John Constantine: Hellblazer - All His Engines

by Mike Carey

Other authorsLeonardo Manco (Illustrator)

Paper Book, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

741

Publication

New York DC Comics <2005>

Description

Constantine examines the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor and the founder of Constantinople. From a variety of angles: historical, historiographical and mythical. The volume examines the circumstances of Constantine's reign and the historical problems surrounding them, the varied accounts of Constantine's life and the plethora of popular medieval legends surrounding the reign, to reveal the different visions and representations of the emperor from saint and patron of the Western church to imperial prototype.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Crowyhead

In this stand-alone graphic novel, John Constantine once again finds himself dealing with demons in the hope of saving a child (and possibly the world). When his friend Chas's niece falls prey to a mysterious illness that puts her in a coma, Chas turns to Constantine for help. Constantine quickly

discovers that this is more than a normal illness; something seems to be robbing people of their souls. The trail leads the pair to Los Angeles, and culminates in Constantine pitting several uppity demons against an Aztec god of the dead.

I very much enjoyed this; it's a pretty classic Hellblazer storyline, of course, but Carey puts some new twists on it, and Manco's artwork is (as usual) excellent. It'd be a good introduction to the comics for someone who hasn't read them, especially since it has a good overview of Constantine's history in the back.

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LibraryThing member soniaandree

This book in the Hellblazer series is mostly centered on an old Aztec death god, so expect Constantine to settle his score with a disturbingly hell-ish foe. As usual, his deals are like a double-edged sword: it doesn't do to mess up with him or his friends. The graphics are great, the warm colours

are also evocative of Latin America, and the suggested time-travelling sub-narrative adds a little sci-fi to the story. Great hardback, with dustjacket, with a great chiaroscuro cover, I wouldn't have it any other way for this issue of Hellblazer.

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LibraryThing member mrgan

Clean art, solid story. Not a revelation, but a very decent book with some memorable bits.

LibraryThing member jennybeast

Oddly just like the movie, and the art in the first comic reflected that. Then it swapped artists and constantine went blonde. A bit disconcerting, that. I think I want to read more of these, but they're a bit gritty for my taste.

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