The Good
After the events of CONSTANTINE #5, John is left for dead and battling Chris, who died in the first issue. The Cold Flame makes their move, and it's up to Papa Midnite to put his personal feelings aside in order to help.
Artist Renato Guedes does a fantastic job on this issue, especially with the beautiful two-page spread of Tannarak cutting off the heads of two people. Colorist Marcelo Maiolo also does great with his color work throughout the book. His color palate is consistent and gives this issue a very distinct style.
Papa Midnite returns, once again, and has to set aside how he feels about John because it's for the greater good of the world. It's a pretty cool scene, and Guedes and Fawkes really pace out this scene well. On top of that, there's some great caption dialogue from John as Papa attempts to help him come back to the world of the living. The description gives the reader a better idea of what is going on, internally, with John while we physically see what's happening to him.
CONSTANTINE #6 leaves the reader with a pretty awesome cliffhanger page, which will not be spoiled here. Although the issue was a bit down the middle, this final page is tremendously exciting.
The Bad
First half of the issue is a bit slow and could have been trimmed down a tad. The scene with Chris and Constantine dragged a bit too long, and the scene with Tannarak, the Cold Flame, and Mister E and Sargon did as well. It felt like the information that needed to get out during these scenes took way to long to actually get out. It takes about 10 pages for this book to really get interesting.
The book does feel a bit like a quick "connect-the-gaps" issue where the reader is left with John dead at the end of CONSTANTINE #5, and the Cold Flame needs to move forward with their plan. It comes off as a lot less interesting than the rest of the issues in this series.
The Verdict
CONSTANTINE is fine series. This wasn't the best issue in the series, but overall, it's still a very solid read. The first half of this book is a bit slow and it feels a bit like filler, more than anything else. However, the second half of this book is fantastic and the reveal page is pretty darn exciting. If you enjoyed the last issue of CONSTANTINE, you're going to want to pick this up. Newcomers, this may not be the best place for you to jump on. Overall, I give this a mild recommendation.
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