Hellblazer: The Roots of Coincidence #1

What really makes Andy Diggle's run on Hellblazer so magical is that each line delivered by John is perfectly chosen.  There are times when I don't know if Diggle has done his research so well that he is teaching me something new or that John Constantine is Conning us reads.  The whole Diggle run on Hellblazer is a shear delight.
 
The final book of the acclaimed Diggle run ends with the Roots of Coincidence.  This book ties up all the loose ends of both his own running story and the loose ends from writers before.  This run requires a second read to truly see the ingenious little thing sprinkled in this run from the very beginning.  Before I highlight key things that helped build the story up to this point, I will tell you that I loved and did not love about the two story arcs in this trade:  The Mortification Of The Flesh  and The Roots of Coincidence.
 

The Mortification Of The Flesh

 What I did not like about this story was the creative team if Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini.  They get better later on during Peter Milligan's run on Hellblazer, but at this time they are still getting their feet wet. In Hellblazer #243, part one of The Mortification of the Flesh, they even forget John Constantine has a scar over his left eye.  When this story was first released in 2008 I thought it was a flashback issue of How John Constantine was helping out the Vatican for personal gain.  By issue #244 the scar is corrected and I released that this may have been an issue written later in the arc to tighten the story.  
 
This two page story is wonderfully written, John is as sly as he was in the 80s and Chantinelle is as seductive as ever.  We later find out that the goal was to steal a lost book of the bible.  A book from a writer that is not canon to the bible but a writer who has great importance to the church.  This revelation solidifies John Constantine's influence in the real world, since he is "the Constant-One" or the great balance in the universe.  This comic character John Constantine is not a saint like Saint Constantine (Constantine the Great), but a person who still intends to balance the world.  This connection of a historical person and John Constantine furthers the connection of Synchronicity in John Constantine's life.
 

The Roots of Coincidence

With the book of Constantine in John Constantine's Hands, John is learning more about the Roots of Coincidences.  Does the name Agios Nikolaos mean anything to you?  It didn't to me at the time as well.  John Constantine gives an a clear history of how Agios Nikolaos is Santa Claus and how Santa is related to Constantine the Great... yeah the book of the dude he just stole.  The Roots of Coincidence just keep getting pulled tighter.  I mentioned earlier that I don't know if Diggle did his research or is Constantine Conning us.  I did some research and I still don't know.  A lot of what he says seems so real and that is what scares me.  Is this book an example of Synchronicity in writing?  
 
In past Diggle reviews I mentioned I reread his run every holidays, the Santa connection is the reason for it.  I don't want to spoil why John needed Santa, but I will tell you it really is a "White Christmas".  Diggle does not have a healthy obsession with Santa, in Punisher: Silent Night, he dresses Frank Castle as Santa and in Hellblazer Santa's bones becomes a magical outlet for John Constantine.  Either way... Diggle doesn't care to rattle some "dry bones".  Another neat thing with Santa, not sure if Diggle noticed this, but it is something I noticed in my teems... Play with the word "Santa" till you can get another name.  Only one other name can be made and Santa wears red and has a list of naughty and nice... think about it.
 
The Roots of Coincidence comes to a complete full cycle.  Diggle ties up the loose treads with the Laughing Magician, Diggle explains why John got Cancer in Ennis run and Diggle also clears the slate for current writer Peter Milligan.  Only by rereading the run can we see that Manco drew his John Constantine like John Constantine in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing for example.

Verdict:

This run is a must for any Vertigo reader.  It is a tightly written run of Hellblazer that makes a good up in spot for new readers, it also has high re-readability because of the layering in the run.  Even some veteran Hellblazer readers may miss a thing or two.  The art for most part is wonderful, even with the hiccup of the two teams.  I absolutely love the Diggle run and that should mean a lot coming from me, since I am sure I am one of the biggest John Constantine fans on Comicvine.
 
This is a highly recommend run, you can even just start with this book if you wanted and then go backwards, that is how tight and how re-readable I think this run is.  If you ever wondered where to jump in on Hellblazer, this is the run.  My only major complaint was that Diggle had to "leave 'em wanting more".  I still want more Diggle writing Hellblazer, I have even debating following his Marvel books on top of what I normally read.  Diggle had the best understand of John Constantine from all the writers after Delano and Ennis.  This run really was a masterpiece and to this day I still believe Diggle's best work in comics.
 
Happy Holidays!
May all your Christmases be white....lines that is.... ho ho ho... poor ol' Saint Nicky....
Cheers!
- Silkcuts