynion completely give up on making John in anyway British. Even the dialogue is just generic English. There's nothing in this book to at all care about. Riley Rossmo's art is terrible. Included is the rebirth issue which shows a lot of potential. It feels like a return to the Constantine of old.

There are two characters whose series I will almost always read, no questions asked. One is Daredevil and the second Is John Constantine. I like the art in this, but this book doesn't feel like a Hellblazer story. I'm all for doing unique things with characters, but ever since Constantine lost his Vertigo series and moved to the main DC universe, they've been trying to make him into a superhero. While it's not as bad as the original DC series, "Constantine," it's still kind of boring. Hellblazer was great because Constantine was always making hard choices and he had a great supporting cast. Both of those things are missing from this. This series feels more like a poorly executed version of Aaron and Bachalo's Dr. Strange than classic Hellblazer, which is a shame. I don't care for how Constantine is written either. While he certainly is something of a scumbag (though not as much as in the original series) he isn't threatening or intimidating. I think that part of this is just because he supposed to be young, whereas he aged in real time in the Vertigo series and was about 60 by the time it ended. I do love John Constantine, so I really hope the Rebirth series is closer to the British horror of Hellblazer.

Constantine is my favourite character and the author has went beyond my expectations on this comic. You can really see the dynamics of this flaw character and how he painfully interact with everyone around him. It was a joy to read both volume 1 and this one. I for sure recommend picking this comic book up!

One of the best Constantine story's so far

Comic arrived in great condition. Excellent book.

It has gotten much better from the last volume. If you're a reader who is in it for the long haul, then you probably know that the last volume was a light reboot. The Constantine New 52 series that came before was probably better, and even that was a reboot from the Vertigo series, which was undoubtably the best. The art looks like a manga, and the depiction of hell was too goofy compared to its Vertigo counterpart. The twists and cons were sometimes clever, and the introduction of fairy land was great ( I'm not kidding ). The best part was a standalone issue of the rebirth Constantine, which is yet another soft reboot. Get this series while you can, because you'll never see Constantine like this again. Or, just hope they do better next time.

I can't for the life of me understand why the artist chose to draw Constantine like something from the Cartoon Network. He's also presented as pretty much a one trick pony with no sense of his inherent danger: a bit like a smoking Artful Dodger. It's almost sacrilegious.